Guardiola Has Gone: What Next for Manchester City?

It can be dangerous to read too much into one result, but Arsenal’s convincing victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon should serve as a warning sign, not just to the rest of the league but also to their beaten opponents.

For a decade, City had Pep Guardiola as the benchmark. In the 10 seasons that he spent in the English Premier League, he hoovered up 17 major trophies, including six league titles and the UEFA Champions League. That is without counting the Community Shield, which City won three times during his 10-year reign. sportnewz.click

But with the Catalan maestro now gone and Enzo Maresca in charge, what does the future look like for the light-blue half of Manchester?

It is worth bearing in mind just how little experience Maresca has in top-flight football. His breakthrough came with Leicester City in the Championship, but he left after securing promotion. At Chelsea, he won nearly 60 per cent of his 92 games, including the Club World Cup last summer, but the team was often a soft touch in key matches in the league.

Chelsea struggled to break down teams that defended deep. There was a lot of sideways possession and not enough penetration. City fans saw just that in Cardiff.

City had over 58 per cent of the ball, but nearly half of their 12 shots came from outside the area. They could not conjure a single one-on-one situation with David Raya in the Arsenal goal. Raya did make a couple of exceptional saves from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, but in general, the Arsenal defence, marshalled by Gabriel and missing his usual colleague William Saliba, held out with a degree of comfort.

The same could not be said of City, who were worryingly open, with mistakes all over the pitch at crucial moments. The opening goal came after a failure to clear their lines, compounded by some poor goalkeeping from Gianluigi Donnarumma. The second exposed further defensive uncertainty, while City were caught flat-footed for the third.

This was a performance littered with individual frailty. The injured Rodri didn’t play and is seemingly on his way to Barcelona, while Bernardo Silva has already left for Real Madrid. The leaders in the middle of the park are absent, and it remains to be seen who will take this City team by the scruff of the neck in times of strife.

Elliot Anderson had a tough baptism after his big-money signing from Nottingham Forest, while Arsenal would have been much happier with the way Bruno Guimarães announced himself following his move from Newcastle.

Arteta was once seen as Guardiola’s eager apprentice, helping the master plan his tactics ahead of games. But the lure of returning to Arsenal, where he had once worn the captain’s armband, proved too much. His hesitant beginning at the Emirates has long since been forgotten, and it was no surprise that it was Arteta’s Arsenal who pushed Guardiola to the limit during his final years at City.

Maresca also learned the managerial ropes under Guardiola but has nothing like the experience that Arteta has accumulated during his time in north London. City were very certain that Maresca was the man they wanted to succeed Guardiola. But there will be more than a few who ask whether he has the stature and strength of personality to pull it off.

There have been plenty of capable managers who succeeded legends and fell flat. David Moyes trying to follow Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United was a good example, as was Unai Emery succeeding Arsène Wenger at Arsenal.

No judgement should be made on Maresca after just 90 minutes, and that too against the champions of England. But there were enough worrying signs on Sunday.

With so much churn having gone on in managerial positions across the Premier League, this could shape up as one of the most competitive seasons ever. With the exception of Arsenal, no team looks settled enough to be guaranteed a place in the Champions League positions.

If Maresca and City hit trouble in the early weeks of the campaign, expect uncomfortable questions and headlines.

The Guardiola era is emphatically over. What happens next?

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With 11 players making their Hockey World Cup debut, Indian women team’s 2-2 draw against world No. 4 China was a significant result for the future, head coach Sjoerd Marijne said on Sunday.

Related news: Hockey World Cup: Indian women’s team holds Olympic silver medallist China to 2-2 draw

India twice took the lead but had to settle for a point after China—the 2024 Olympics silver medal winners—fought back in the Pool D opening match.

“With 11 debutants in the team, a draw against the world No. number four is very good for the future,” Marijne said after the match.

“I am satisfied, but the result could have been different if we had got the PC in the end. I don’t want to talk about the referee’s decision. That’s the way it is and we have to deal with it.”

