{"id":293023,"date":"2023-09-18T21:35:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T21:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=293023"},"modified":"2023-09-18T21:35:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T21:35:09","slug":"how-man-city-plotted-european-domination-as-they-bid-to-retain-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/how-man-city-plotted-european-domination-as-they-bid-to-retain-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"How Man City plotted European domination as they bid to retain crown"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>How Man City plotted European domination: Club chiefs held crunch talks over how to replicate their treble success on the continent and invested in youth signings while Pep Guardiola sent a warning to his stars<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Man City are eager to dominate Europe after winning the Champions League\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Club chiefs went for youth signings as they continue to strengthen the team\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Somewhere over Vienna, Manchester City\u2019s squad decided they fancied Ibiza. Spirits were high. The party in Istanbul hadn\u2019t really ended; players still in full flow rather than bleary eyed when clambering on the club\u2019s private jet.<\/p>\n<p>Officially the bash at a JW Marriott overlooking the Marmara Sea finished at around 9am the morning after the night before but Pep Guardiola\u2019s stars tagged another 48 hours on top.<\/p>\n<p>En route home, with the Champions League trophy strapped to a seat, a couple of the more senior players wondered if City wouldn\u2019t mind loaning them the Etihad Boeing 787 for a bit. Nothing major, just hopping over to the Balearics with a massive club crest on the side of an aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>Predictably, that request was politely rejected. Instead they improvised, quickly organising another plane while landing back in Manchester. Players had under an hour to nip back to their apartments before meeting at the private terminal. Fun was had by all.<\/p>\n<p>That is all gone now. Guardiola was categoric about it as City begin their defence against Red Star Belgrade in a group they ought to control. Forget about the Treble and in the grand scheme of European football, them winning last year\u2019s crown barely means anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/21\/75570533-12532449-image-a-13_1695067942743.jpg\" height=\"453\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Manchester City are insistent they can dominate Europe after winning the Champions League<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/21\/75570535-12532449-image-a-14_1695067948251.jpg\" height=\"376\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>City chiefs &#8211; including owner Sheikh Mansour (C) and Khaldoon Al-Mubarak (second right) &#8211; held talks about they can replicate their treble success on the continent\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/21\/75570831-12532449-image-a-1_1695068540256.jpg\" height=\"466\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The crunch meeting came just days after City players made an impromptu trip to Ibiza<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018For us to win it was incredible for the club,\u2019 Guardiola said. \u2018But in perspective, how many teams have won the Champions League once? A lot (10). We did nothing special. If I wanted just the memories I wouldn\u2019t be here, I\u2019d be at home or on a beach.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>That was the crux of talks in Abu Dhabi a few days after the Ibiza trip and a sodden victory parade. All the big hitters attended. Guardiola, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, sporting director Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano all sat down with Sheikh Mansour. It was made abundantly clear that the unprecedented level of domestic success can be replicated on the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Arrigo Sacchi\u2019s AC Milan of the late 1980s were mentioned. Zinedine Zidane\u2019s Real Madrid. Dettmar Cramer\u2019s Bayern Munich in the 1970s. Not many have defended this trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It goes without saying that Guardiola\u2019s Barcelona, winning two of them in three years, are used as a reference point too. \u2018People say we won it and it\u2019s done,\u2019 Guardiola said. \u2018It\u2019s not done. It\u2019s just once.\u2019 After all, Red Star won it once, in 1990.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/20\/75568185-12532449-image-a-4_1695064948866.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Pep Guardiola has warned his City stars they are at the bottom of the mountain, not the top<\/p>\n<p>By finally reaching the holy grail, City were aware that some protagonists, including captain Ilkay Gundogan, would see it the perfect opportunity to wave goodbye. Al Mubarak, keenly involved in squad planning, discussed what would be required to represent a step forward in the transfer market as opposed to standing still.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019d known for months that Jude Bellingham was heading elsewhere and invested \u00a3207million on new additions. Two of them, in Josko Gvardiol and Jeremy Doku, at the beginning of their careers \u2013 replacing 29-year-old Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez, 32. Experience left, serious promise arrived and others, like new member of the five-man leadership team Bernardo Silva, take on more responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>This is a seemingly never-ending cycle of squad redevelopment, now completed in a measured fashion. City pocketed more than \u00a3160m from player sales and additional clauses this summer, sticking to internal net spend targets. Soriano has said he is \u2018relaxed\u2019 now that City have Ol\u2019 Big Ears \u2013 which amused Guardiola when put to him yesterday \u2013 but in the boardroom, it is always about the next challenge.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/20\/75568391-12532449-image-a-7_1695065184214.jpg\" height=\"420\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Spaniard is pushing his players to improve this season after they came from behind to beat West Ham on the weekend<\/p>\n<p>And that has translated to the players. Guardiola showed his squad a picture of a mountain at the start of the season, pointing that they were now at the bottom, not the summit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Our flag will always be at the top because we have won the Premier League and Champions League but to go again is what separates the good teams from the great teams,\u2019 captain Kyle Walker said. \u2018The hunger is still definitely in the changing room and the manager still wants to win more. You can see what he is like in games and training. He doesn&#8217;t settle for second.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>City have gone again and again consistently over the years but this time requires even more focus. Guardiola had to calm them down inside the dressing room at half time of Saturday\u2019s win at West Ham United, when they went in a goal down. \u2018I asked why they were angry,\u2019 Guardiola said. \u2018We were losing but performing well. We push them but it comes from them.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have an incredible mentality in the players. Managers can make beautiful speeches that go on TikTok but it doesn\u2019t work (like that). Everyone has to find himself to become better. I\u2019m a little bit surprised that after all the years, the Treble\u2026 this shows the team is really good.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12532449\/How-Man-City-plotted-European-domination-Club-chiefs-held-crunch-talks-replicate-treble-success-continent-invested-youth-signings-Pep-Guardiola-sent-warning-stars.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Man City plotted European domination: Club chiefs held crunch talks over how to replicate their treble success on the <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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