Are we experiencing Pep Guardiola’s final weeks on the Manchester City bench? Next May, it will be 10 years that the Catalan technician has led the team and after a last difficult exercise finishing in 3rd place, 13 points behind Liverpool, this season is once again complicated. Never since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium has he lost the English title twice in a row. This may be a first since the Skyblues are 9 lengths behind Arsenal, with one game less of course, but with only 8 days remaining.
Worse still, there was this elimination, as logical as it was unexpected, just 10 days ago in the round of 16 of the Champions League, against Real Madrid moreover. Despite one last year of contract remaining, the 55-year-old coach is perhaps reaching the end of a cycle. The FA Cup final on Sunday against Arsenal (5:30 p.m.) will perhaps decide its fate… It is in the hands of its management but a man has already declared himself to take over and it turns out that the City Group knows him well since it is Michel, in place at Girona since 2021. He has obtained great results by bringing the club up to La Liga.
Michael: “I feel ready»
He even managed to qualify Blanquivermells for the Champions League two years ago. “Yes, I feel ready, but I don’t know if they (the leaders) see it the same way. I feel capable of coaching any team, because I adopt a human approach, focused on sporting culture, quality play and obtaining results», affirms the 50-year-old Catalan to the podcast La Otra Grada in comments transcribed by A.S.. According to him, he has all the abilities to succeed Guardiola and reveals that he is even taking English lessons, just in case…
“I don’t have a magic wand to appease egos, but I know how to adapt and I really want to live this experience“. His results in Girona speak for him, despite two more difficult last seasons, with currently a 12th place in La Liga. “The leaders understood the philosophy, the project. They always respected him. As a coach, this is where I felt the most fulfilled. In difficult times, they never deviated from the project, from our way of doing things. And it doesn’t happen everywhere», assures the one who remains a great admirer of Guardiola. “I am very grateful for his help. The fact that he lends us players is very positive. Echeverri, Vitor Reis… This summer he told Echeverri that he was making a mistake by going to Bayer, that he should have come to Girona“. The message got through.