India had already exhausted their video referral when they appealed for a penalty corner in the last minutes of the match.

“We had a clear PC but the referee was at an angle where she couldn’t see it and you really can’t blame her. We really need to learn about the video referrals,” Marijne said.

The Dutchman admitted that India struggled in the third quarter but was pleased with the team’s response in the final period.

“The third quarter was not that good but then we came back. The resilience of the team was good and I am happy with that. We did much better in the last quarter,” he said.

Marijne felt the result would ease the pressure on India in their remaining matches.

“It is a very important draw. If we had lost this one, the next two would have been must-win matches. Now we don’t have to do much calculations about who is winning against whom and we can focus on our own game,” he said.

“That’s what we have been doing so far since I came back.”

India will next face South Africa, and Marijne warned his players against complacency.

“South Africa is a good team and we have to be at our best against them too,” he said.

The coach highlighted the contribution of Navneet Kaur, saying the forward’s performances showed the team is not over reliant on star drag flicker Deepika.

“Everyone was talking about Deepika during the Nations Cup but Navneet scored equally well and in the World Cup qualifiers too. So it’s not only about Deepika,” Marijne said.

India created several opportunities against China but Marijne said ball retention remained an area for improvement.

“We created chances, defensively we were very strong but we have to do better in winning the ball and keeping the ball,” he said.

Player of the match Navneet said the team showed considerable improvement against an opponent it had struggled against in the past.

“It was a tough match but we did exceptionally well. We were leading twice and we have to do better in maintaining the lead,” she said.

“Our past performance against them (China) was not good but we did not think about them today and forgot that they are Olympic medallists. That worked well.”

Navneet added that senior players had urged the youngsters to play without fear.

“We told youngsters to keep the belief and do not worry about the mighty China,” she said when asked about the mantra seniors gave to debutants ahead of the match.”

India captain Salima Tete said the team was happy with the point but would need to maintain its intensity in the remaining matches.

“We are happy with the one point but we will have to fight in every match and we are geared up for that,” Salima said.

Cardiff [UK], August 16 (ANI): Defending champions Arsenal made a statement in the Community Shield final, cruising to a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester City in Cardiff.

The Gunners stunned City and new boss Enzo Maresca after just 23 seconds, as Myles Lewis-Skelly’s sublime pass released Riccardo Calafiori, who coolly slotted home the opener. It was a nightmare start to life after Pep Guardiola for City, as per Sky Sports.

Christos Tzolis then played a key role in Arsenal’s next two goals, first delivering a pinpoint ball across the face of goal for Kai Havertz to force home the second past Gianluigi Donnarumma, before setting up captain Martin Odegaard to tuck in the third just three minutes after half-time at the Principality Stadium.

Donnarumma was left on the floor by Odegaard for the third goal, capping a difficult outing for the goalkeeper behind a City defence that looked badly disjointed.

City had already needed Josko Gvardiol to clear Odegaard’s effort off the line just before half-time after Donnarumma spilt the ball, while returning star Bukayo Saka also passed up two good opportunities to add to Arsenal’s tally.

In contrast, Arsenal’s defence, which had come under scrutiny during pre-season after conceding eight goals in four matches, looked far more assured.

Their determination to preserve the clean sheet was perfectly illustrated when David Raya denied Erling Haaland, Lewis-Skelly reacted quickest to the rebound, and Ben White then bravely threw himself in front of a Jeremy Doku effort.

Haaland and Anderson were withdrawn after underwhelming performances, while the absence of Barcelona target Rodri was impossible to overlook. As Maresca continues his search for the right formula following City’s decade of dominance under Guardiola, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal look well placed to capitalise on their current position of strength.

The last team to win the Community Shield and go on to lift the Premier League title was Manchester City in 2018/19, when they also completed a domestic treble.

