The former Manchester United midfielder has labelled Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola the ‘Special One’ after the Spaniard’s impressive start at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola’s appointment in the summer as Manchester City manager has brought about a change in fortunes for the Citizens. In contrast to the ill-disciplined and inconsistent side of last season, this year City look sharp and positive.
In the Spaniard’s first Champions League game in charge, Man City ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over a strong Borussia Monchengladbach side. Both teams had an extra day to prepare for the game as it was postponed by 24 hours due to adverse weather conditions.
However, it did not seem to affect the mindset of the City players. Sergio Aguero once again was the star of the show as he scored an impressive hat-trick in front of his home fans. After the match, Guardiola drew praise from an Old Trafford great Roy Keane.
The former Ireland international lauded the City boss for doing a fantastic job with his new employers and also labelled him as the ‘Special One’ — a title which Jose Mourinho vested upon himself. “Mourinho reckons he’s the special one, to me this guy (Guardiola) is,” Keane said on ITV Sport (h/t Daily Mail).
Joe Hart and Yaya Toure have been a pivotal part of the City setup for the last few seasons, but were deemed surplus to requirements by Guardiola, who chose to bring in replacements. Joe Hart was loaned out to Torino and Claudio Bravo was signed from Barcelona.
Toure, on the other hand, is still a part of the City side, but has not played a single minute of football since the start of the season. German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was signed from Borussia Dortmund as a replacement for the Ivorian, and made his debut in Wednesday’s win against Monchengladbach.
“I think what was important when he [Guardiola] first went in there, the decision to get rid of two or three really important characters from Man City – Hart, Toure – he made the decision, ‘you’re not for me’,” continued Keane.
“He says he’s a challenging coach and he doesn’t look like he’s messing about. They’re playing with a lot of confidence, he’s rotating the squad, the players are playing with a lot of confidence after a decent start. I wouldn’t like to mess with him.”
City’s next game is against Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side who are looking for their first win of the season. Despite Aguero being suspended for another two games, Guardiola’s men will be overwhelming favourites against the Cherries this weekend.
