Leader born: Ruben Diaz leads City to the championship

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Pep Guardiola knew disappointments and difficult moments in his career, but never got a top five as a manager. Until the season. This sense of humiliation came for the first time in his career on 27 September 2020, when Leicester abused Manchester City on their way to a spectacular 2-5 win at the United Stadium. Citizens historians had to scroll 20 years back on the results sites to recall the last time such a thing happened to the Blues in a home game.

City’s defense collapsed like a tower of cards one after another and failed to cope with the speed of Leicester’s attacking players, led by Jamie Vardy, who finished with a hat-trick. Although it was only two league games at the time, the warning bells had already been rung throughout Manchester. A month earlier, Manchester City had fallen in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 3: 1 loss to Lyon. Criticism began to be heard loudly: Pep is a great attacking coach, but when it comes to the defensive game, things need to be improved.

And now only two days have passed since the disgrace against the foxes and Ruben Diaz landed in Etihad. The acquisition from Benfica cost Guardiola £ 64 million – the highest amount he has ever paid for a defensive player – to try and change her fate. And it’s not that City “saved” on defenders and brakes before. About 400 million pounds have been paid by Abu Dhabi people for defensive players in the last four years. The joke is that whole armies around the world do not spend such sums on their defense system, but City continue to try, until someday they will also hit.


Pep was looking for a right-back who would complete the puzzle in the center of defense and be a replacement for Vincent Company who left very big shoes with his departure as English champion in the summer of 2019. City fantasized at all about Calido Coulibaly from Naples, but he was too expensive for her (funny no?). The English runner-up then submitted offers to Atletico Madrid for Jose Maria Jimenez and Sevilla for the talented Jules Conde. The Spaniards said in a loud voice: “No.” Diaz, it turns out, was the fourth option in general. Benfica did not have to be asked, just pay the release clause and so it was.

Diaz joined City at the age of 23 with a three-year resume and a championship in Benfica and a League of Nations win with Portugal. The guy from Amdora was marked at a young age with rising talent, and even starred in the Youth Champions League when he arrived with the Portuguese for the final game in 2017. Expectations from the new acquisition were of course high, given the amount paid for it, but it is doubtful if anyone thought he would be able to change City’s defensive game so dramatically.

Most often, youth coaches identify defensive talent by tactical ability and decision-making ability. In the case of Diaz it was a little different. Rodrigo of Galilee, Who coached him in his youth, told GOAL: “The most natural thing about Dias is leadership ability. From an early age, most of them were very charismatic. He is a captain who talks to everyone and takes responsibility for other players. That’s an amazing thing. “

And see what magic. In just four months since his arrival, Diaz has managed to record 19 Premier League games, in which his team has conceded just 7 goals and maintained a clean sheet in 13 games. Together with John Stones, the two brakes became City’s defensive stronghold with 12 clean sheets in 13 joint games. In fact, only the two have failed just once to defend Ederson’s goal in extra time against Chelsea (3-1) deep in Garbage Time.

Diaz is not the only reason City have come back in a big way and stand out as the number one candidate for the English Championship. Of the five defensive players snatched on the head against Leicester, only Kyle Walker and Ederson left the car players. Joao Cansello, in his second season, got the keys mostly on the left wing and gives a simply superb season. Diaz and Stones, who returned from the frost after a season of injuries and prolonged sitting in the stands, regularly staff the center of defense. So much so that the status of the two is solid that Americ Laport, Pep’s alleged senior stopper, remains a bench player.

Maybe before “talent” and “leadership ability” the entry “hard work” will appear on Dias’ Wikipedia page that stays healthy for over three years (tap, tap) in a row. “He’s a guy who can play every three days,” he said Guardiola“His recovery ability is very fast. He understands the game and his qualities are high. Always focused and does not make mistakes. Most always want to learn and know how to keep his body and head. The day after a game he arrives at the gym at 8:30 in the morning and continues with his routine, “I eat what I need and live 24 hours like a pro. It surprised me a little.”

With all due respect to Kevin de Bruyne’s dedication, Ilkai Gondogan’s goals and Rahim Sterling’s flickers, Manchester City have in recent months become a team that collects their victories through defense and Diaz has a huge impact on City being the best defensive team in the league after collecting just 13 balls from the net In 21 games. “If you ask me, then the company has no substitute. But the most important thing is when you buy a player and get the feeling from him that he will be here for many years and give you more great moments. Ruben Diaz is like that,” Guardiola said of his new defense minister.

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