While victory in the curtain-raiser is no guarantee of league success, Sunday’s commanding win could provide the perfect launchpad for Arsenal as they chase back-to-back top-flight titles for the first time in 91 years. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Seven years can feel like an eternity in elite sport. Since her historic World Championship Gold in Basel in 2019, PV Sindhu’s trophy cabinet has expanded, she won her second Olympics medal, solidifying her status as arguably India’s greatest badminton icon. However a lean patch followed her, but the hunger for world dominance remains entirely unsated for India’s No.1.

At the pre-tournament press conference, the double Olympic and five times World Championship medalist spoke about the excitement of playing Worlds at home, recent form, losses that helped her become stronger, the sports science team and her 2009 worlds experience.

You recently won the Japan Open, that must have given you renewed confidence…

Sindhu: Definitely, it gives me a lot of confidence. I’m really looking forward to the World Championships, especially since it’s happening in India. Winning the Japan Open gave me a lot of confidence and a boost.

You have won five World Championship medals. Looking back, which moments shaped your career and made you tougher?

Sindhu: Having five medals at the World Championships is an amazing journey. Each win and each medal gave me a different kind of experience. Bronze in 2013, bronze again in 2014, then silver in 2017 and 2018, and finally gold in 2019.

The transition was wonderful, but there were also a couple of moments that made me stronger. One of them was losing the 2017 World Championships final to Okuhara in Glasgow. It was a very hard-fought match, almost one hour and 50 minutes. I was very hard on myself because I was almost there but couldn’t get the gold. It was a matter of one or two points, and that made me much stronger.

There were other moments too, like in 2018 when I was leading, lost the first game and eventually lost the gold. These moments, especially at the World Championships, made me stronger and helped me come back stronger.

You have five World Championship medals, the most in the world, but it has been seven years since your last medal. How special would it be to win one at home?

Sindhu: Definitely, it’s very special because it’s happening in India. I won the World Championships in 2019, so it has been almost seven years.

The Japan Open has given me a lot of confidence, and I hope I can carry that confidence forward. Everything is going well, and for me, it’s one match at a time.

Hopefully, I can get a lot of support from the Indian crowd. I’m really happy that we are playing the World Championships in India and that we get to play on home ground. I hope I get a medal here too.

How have you changed over the last seven years?

Sindhu: There have been quite a few changes, in terms of my game, how I think and how I strategise. Badminton itself has changed as a sport.

Earlier, women’s singles was more attacking and faster-paced. Now there are more long rallies and you have to stay on court for a longer period. So you need a lot of patience.

As a person, there have also been a lot of changes in terms of experience. I feel much more experienced now in terms of how to deal with situations on court.

Do you still get butterflies in the stomach before a big tournament?

Sindhu: I have a lot of experience. I’ve played many first-round matches where I had butterflies and there was a lot of pressure. I won’t deny that there is pressure, yes there is.

But at the same time, for me, there’s nothing to lose. I just want to give my best because I know I have trained hard and worked hard in my training sessions. I just have to go out there on court and give my best, irrespective of the result.

I think the hunger towards the game hasn’t changed. I know it is still in me and I can still do it. The hunger towards the sport hasn’t changed.

There were concerns about the facilities, monkeys and other issues. How do you see the arrangements this time?

Sindhu: Whatever is the best, people are doing it, and I really appreciate their effort.

I came yesterday and I’m here today, and we’ve had really good sessions. I haven’t been uncomfortable. Everything is comfortable and everything is good.

To be very fair, from the washrooms to the people here, if we need any help, there are people here day in and day out. They are putting all their efforts into making this happen. They have achieved what they wanted and this will be one of the greatest World Championships. What else do we need? Being an Indian, I can proudly say that we are happy and fortunate to play here at home.

What are your preparation methods? Do you have any superstitions or rituals?

Sindhu: Everybody has their unique way of doing it. We all believe and trust in God. But you just have to go out there because you can’t predict the result. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow.

Whatever it takes to win, everyone has their unique ways whether it’s a racquet, a T-shirt, a dress, the way you dress up, your ponytail or your shoes. For me, I just trust in God, go out on court and give my best.

