Manchester City: No Yaya apology? No problem, as Pep readies for Spurs
Pep Guardiola confirms that he’s received no apology from Dimitri Seluk, the agent of Manchester City outcast Yaya Toure. That’s fine because a reunion with Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur looms on the horizon for both Pep and City.
With all the commotion about a thrilling 3-3 draw against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League and a top of the table showdown this weekend against Tottenham Hotspur, it’s perhaps forgivable to forget about an ugly divorce is underway at Manchester City.
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Boss Pep Guardiola told the press he’s still waiting for Dimitri Seluk, Yaya Toure‘s agent, to make amends for chastising Guardiola’s decision to drop his client off the UCL group stage roster. Previoulsy, Guardiola announced Toure would have no chance to play unless Seluk says he’s sorry.
“He’s [Yaya Toure] training everyday with us and training good,” Guardiola said to journalists Friday, “but I am not talking anymore about that case. You know my opinion about that.”
That’s right, Pep — the situation with Toure is right now a distraction. Best to treat it nonchalantly and with that trademark pullover sweater class. Be the bigger man. No apology ever was going to be forthcoming from the cowardly Seluk.
Besides, that mess can stew; City has more worrisome chickens to fry. And this fowl species possesses wicked talons, is perched atop a ball and presides over White Hart Lane.
Spurs, under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino, are a legitimate threat. Guardiola seemingly knows it, unloading a flurry of candied comments about City’s opposition and his opposite number being “one of the best managers in the world“:
"If I had not been a coach, I would be just a fan, I would be a young coach who want to become a coach, and I see Tottenham and I would say I would like to play that way. That is all I can say. I like how they play.Against Manchester City last year when I saw it a few minutes against Manchester City played in White Hart Lane and they did the same what they are doing this year. And when I see it, I like. They are making the same as we do?I don’t know because I didn’t speak with Mauricio and that is why at the end it depends on the quality of the players. But there are some similarities about Espanyol when he arrived.The first game, arrived there in the first game it was so aggressive there was high pressing and many things and still the way they played is quite similar [to Spurs]. And the quality of the players at Tottenham is good."
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As painful as it is to admit, Spurs, as Guardiola acknowledges, got the better of City last season. Perhaps that’s a bit inaccurate too — a 6-2, plus-four on aggregate goal differential through two meetings is a shellacking.
Not to mention, Guardiola’s admiration for the Spurs’ boss might stem from the 2-1 upset of La Liga-dominating Barcelona by a relegation-fighting Espanyol in 2009 that was orchestrated by a fledgling Pochettino. After all, it was Pochettino’s first win ever as a manager and Guardiola’s first loss in charge of the Barca juggernaut. So, It’s no surprise to see Pep gush about his Argentine rival’s footballing genius.
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Indeed, since taking over at the north London club two years ago after success at Southampton, Pochettino has shown there is life after Luka Modric and Gareth Bale, and that it’s grand. Despite a late season collapse chasing Leicester City, Spurs took third on the table, the club’s best ever finish in the Premier League. This year’s squad didn’t lose any of its core players and, if anything, got even deeper with the additions of Vincent Janssen, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Sissoko.
This depth, of course, will be tried Sunday against City, as Spurs will be without star forward Harry Kane due to injury. There’s also questions for Pochettino about the fitness of his left back Danny Rose and trio of midfield pit bulls, Eric Dier, Moussa Dembele and Sissoko. Guardiola’s men too must play without the services of the illustrious Kevin De Bruyne.
Nevertheless, Sunday’s fixture will be a clash of unbeaten first and second place teams — the seemingly indomitable City against a stout Spurs side with no glaring weaknesses.
So it’s the height of wisdom from Guardiola, leading by example, to move on from the ordeal with Toure and his fool of an agent.
For tomorrow, Pochettino and Spurs — rivals who don’t suffer fools — await on the pitch.