Pep Guardiola has led Manchester City since 2016 (Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP)Written by Lance!• Published on 10/14/2024 – 05:15 • Lance’s Editorial Team!
The recent change in football leadership at Manchester City, which replaced the victorious Txiki Begiristain with the Portuguese Hugo Viana, may indicate that the end of the Pep Guardiola cycle is approaching. The unknown about the future of the Spanish coach promises to be one of the biggest soap operas in European football at the end of the season, and the change in the cityzen board brings the club closer to a coach considered the great replacement for the position.
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What will be the future of Manchester City?
There are eight complete seasons of a perfect marriage between Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. The current feeling regarding the future is one of doubt, and the commander himself, who is in the final year of his contract with the club, has already opened up on the subject: the possibility of the end is real.
In May of this year, before the 2024-25 season began, Guardiola gave a statement that indicated the end of the passage.
-The reality is that I am closer to leaving than staying. It’s eight years, it will be nine (in 2025). At the moment, the feeling is just that I want to stay next season
The balance is completely positive: the coach revolutionized the club’s history with the conquest of the fourth English championship and put Manchester City on the map of the Old Continent with the unprecedented conquest of the Champions League. As the coach himself stated, the end of the cycle is approaching, and Manchester City promises to be protected if the coaching position becomes vacant next summer.
Txiki Begiristain, who will retire at the end of the season and be replaced by Portuguese Hugo Viana, is a personal friend of Pep Guardiola. It was under orders from the Spanish director that City sought to hire the coach in 2016, and more than that, the connection between them dates back to the 90s, when they played together for Barcelona.
Guardiola and Begiristain celebrate Manchester City winning the Champions League (Photo: Reproduction / Uefa)
Begiristain’s departure is viewed with caution by Manchester City directors. The passing of the baton to Hugo Viana, who has been sporting director of Sporting, in Portugal, since 2018, will be little by little, after all, the reason for leaving is the manager’s retirement.
The replacement was designed strategically: Hugo Viana is very close to Rúben Amorim, promising coach of Sporting, the leading team in Portuguese football in recent seasons. It was Hugo who trusted the work of young Rúben Amorim four years ago, and is currently reaping the rewards of an organized and structured team in Portugal.
Rúben Amorim’s success has attracted attention on the Old Continent. In the last transfer window, while Liverpool and Bayern Munich were preparing to search for a new coach, the Portuguese’s name was mentioned. Without advanced conversations, he stayed at Sporting and led the team to the second title in the Liga Portugal, with 100% success in eight games.
If Pep Guardiola decides to stay, Manchester City will renew the contract with one of the biggest names in the club’s history. However, if he chooses to leave, the board is confident that a well-matched coach and director duo could be the key to continuing the success built by Pep and Txiki in recent years.
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