Not that one of the most sublimely gifted midfielders in European football has any particular need for a career change, but Ilkay Gundogan’s clear and uncomplicated way of communicating would make him the envy of most PR departments in the world.
In Old Trafford’s corridors of power, the Manchester City favourite would probably be praised for his intuitive sense over exactly where fan sentiments and narratives are tracking.
On Wednesday, City host Paris Saint-Germain and Mauricio Pochettino – the coach who MEN Sport understands has expressed a clear intention to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United.
“Unfortunately he was able to beat us in the past quite regularly and in important games,” Gundogan said of Pochettino from his time at Tottenham.
Overall, in encounters between Pep Guardiola’s City and Pochettino’s Spurs, the Blues won five, drew twice and lost twice.
Guardiola had a rude awakening when Spurs dealt him his first defeat as City boss in 2016 at a raucous White Hart Lane, but he largely had the better of the rivalry from that point.
City did go out of the Champions League on away goals in heartbreaking fashion in the 2019 quarter-finals, with a wafer-thin VAR offside call against Sergio Aguero meaning Raheem Sterling’s stoppage-time strike in a 4-3 win on the night did not count.
Pochettino’s greatest triumph over Guardiola came after a defeat would be one way of spinning that, somewhat disingenuously.
But, should United appoint the Argentinian, there will undoubtedly be talk along the lines of a man who has Pep’s number taking up residence on the other side of town.
The reality is, Tottenham were often completely outplayed at the Etihad Stadium with Pochettino in charge, while his PSG were similarly second-best across two legs of last season’s Champions League semi-final.
(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Their 2-0 victory in the reverse group fixture at the Parc des Princes came largely against the run of play, while Lionel Messi doing a Lionel Messi thing also tends to help
“You can be a top manager without titles, of course,” Guardiola said, speaking after Gundogan and replying to an enquiry about Pochettino’s sparse medal collection.
“The managers who have the chance to win titles are at top, top clubs with good investments and exceptional players. Otherwise, it’s impossible to win.”
Pochettino has coached Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria, Neymar and Messi in his past two jobs. All fairly exceptional players. At the 2018 World Cup, Tottenham had nine semi-final representatives – more than any other club.
You see, everyone can spin a yarn to send the fan sentiment graphs plummeting, which brings us to the curiosity of this week.
Why on earth has the Manchester United brains trust allowed their pursuit of Pochettino to become such boomingly common knowledge?
Just like you, we can’t get enough of Manchester City! That’s why we’ve decided to supplement our expansive City coverage on the Manchester Evening News with a more fan-oriented platform catered specifically to City fans – City Is Ours.
Writers and presenters who share your passion for the blue side of Manchester will be producing written, visual and audio content to reflect the mood in the stands as well as the press box.
Follow our team on Twitter (@DomFarrell1986 and @alex_brotherton)!
The pre-match build-up has done nothing to build confidence and harmony inside one of the most fractious dressing rooms in European football, increasing the chances of Pochettino and his band of superstars getting their clocks cleaned before a braying Etihad Stadium, where City fans will be desperate for United’s latest saviour-elect to get a good hiding.
A couple of weeks on from constructing the masterpiece at Old Trafford that left Solskjaer with nowhere to go, Guardiola could make life embarrassing for Manchester United once again.
He has a handy knack for that, much like those in charge at United have a habit of scoring the kind of PR own-goals they pay people handsomely to avoid.
Do you think City will beat PSG? Follow our City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
