Gundo is the successor to legend Toure
WHY GUARDIOLA PICKS UNHERALDED MIDFIELDER SO OFTEN
ONLY one man played every minute of City’s Champions League campaign - German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
That has baffled some Blues fans, who wonder just how the unspectacular 29-year-old seems to be the one player Pep Guardiola cannot do without.
After all, the softly-spoken former Borussia Dortmund star does not score stunning goals or make breathtaking assists like Kevin de Bruyne. He does not work in tight spaces around the box with the mesmeric balance and vision of David Silva, and he does not possess the energy and spark of Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva.
Yet, game after game in the Champions League Gundogan was there, on the teamsheet, the only player in a stellar squad to start and complete all nine matches.
He played 810 minutes in the campaign, with only Ederson (676 mins), Fernandinho (653), and Rodri (626) getting anywhere near that amount of game time.
His presence in the quarter-final has caused particular consternation, as Guardiola’s team selection looked a little cautious - three centrebacks plus Gundogan and Rodri, both natural holding midfielders.
There seemed to be a lack of creativity in that midfield, with De Bruyne the one player in that department with a strong track record of making and scoring goals.
City fans were left shaking their heads, especially as the formation, and Gundogan’s inclusion, meant that creative attackers David Silva, Bernardo, Foden and Riyad Mahrez all started on the bench.
As always happens in a defeat, scapegoats are needed, and they tend to be the less favoured players - and fingers soon pointed at Gundogan.
The fact he had been pivotal in the two legs against Real Madrid, and out-shone Luka Modric, was quickly forgotten.
Forces of nature like De Bruyne need someone like Gundogan alongside them - a super-intelligent footballer, one who plugs gaps and who keeps the ball circulating.
That last facet of Gundogan’s game is hugely under-rated.
De Bruyne is often seen as the heir to Yaya Toure in the City team, and with good reason - he scores big goals in big games, he makes defence-smashing runs, he hits the net from distance and he comes up with eye-catching passes.
But Toure’s biggest contribution to the Blues never made his highlights reels.
The way he kept the ball, his short and simple passing game, was at the heart of City’s success in his years at the club.
It never looked special - in fact, given Yaya’s languid style it often looked pointless and dull.
But Toure is rarely given credit for his instinctive football intelligence.
He would drag players out of position by playing little triangles, simple passes that had the cumulative effect of bending well-organised defences out of shape.
Gundogan is the Ivory Coast ace’s natural successor in that regard. His high-passing success rate can be dismissed as the stats of a player who does not often attempt the 40-yard killer pass.
But it should be celebrated as a central feature of what City usually do so well, which is to move the ball quickly and accurately.
Gundogan is unlikely to ever get a statue outside the Etihad Stadium, like Vincent Kompany and David Silva - with Sergio Aguero certain to follow - but his role in the Blues’ success in the last three years should not be overlooked or airbrushed.