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I helped start the Man City project and still watch the 2007/08 DVD – I really regret leaving and my Mom really mess me up😭😭

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2 months ago

May 12, 2024

I helped start the Man City project and still watch the 2007/08 DVD – I really regret leaving and my Mom really mess me up😭😭

Elano only spent two seasons at Manchester City but he earnt the affection of supporters

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Elano lines up with his City teammates
Elano lines up with his City teammates (Image: 2008 Getty Images)
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The very moment Elano Blumer’s right leg swung forward, boot cutting across the iconic Nike Total 90 ball placed 25 yards from goal, everyone inside the City of Manchester Stadium knew what the outcome was going to be.

It takes something special to change the mindset of a long-suffering fanbase, one that has come to accept its fate of turgid football, inevitable let-downs and lower-table malaise. Nothing exciting happened at Manchester City, particularly in 2007.

The 2006/07 season was a case of same-old for City. The optimism and positivity that slowly built throughout the previous year of Stuart Pearce’s management evaporated, as did any suggestion that City could score a goal. The Blues scored just 10 at home all season, 29 in all. It felt like the words ‘City’ and ‘entertainment’ didn’t belong in the same language, never mind the same sentence.

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The summer of 2007 brought chaos and change in equal measure. The former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, saved City from the very real threat of bankruptcy when he bought the club, and he didn’t waste any time in injecting much-needed funds into his project.

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Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was convinced to join by the promise of investment in the playing squad, and that’s exactly what he got. The eight new players who came in were, in truth, pretty hit-and-miss, but one still manages to hold a place in City hearts despite only staying in Manchester for two years.

City were not in the business of signing Brazilian midfielders, but when they decided that they were, they did it well. Two weeks after the Blues announced the signing of Geovanni – ultimately a failed signing even if he did score the winner in his one and only Manchester derby appearance – Elano arrived.

Aside from players of Football Manager, few had heard of the midfielder before City paid Shakhtar Donetsk £8million for his services. The Brazilian did put on something of an audition a year earlier when he starred in Brazil’s 3-0 defeat of Argentina at Wembley, but it wasn’t like clubs were scrabbling around for his signature.

“Around that time there was some speculation from other clubs, but the only bid came from Man City and from that moment I was always set on joining the club,” Elano later said.

“It was an exciting time to come and sign for the club because I knew I was joining something special and I was confident I could help the club grow. I took great pride in bringing back some happiness for Manchester City fans.”

He certainly did that. An assist on his Premier League debut got things off to a good start, a surging run forward and an accurate cross to set up Rolando Bianchi in a 2-0 win at West Ham. Four more assists followed in the next six games and Elano and City were flying.

A team assembled in barely a month were fifth in the table by the time matchday eight came around, something unthinkable just a few weeks earlier. Newcastle United – a team City tended to struggle against – were up next, and it was in the 87th minute of the match that Elano scored his first City goal.

City were leading 2-1 when they were awarded a free-kick 25 yards from goal. With only minutes left the sensible thing to do would have been to keep the ball, but Elano – stood nonchalantly with hands on hips – had other ideas. He wanted to entertain, and so he cracked the ball with such power, dip and accuracy that Shay Given in the Newcastle goal didn’t stand a chance.

It was an incredible strike, one that while not that significant in the wider scheme of things, ensured he quickly became a fans’ favourite at Eastlands.

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“It was a very special moment and I was at the top of my form,” Elano recalled in an interview with CityTV in 2016. “Sometimes even now I replay it and watch it through on a DVD of that season. I play it because I miss it. It was really good to live in Manchester and play for City.”

That season Elano fitted in seamlessly as City enjoyed one of their best seasons in a long time, doing the double over Manchester United and qualifying for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Fair Play rankings. The on-field understanding he developed with the likes of Michael Johnson and Martin Petrov helped him to contribute eight goals and eight assists in 34 league outings, but Elano claimed that the role manager Eriksson played was most important.

“He was the most important person for me in English football – someone who allowed me to play with freedom. Above all else, he was a gentleman,” Elano said.

