Man City will do something that's never been done before - even Pep Guardiola doesn't know what will happen

Pep Guardiola got it close erstwhile asked astir the Club World Cup successful Orlando and its imaginable effect connected Manchester City arsenic the home play gets underway adjacent season.

"I effort not to deliberation astir it, different I volition beryllium truthful anxious," helium said. That's astir apt the champion way, due to the fact that it's astir intolerable to program for. City volition person done their best. Their sports subject and aesculapian teams volition person each the information astatine their fingertips, but we are successful uncharted territory here.

This is the archetypal 32-team Club World Cup to beryllium held successful the summer. When these players are usually resting, they are alternatively grooming and playing successful aggravated vigor successful the United States. Yes, determination is simply a World Cup and a European Championship each mates of years, but that doesn't impact the full squad, and adjacent those who bash play get knocked retired astatine antithetic times.

This year, the full City squad could beryllium successful enactment until mid-July. The prize astatine the extremity volition beryllium worthy it, some connected the transportation and disconnected it, but the interaction it volition person connected the players is wholly unknown.

Guardiola has suggested helium volition past springiness his squad clip off, earlier they regather backmost successful Manchester for the commencement of the Premier League season, which begins for the Blues connected Saturday, August 16.

"After the competition, we volition remainder the clip the Premier League allowed america to rest," Guardiola said earlier Monday's last-16 necktie with Al Hilal.

"And past crippled by game, period by month, we volition see. And possibly successful November, December, January… we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The World Cup destroyed us. I don't know, but it's the archetypal clip successful our beingness that that's happened.

"It's not an perfect concern for the manager. Would I emotion to person 2 months to hole for adjacent season? Yes. Would I emotion to beryllium refreshed for adjacent season? Yes. But it is what it is. And we merit what we person done successful the past to beryllium here. Once we are here, let's bash our champion possible."

Guardiola has consistently talked astir however overmuch helium wants to triumph this competition, arsenic helium did erstwhile City won it successful Saudi Arabia successful December 2023. Then, it was conscionable 2 games, and the interruption from the grind of wintertime allowed for a reset and began a tally of signifier that ended with a 4th successive Premier League title.

This time, the positives and negatives are acold harder to quantify. The clip unneurotic successful the US is allowing caller signings to gel, caller dynamics to travel together, and caller leaders to emerge. It is besides a accidental to enactment down them the disappointment of past season.

But the large chartless is what benignant of effect this is going to person travel August - oregon travel the winter, for that matter. Will City beryllium flying astatine the commencement of the play due to the fact that portion their rivals tune up successful the aboriginal weeks, they are inactive crisp from this tournament? Or volition it instrumentality them longer to find their feet again aft a fewer weeks off?

Then, the question is however agelong they tin support their levels erstwhile the play begins. As Guardiola said successful his property league earlier facing Al Hilal, the dropoff could get successful the wintertime months, erstwhile the docket is astatine its astir demanding.

The existent situation for the Catalan and his squad of fittingness experts is that this has ne'er been done before. They are successful an unfamiliar presumption with nary erstwhile information to analyse and nary examples, bully oregon bad, from which to gully trends.

Every European broadside successful the Club World Cup volition effort to find an attack that works for them. Only arsenic adjacent play progresses volition we cognize if they person chosen the close path, and that fearfulness of the chartless is wherefore Guardiola is putting it to the backmost of his mind.

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