Manchester City ‘lucky to have Pep’, insists Zabaleta

Michael Graham
Pablo Zabaleta: Believes Guardiola is one of greatest

Full-back Pablo Zabaleta believes that Man City are very lucky to have Pep Guardiola, as the Spaniard prepares for his first Manchester derby.

Former Barcelona and Bayern boss Guardiola has made an impressive start at the Etihad Stadium, securing five wins out of five and instilling flashes of swagger into his troops.

His style has come under attack from some quarters though, with former Man Utd hero Peter Schmeichel, who also had a spell on the blue side of the city, blasting him for his “boring” brand of football.

However, Zabaleta is unconcerned by such talk, insisting that Guardiola is the man to make the club dominant on all fronts.

“I think for players when you have the opportunity to work with the best managers it’s something really special,” he told the Daily Star.

“The experience will be great and I’m sure that in the next three years the club will make a step forward.

“I am absolutely sure of this because Pep Guardiola is one of the greatest managers and we are so lucky to have him at Manchester City.

“For him it’s a new experience of the Premier League, a different league, and so I think the players will need to try and help him.

“Especially those of us who have been here a long time who know the Premier League very well. We need to work as a group and try to play well.

“His style of play is maybe a bit different to what we’ve done in the past. But that is normal every time you work under a new manager with their own ideas. You have to work hard.”