Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Egypt's gold prices up on July 6th    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza truce, Iran-Israel tensions    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Center-back shortage hands Manchester City's Guardiola new dilemma in defense
Published in Ahram Online on 20 - 09 - 2019

First it was having a quartet of aging full backs unable to deliver on his demands. Then it was going eight months without a genuine left back.
This season, there's another defensive issue facing Pep Guardiola at Manchester City: a shortage of center backs.
With long-serving captain Vincent Kompany released in the offseason and Aymeric Laporte ruled out for the rest of 2019 because of a knee injury, City was already lacking numbers at center back when John Stones sustained a muscle injury in training this week and could be sidelined until November.
It has left Guardiola with one fit senior center back _ Nicolas Otamendi, a player who looked on his way out of the club after barely featuring last season _ just as the fixtures start piling up this season.
Guardiola's response? Bring it on.
``It's not a problem, it is a challenge,'' he said Friday about City's center-back crisis. ``What's important is being positive in your mind.''
Guardiola, therefore, is going to have to be bold and creative.
His first decision was to play defensive midfielder Fernandinho at the heart of the defense for the Champions League group match away to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Making his first start of the campaign, Fernandinho _ who has been playing as a defender in training this season _ slotted in just fine and City kept a clean sheet, winning 3-0.
Expecting Fernandinho, 34, and Otamendi, 31, to play three games in a week-long span might be asking too much, so Guardiola will have other ideas.
Like, maybe, promoting Eric Garcia to the first team. The 18-year-old Spaniard was part of Barcelona's famed La Masia academy as a kid and was signed by City in 2017, but has yet to play a Premier League match despite being in the senior squad all last season.
Or even Taylor Harwood-Bellis, a 17-year-old academy prospect who hasn't played a senior match for City.
Kyle Walker, a right back, could even move into the center of defense in an emergency, having played on the right of a back three for England and City previously.
Whichever option Guardiola chooses, it's hardly an ideal situation for a team that plans to go hard at every competition this season _ just like the last one, when City won the domestic treble and reached the Champions League quarterfinals. City is also already five points behind Liverpool after five games of its Premier League title defense, which continues at home to Watford on Saturday.
``Football is not how you handle the good situations,'' Guardiola said, ``it's how you handle the bad ones.''
The City coach joined the club in 2016 and reacted to being bequeathed four full backs all in their 30s, and unable to provide the attacking threat and positional play demanded by Guardiola, by spending more than $150 million on three new ones the following offseason.
In his second season in charge, Guardiola saw left back Benjamin Mendy seriously injure his knee in September and be ruled out for almost the whole season. His response was to deploy Fabian Delph, a center midfielder, as a left back and City managed to still rack up 100 points in winning the Premier League.
With Kompany departing, Guardiola wanted to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester but the fee demanded for the England center back was far too high _ he ended up joining Manchester United for 80 million pounds ($97 million) _ and City went into this season with just three central defenders.
Already that decision is proving unwise.
However, City's purchase of Spain defensive midfielder Rodri does allow Guardiola to use Fernandinho solely as a defender, similar to when Javier Mascherano dropped into defense for Barcelona during Guardiola's time as coach there.
Fernandinho has the intelligence, leadership and game management to perform as a defender, a position he has expected to play this season. He looked at home there against Shakhtar, sometimes pushing up into midfield with the ball, in a game in which he was made captain.
``Of course he has a lot of experience and personality,'' Guardiola said of the Brazilian, ``and what he says the people follow him in the locker room.''
A more intriguing option would be Garcia, who is likely to start in the English League Cup against second-tier Preston next week and should get his first start in the Premier League soon. He impressed in his three League Cup outings last season and looks to be a defender very much in the Guardiola mold, with his ball-playing ability making up for his lack of height.
Garcia, who lives at the City's training complex, is highly regarded having played in all of Spain's youth teams, most recently for the Under-21s.
City is fortunate that its schedule, while packed, is not too difficult. After Watford, City plays Preston, Everton, Dinamo Zagreb, Wolverhampton, Crystal Palace, Atalanta, Aston Villa, Southampton and then Atalanta again, before a trip to Anfield to play title rival Liverpool on Nov 10.
Stones could be back by then. But Fernandinho or Garcia might easily have made a strong case to stay in the team.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)


Clic here to read the story from its source.