The way in which Eriksson described his midfielder during an interview back in 2007/08 showed the affection was mutual.

“He sees things very quickly. Sometimes you wonder if he has eyes in the back of his head. It’s the one gift that some footballers have and some will never have no matter how much they train,” Eriksson said.

Unfortunately for Elano he would only work with the Swede for one season. Shinawatra and the manager did not see eye-to-eye on how the club should try to grow, the former demanding instant success. Shortly after the infamous 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season, Eriksson was sacked despite protests from players and fans, and before long Shinawatra was gone too.

Investigations by Thai authorities into alleged corruption resulted in the freezing of his assets, meaning that City had no funds. On September 1, Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of the club, and later on transfer deadline day, the Blues completed the signing of Robinho for a then-British record transfer fee.

Robinho was a good friend of Elano’s and improved City that year, but there’s no denying that his arrival diminished the importance of Elano’s role in the team. His minutes reduced and his form became inconsistent, and as the campaign neared its conclusion it became clear that he would be deemed surplus to requirements.

In 2009 Elano was sold to Turkish giants Galatasaray, 18 months before returning to Santos in Brazil. Players that don’t live up to their potential don’t usually leave a good impression at a club, but with Elano that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I sensed the fans loved me, but do you know why? Because I wasn’t a private player,” he told FourFourTwo. “I walked in the streets, went shopping and spent spare time in cafes. I felt like one of them and really liked living there.

“I remember going for a meal with Geovanni after beating Manchester United, and being greeted with a song by fans in the restaurant! That’s the sort of thing I miss the most about living in England.”

His eldest daughter studied in Manchester while his other daughter – Clara – was born at St Mary’s Hospital just south of the city centre. To this day the Brazilian has friends in the city. Manchester clearly holds a special place in his heart, but it works the other way too.

“I regret leaving City… we started this current project. We showed how City were big and had incredible potential,” he said. However, more important than how Elano helped to change City’s image was how he helped City fans; he reminded them how to enjoy football.

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‘I Played for Klopp and Guardiola – Pep Couldn’t Combine Tactics and Empathy’
BY
MAX BRADFIELD
PUBLISHED 8 HOURS AGO
Part of a select few that have had the joy of playing under both Klopp and Pep, Mario Gotze reveals the difference between the two modern greats.

Jurgen Klopp looking happy/warm – Pep Guardiola looking sad/cold
HIGHLIGHTS
Mario Gotze reveals the difference between playing for Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
The Germany played for each coach at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Guardiola’s tactical focus lacks empathy in the eyes of Gotze, especially when contrasted with Klopp’s holistic approach to managing players’ emotional needs.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s managerial duels since their respective arrivals from the Bundesliga in 2015 and ’16 have been some of the most entertaining of the modern Premier League era. While Pep is the ponderous, complicated mastermind behind positional dexterity and an almost robotic Manchester City success, Klopp’s wily tactical nous hides behind an often jovial facade, as his mind constantly attempts to figure out how his Liverpool side can beat his well-funded Catalonian counterpart.

Unlike the heated exchanges between Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger of yesteryear, these two modern coaches have a mutual respect which is far better publicised. There’s this idea of supreme betterment, with each driving the other to extreme lengths to improve – with every trophy-grade weapon at their disposal.

However, similarly to modern football’s numerous other binary debates that try and dispatch the superlative, and regardless of the uneven split of the 51 major honours between them, everyone has a preferred style and personality. This is true for the select few players that have worked under both. Speaking with DAZN Germany, Mario Gotze reflected he didn’t necessarily correlate with Guardiola:

“Pep Guardiola was technically one of the best coaches, [playing under him was a] tremendous enrichment. But I had the feeling that he thinks only on the pitch and leaves out the people and the outside. The empathy was not that big. It was not easy for me, just because I came from Kloppo, who was like a footballing father. Pep was the complete difference. A world-class coach needs empathy, every athlete is also human and you should combine both [tactics and empathy].”

