At a press conference before Man City's opening match at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025TM with weak opponent Wydad, captain Pep Guardiola shared about the team's situation to prepare for the new season. In particular, the issue of who will be the captain is of great concern.
In the list of players on the payroll of The Citizens, Kyle Walker is the captain. When the English star was playing on loan at AC Milan, the person in charge was Kevin De Bruyne. Currently, De Bruyne has gone to Napoli while Walker is unlikely to return to the Etihad. Therefore, from now on, Pep and his colleagues must find a new captain.
Pep Guardiola and the coaching staff will hold an election for the club's new executive committee, including 1 captain and 4 vice captains. The vice captains will be arranged in order of priority so that when the captain is absent, the vice captains will take turns wearing the captain's armband. Kevin De Bruyne was previously the No. 4 vice-captain, but after his predecessors left the team, he was promoted to the No. 1 position, behind the captain.
After recruiting a series of new players from the winter transfer window, Pep Guardiola believes that the young generation of Man City will take charge of the club in the coming years. The Spaniard will include Erling Haaland (24 years old) in the list of pillars of Man City in the next phase.
"He's very young but he may gradually have to learn to become captain. I hope Haaland will stay here for many more years and that is why, sooner or later, he will take that position as the leader of the new generation.
When the team has experienced players like Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Rodri or Ilkay Gundogan, I think Haaland will learn more or less from these seniors.
At Man City, Haaland has received great trust, he is very important to us. When he puts things on the pitch aside, when thinking about the future of this team, he has to gradually understand the significance of the captain's armband. Haaland has to learn how to gradually become captain and think about how to be the best for the team" - Pep Guardiola shared.
Normally, spearhead strikers are rarely elected team captain. That position has a high percentage of midfield, defender or goalkeeper stars, who are said to have better coverage. However, for Pep Guardiola, this perspective may change.
"The captain's armband is sometimes very complicated but very simple. You always have to put the interests of the team and the collective first. You always have to think about what is best for the club and when you do that, you absolutely cannot make mistakes.
Bernando Silva has been a great player over the years. He always knows how to develop himself, sets an example for other players. People like Bernardo will help me guide the younger generation on the pitch in the coming time" - Pep shared.
Man City will have their opening match at the 2025 FIFA Club World CupTM against Wydad, a representative from Morocco. Pep Guardiola and his team are expected to win big.
