City skipper Bernardo hails Guardiola's new generation

New Straits Times

4 hours ago

ORLANDO: Manchester City's statement 5-2 hammering of Juventus in their final group stage game at the Club World Cup on Thursday left new captain Bernardo Silva purring over the new-look team's future.
After a frustrating trophyless season last term, City delivered a performance that indicated they have a real chance of battling for the title of world champions in New Jersey on July 13.
"We've always been potential winners in all competitions that we play. Obviously it's just one game, but we're happy that the performance was the way it was. It shows that we're improving, we're coming back to the levels and to the standards that we got people used to at this club," said Silva.
"That's good. That's a good sign for next season. Not only for this competition, but we want to build to the whole season, to the whole year. What happened last year was quite disappointing for all of us. We want to change, we want to be better. Today was a great performance and it shows that we can do it again," he said.
New arrivals Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki in midfield and Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back showed against Juve that they have the profiles to fit into the City mould immediately
Silva, the 30-year-old Portuguese midfielder was recently named the club's new skipper, charged with the job of integrating an exciting crop of new players into Guardiola's first team.
"It's probably one of the biggest honours of my career. I'm going to start my ninth season at the club. We went through a lot of fantastic moments and some disappointments as well. All that experience, I will try to pass it to the younger guys," he said, while insisting he was also part of a collective leadership.
"It's about each one of us being our own leader and helping the guy next to us in the dressing room. The same way that we helped the other guys, I'm counting on Ruben (Dias), on Rodri, on Erling (Haaland), on all the guys to help me. Because I will need that help to help the team achieve a lot of things and hopefully win titles," he said.
With Omar Marmoush and Savinho, who joined the team last year, having had chance to settle, there is a very fresh feel to this City side no longer with players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker.
"It's part of life. I'm going to talk about players that were so important for this club and left. Like Vincent (Kompany), like David Silva, Fernandinho, Kun Aguero, Yaya Toure. The club always finds new solutions, a new generation of players that has to keep putting this club in the right path up at the top.
"It's nice that we have new blood in the team. These guys have a lot of energy, have a lot of quality. It's up to us, the older ones to give them the right path to achieve the good things.And then for them to take our place," he said. --AFP