Josko Gvardiol: “My idol was Messi. When you are a defender for 10-15 years you get sick of it!”
Perhaps not the words you’d expect to hear from a man regarded as one of the best defenders in world football, but a smiling Gvardiol certainly has the goal-scoring highlight reel to back-up his burning ambition to attack.
Signed by Manchester City as a central defender, he has now spent 18 months as a marauding left wing-back, and with two goals in his last three Premier League games, he’s clearly got a knack for it.
“To be fair I didn’t expect that from me. All I wanted before I joined City was to be a solid defender next to Ruben [Dias], John [Stones], Manu [Akanji] and [Nathan] Ake, no matter who you play with, and then the manager decided to turn me into a number 10, a left winger!”
Gvardiol’s most recent goal against Wolves would certainly have been one to make Lionel Messi proud. The defender received the ball on the edge of the box, opened his body and struck a dipping effort with his wrong foot from 20 yards that nestled in the top corner. It’s clearly part of the game he enjoys, even if he recognises his real value lies at the other end of the pitch.
“When I was younger, I used to play everywhere on the pitch, even a striker, winger, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder. I feel comfortable no matter where I play, and I find myself many times in this left pocket because the manager wants me to be there.
“What do you think that I don’t want to take the ball and dribble, drive and shoot? Score a great goal? Of course, but our job is to defend the goal firstly, and then to make a build-up. If the manager wants you to go a bit higher then you can do it as I do, but I need to know that… when we finish the action I need to run back, because my responsibility is for the opposite right-winger so I need to take care of him as well.”
In recent weeks, Pep Guardiola has preached the need for patience, both privately to his players inside the dressing room and also publicly to us in the media. His City side have had theirs tested to almost-breaking point by a series of teams coming to defend against them with a low block.
Russell Martin’s devotion to a possession-based style suggests things might be different when Southampton visit the Etihad this weekend but, regardless of how the opposition set up, Gvardiol echoes the words of his manager – that patience will be key.
“It is an important thing in our season. Playing against a team that is defending with 11 in the box, it is not easy and you can’t find any space. All you can do is just pass the ball to the winger and try to go 1v1 and suddenly the other defender comes and it’s not even 1v1, it’s two or three against one, so all you can do is just cross the ball, be there for the second ball, and obviously take a responsibility and shoot.”
City know a win against Southampton will put them on top of the table, as they play before current leaders Liverpool go to Arsenal on Super Sunday.
Those two teams have been City’s closest challengers in an era that has seen the bar raised higher than it ever has been. No team had ever won four English league titles in a row, let alone the fifth consecutive crown City are chasing. The rivalry at the top of the table has pushed City to heights never before seen, however, Gvardiol puts results firmly above style.
“To be fair I would like to be 15/20 points away from them (he says with a huge smile) but it’s not going to happen, we all know that. That’s why this is the best league in the world and the most interesting league.
“Whoever you play against it’s not easy, even the Wolves game some people would say that we struggled, there is no other solution, we can’t score a goal, we can’t do this or that… but everyone plays football and everyone has quality.
“This is the Premier League and winning 2-1, all you need is three points. I don’t care about winning 5-0, 6-0 7-0, all I need is three points and that’s the thing.”