TOTAL FOOTBALLER
HE SCORES GOALS, MAKES GOALS AND CAN PLAY ANYWHERE. PHIL FODEN IS MAN CITY’S…
There was always one out on the luscious grass of Barcelona’s Ciutat esportiva Joan Gamper before the rest. Xavi would be there early before training. Juggling a ball, little feints and Cruyff turns. Alone, waiting for his team-mates to saunter out.
Then the ball would start to zip between Xavi and whoever might be next. The morning’s tempo was set. It always started with Xavi, every single day. A man after Pep Guardiola’s heart.
Guardiola has noticed the same trait in a young man at Manchester City. Phil Foden is their first- out, last-in merchant. When City’s squad amble out, they know Foden will be waiting. Long after they are supposed to have gone inside, fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura is often telling Foden — alongside a couple of others — to stop practising and go in. Save your legs.
Foden’s influence on this team is growing with each week. Nobody played more than the 700 minutes afforded to Foden last month. his 14 goal contributions this season — nine goals, five assists — are bettered only by raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne.
The way he glides through games, bouncing off defenders despite his slight frame, seems so effortless. Witnessing a Foden slalom run from deep, shimmying past challenges, is one of the Premier League’s great pleasures. Those moments have led to Gary Neville and Alan Shearer comparing him to Marc Overmars and Paul Gascoigne.
Guardiola wants absolutely no mention of any star, past or present, in a conversation about Foden. The City manager has been criticised for holding him back but believes he will be vindicated by a slowly, slowly approach that now feels at odds with the fact that the 20-year-old made his 100th City appearance last week.
The fact is, City are a better team with Foden in it. They are back at Anfield on Sunday and there was serious deliberation about throwing Foden in there last season, only for him to remain an unused substitute with Liverpool eventually running out 3-1 winners.
he was exceptional in the return game, scoring as Jurgen Klopp’s champions were dismantled 4-0. It would be an almighty shock if he is not in the starting XI again after sitting out Wednesday’s canter at Burnley.
Foden — who wears the No 47 in tribute to his late grandfather, a City fan — was earmarked to take David Silva’s midfield spot but has increasingly found himself out wide. That is partly because formations have altered this year and also because Guardiola wants the england international as close to the opposition box as possible.
Foden is viewed as a ‘ complete’ footballer, capable of affecting matches from anywhere until he nails down a permanent position, which must surely be central. At the moment, Guardiola can constantly be heard instructing him to hug the touchline on the left, knowing that his movement can render full backs’ positioning useless.
What strikes those around the first team is the care with which he treats the football and a first touch that some within the club maintain they have rarely observed. The desire to impress has impeded him sometimes and that felt apparent in the weeks after being sent home from his first england camp, an incident for which he has shown remorse. Foden briefly became risk-averse, too focused on not making mistakes in possession. his team- mates noticed, with De Bruyne tersely telling him to buck-up during a Champions League home win over Olympiacos.
It felt a little harsh at the time, yet De Bruyne knows how good Foden is and demands the best. An accelerated rise has followed and the work done behind the scenes is bearing fruit.
employing elite middle-distance running coach Tony Clarke from Liverpool harriers has enhanced Foden’s biomechanics, with analysis of arm and leg movement after every match. his running style is perfectly honed.
Two key examples of his stature have occurred recently. First, Guardiola was asked about him after City had beaten Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. Previously he has talked Foden up. There was a different approach at the emirates.
‘Phil wants to beat the world, he wants to eat the world,’ said Guardiola. ‘he has an incredible energy but, in the final decision, the final pass, he has to slow down a little bit.’
The Catalan only talks publicly about how a player can improve when he knows the individual can handle it and is performing well in the first place.
The second was the difference in meetings with West Bromwich Albion. In December, Foden was hooked after suffering a series of robust challenges during a frustrating 1-1 draw. Last week, with City 4-0 up, he was taken off again. Why? Guardiola was saving his legs for the matches ahead. Just as Buenaventura tries to do most days.