City’s Fernandinho vital to Guardiola’s system
Pep Guardiola has attacking talent at his disposal as Manchester City manager that is the envy of the rest of world football.
Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva – the list is frightening.
But who is the most indispensable player for Guardiola? The answer is Fernandinho.
The Brazilian midfielder occupies the place just in front of the defence and carries out a multitude of jobs. He covers the space when both full-backs charge forward. He tries to nick the ball back as soon as the opposition gets it. Then, when he has the ball, he has to make a key initial pass to one of his team-mates to start any attacking moves. While, when needed, Fernandinho is not afraid to give away fouls and break up the momentum of any potential attacks, earning him the nickname, “The Smiling Assassin”.
As well as performing all these roles in the way that Sergio Busquets did for Guardiola at Barcelona, the Brazilian has no direct replacement in the City squad, thus increasing his importance.
He will be in the engine room this afternoon as City prepare to take on United in the first Manchester derby of the season. And the 33-year-old is wise enough to know there will be a few tackles flying round in the heat of battle, but he accepts his role as a vital cog in City’s free-flowing team.
“I am a nice guy,” he laughs. “I smile because I am a happy guy!
“Look, I have heard what has been said. But, most of the time, I recover the ball without making a foul.
“But it is not defensive. I try to win the ball high up the pitch to start attacks. I know I have enough quality to play in a team that likes to play attacking football.
“Even in an attacking team like City, a big part of the game is to know also how to defend. It is not just me. We defend as a team.
“Football is football. Sometimes you get players who are faster than you or who can trick you with some skill. Sometimes you make the foul. But I would say that in football contact is normal, especially here in England.”
It seems impossible to imagine after amassing 100 points and scoring 106 goals last season, but City may well be even better this season.
They are top of the league and unbeaten after 11 games and put six past both Southampton and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively in the past seven days.
Fernandinho says it took time initially for the players to get to grips with Guardiola’s ways but, more than two years on, the results speak for themselves.
“Some players didn’t understand immediately what he wanted in that first year,” he explains. “Everyone was learning about what he wanted. Now, it only takes a gesture from him and we understand. “It has become easier. When you are a father, when you talk to your son or your daughter for the first time they don’t understand you.
“Of course, you have patience because you are a father and you keep talking to them and eventually they do understand.
“You tell them, ‘You have to do this, you cannot do this’ and as they grow up, they start to get it. They understand what you’re saying. “Then, when they understand, they are no longer babies. They are growing up.
“That is what it is like with Pep. At first you don’t understand. But then you grow up and you work and you do understand.”
Back in April, City were set to win the title when they were two up at half-time to Jose Mourinho’s United, only for the Reds to storm back and win 3-2.
The party was delayed for a week, but Fernandinho doesn’t see this as a revenge mission.
“I don’t think you should talk about revenge in a derby,” he says. “United are a very dangerous team.
“When you see their line-up they have quality players who can make the difference in games. We have to be careful with them.”
In the other camp, Jesse Lingard has challenged his United team-mates to extend their strong record at the Etihad Stadium by beating their rivals.
Though City’s fortunes have risen even further in recent years, United have won seven of their past 15 away derbies and have not lost on the east side of Manchester since November, 2014.
That record was in jeopardy last season when City – needing a win to confirm their status as champions – led 2-0 at half-time, only for Paul Pogba to inspire a stunning turnaround and a 3-2 United win.
“The win was a mad feeling and, hopefully, we can do it again,” said Lingard.
“We’ve done well there and it’s just about fine margins sometimes. We kept our mental state last season and got the win in the end.
“The way the fans were supporting us, even at 2-0 down, they stayed with us and backed us, that spurred us on.”
Romelu Lukaku may miss out with a thigh injury, with Marcus Rashford ready to step in.