Mario Gotze

Stats

Under Klopp

Under Guardiola

Games

116

114

Goals

Assists

Minutes

8,145

7,479

Gotze on Guardiola
“(Pep) doesn’t think about players outside of his plan.”
Mario Gotze – Bayern Munich
Gotze, who joined Guardiola’s Bayern side in 2013 after impressing at Klopp’s Dortmund, was initially keen to play for the Spanish strategist. The €37m (£31.8m) bid from the Bavarians triggered a release clause in his contract, prising him away to become the second-most expensive German player at the time, behind Mesut Ozil.

The midfield dynamo scored 36 goals and provided 24 assists in 114 appearances. However, despite also achieving three league titles, two DFB-Pokal trophies, and a winners’ medal in each of the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup – Gotze’s three seasons at the Allianz were ultimately tarnished. Injuries, criticism surrounding his effort, and feeling out of place signalled the end as “Super Mario” returned to BVB in 2016 having only started 59 of a possible 102 Bundesliga matches.

Highlighting the strains of playing under Guardiola, Gotze explained: “Technically, [Guardiola] was a tremendous asset,” he said. “But he is very focused on the game and doesn’t think about players outside of his plan. He didn’t have much empathy, and empathy is part of being a world-class coach.”

With issues such as that, it’s no surprise then that he is one of many players to flop after leaving Klopp. In 2020, his comments were expanded upon further, as he spoke of Arjen Robben’s support through tough times. “Guardiola just put you literally everywhere in the games. Arjen Robben knows what I’m talking about. In hindsight, I should have stayed longer with Klopp, but it was certainly not a mistake to go to Bayern,” he added, before saying of the Liverpool manager: “I see him as one of the most important people in my life. There is a relationship of trust between us.”

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“One of the most important people in my life”
MixCollage-09-May-2024-06-04-PM-6052
As quoted above, Gotze clearly still values his old manager as one of the most influential figures in his football career. Why wouldn’t he? The Dortmund academy graduate burst onto the scene under Klopp in 2010, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 11/12. The latter of which brought the double of league and DFB Cup, both at Bayern’s expense.

It’s no surprise that a preemptive Klopp in 2010 jokingly thanked Mario’s father for moving from the Allgau region to work in Dortmund when Mario was just five, as his son eventually came through the academy to score 45 goals in 219 games across his two spells with the Black and Yellow.

However, Gotze has made sure that his old manager is the one to receive the plaudits – as is already clear: “I’m still in touch with Jürgen,” he told DAZN in 2018. “Of course, he taught me everything about professional football. At that time, I was just 17 and coming up from the youth team. He introduced me to everything. He let me play.”

When thinking back to the failed Liverpool move of 2016, the midfielder provided more about his mentor and a fitting spot to conclude, as although things didn’t work with Guardiola – he knows that he and the Spaniard have closure:

“Klopp probably made the biggest impact on my career. He can be very demanding – he can be your friend but also very harsh at the same time. It pushes you to great performances. That’s what happened with me back then, and it’s happened with Liverpool now. (…) He’s a good coach, for sure. He and Pep Guardiola are the most important coaches and characters I had in my career.”

Stats via Transfermarkt.

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Max Bradfield
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Pep Guardiola ‘expected’ to leave Man City – sources

Pep Guardiola is “expected to depart” Manchester City when his contract ends in 2025, sources have told Football Insider.

Guardiola signed a one-year extension on his current deal in November 2023, ensuring he will remain with the Citizens for another year.

Football Insider revealed on 8 May the Spaniard will not be returning to his former club Bayern Munich this summer after he’s been linked with replacing the outgoing Thomas Tuchel.

The Premier League champions are desperate to prolong his stay at the Etihad, but it is believed they are aware the final decision will lie with Guardiola.

All the signals are now pointing towards the 53-year-old having

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I helped start the Man City project and still watch the 2007/08 DVD – I really regret leaving and my Mom really mess me up😭😭

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I helped start the Man City project and still watch the 2007/08 DVD – I really regret leaving and my Mom really mess me up😭😭

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I helped start the Man City project and still watch the 2007/08 DVD – I really regret leaving and my Mom really mess me up😭😭

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