You have had a consistent year, with several deep runs before winning the Japan Open. Was this a breakthrough year for you?

Sindhu: I’ve had a really good team around me. We had to build that team and it took some time to get everyone together in terms of sports science, physiotherapy and training. We all came together, sat down and noted what was required and what was needed. We discussed it with the coach and worked on those things. All of it played a major role.

People only see us when we play a match, but there is a lot that happens behind the scenes. We have to change things smartly because sometimes your body might not cooperate when you are playing.

You have to make sure you get enough rest and make those decisions smartly so that you can be at your peak at the right time. I think we’ve been doing that correctly, and that has made the difference.

You recently spoke about changes with your sports science team. How do you feel physically and mentally?

Sindhu: It was very important to have a sports science team around me, in terms of strength and conditioning and physiotherapy. The coach is always there as well.

Wayne Lombard heads the strength and conditioning, Heera Mundluru is my physiotherapist and Shreyasi Sanjay looks after the S&C. It’s very important to build around that because sometimes your body is not at 100%, but you still push. Injuries don’t tell you before they come — they just happen.

So, before that, what precautions do you take and how smartly do you change things? We have all these gadgets now to record your strain, how tired you are and whether you can push yourself or not. These are the metrics we use to make sure we take precautions. Maybe the next day you can do a different kind of training. These are the small things that you change.

It has helped me. Physically and mentally, it has been quite good. I can see the changes in my game and movement, so I’m happy that it’s going in the right direction.

What are your memories of the 2009 World Championships in India?

Sindhu: I was a very small girl. I used to come and watch matches from morning until evening. We would just play around and watch matches.

At that time, it was just like, ‘Okay, you get to see a lot of top players.’ You didn’t know how serious it was back then. But now, when I look back, I got to experience the best. I’m playing the World Championships in India again after 17 years, so it’s really good to see the journey from then until now.

The whole journey has been memorable. It’s always good to play in India, and this time I’m hoping that I can get a medal on home ground.

We always speak about An Se-young, but you have also played Wang Zhi Yi several times, including at the World Championships. How do you see this rivalry?

Sindhu: We have played a lot of times. I won against her at the last World Championships, and the last time we played, I was leading but lost from there.

She is doing well and is among the top players in the world. You just need to give your best. Everybody wants to give their best at the World Championships or any tournament. We might know each other’s games, but at the same time we have to make changes according to the court and shuttle conditions and make sure it is comfortable for us to play against each other.

Every athlete has a different style of play. Whether it’s Wang Zhi Yi, Yamaguchi or An Se-young, I’m not saying it will be easy. It will be hard, there will be tough matches and I need to be prepared.

Women’s singles has changed, with veterans returning and a new generation coming through. How do you assess the changes, especially with the new-scoring format?

Sindhu: There is a younger generation coming up in badminton, especially in women’s singles.

Regarding the scoring system, yes, it is going to be different and very challenging. With 21 points, if you are 7-0 down, you still have time to come back. With 15 points, if seven points are gone, almost half the match is done.

You need to be on your feet from point one. You can’t take it easy and think you will come back later. With the 15-point system, you need to be alert from the beginning.

There is some good young talent coming up. Being experienced, I feel the game is changing and evolving all the time.

Earlier, it was more of a faster game. Now it has become more competitive, with slower and longer rallies. With 15 points, it might become different, with shorter, quicker and faster rallies. You have to adapt.

I’m happy to see changes in the sport. Anything is good for Indian sport. You have to get used to it because that’s how sport is. The game changes, the scoring changes and the shuttles keep changing. You have to change too, you don’t have a choice.

Over a period of time, how has been your working relationship with coach Irwansyah?

Sindhu: It has been good. He has been with me for the last one and a half years. We have made some changes to my game. Initially, when you get a new coach, it takes some time to understand what the coach needs. But now it is working out well.

As I mentioned, it is important for the coach and sports science team to come together, understand the requirements and work accordingly. That’s what we are doing. We need to make sure that we also make those changes accordingly.

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