“To be honest, I didn’t expect this from myself. All I wanted before joining City was to be a solid defender alongside Ruben (Dias, ed.), John (Stones, ed.), Manu (Akanji, ed.) and Ake, regardless of who played with me, and then the coach he decided to transform me into a number 10, a left wing!”. Word of Josko Gvardiolcentral defender of Manchester City who is now ranging in the stars of the field imagined by the mind of his coach, Pep Guardiola, scoring two masterpiece goals in the current Premier League season.
Signed by the English club 18 months ago now, the 22-year-old Croatian is continuing to impress with the beauty of the goals he has scored as an added striker. The latest, in recent times, against Wolverhampton: ball close to the edge and a right-footed shot from 20 meters into the top corner. Learnable for anyone, but there is an explanation for this shooting ability of Gvardiol and he explains it in the interview with Sky Sports UK.
“When you’re a defender for 10-15 years you get bored. When I was younger, I played everywhere on the pitch, including as a striker, winger, central midfielder, attacking midfielder. I feel comfortable in any position, and I often find myself on the left wing it’s because the coach wants me to be there”, explained the former Dinamo Zagreb player.
Commenting on the theme of an extra man in attack: “It’s an important thing for our season. Playing against a team that defends with 11 men in the box is not easy and you can’t find space. All you can do is pass the ball to the winger and try to make the 1v1, but suddenly the other defender comes and it’s not even 1v1, but two or three against one, so all you can do is cross the ball, be there for the second ball, and obviously take responsibility and Pull”.