Currently, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are actually doing great on both the Premier League and the Champions League, the Catalan manager is having some problems to adapt his system to the players and yet they are leaders in the domestic tournament. One of the biggest decisions Guardiola had to make was leaving historic goalkeeper Joe Hart out of the squad and bring Claudio Bravo in, there have been mixed feelings about the decision so far. Bravo doesn't want to think about the fact that he took the job from someone else, all he wants is to succeed at City.
Talking to Four Four Two's December issue, Bravo said that: “At this level you’ve got to live with pressure. If you don’t deal well with pressure, it would be impossible to play for either Barcelona or Man City, to play for your country or to win titles. You just can’t think about who might have been playing in goal before you – you just have to find a way of performing at the highest level.
“Modern football now requires a goalkeeper who can give the ball to the feet of the centre-backs, not clear it at the first sign of danger. I touch the ball with my feet about 40 times in each game – that begins the dynamic of how we want to play. We don’t have the players upfront to play long ball and nor did we at Barça, so you play to suit your style. We want the ball to go forwards in a clean way, from back to front.”
“Guardiola called me and said he believed in me, and it filled me with excitement to be part of this project. When he shows such confidence in you that he is personally requesting your signing, it’s difficult to say no. Logically, Manchester City is more attractive to players with Guardiola in charge, for the style and philosophy he brings.”
Photo credit: Claudio Bravo Muñoz