admin Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool exit bombshell reminds us that nothing is forever. One day, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City reign shall also end once he grows sufficiently weary of winning all those trophies all the time.
Who knows, ennui may take him sooner than expected now he’s robbed of the prospect of further tussles with the man he calls his greatest rival.
Gᴜаrdіolа һаѕ ѕаіd һe wіll ѕtіll Ьe аt cіtу next ѕeаѕon, Ьᴜt һe’ѕ а Ьіt мore ʋаgᴜe Ьeуond tһаt аnd іt іѕ tһe lаѕt уeаr of һіѕ cᴜrrent deаl. Reаllу lookѕ lіke һe міgһt Ьe аroᴜnd onlу one мore уeаr.
Ьᴜt wһetһer іt’ѕ now, іn а уeаr or fᴜrtһer down tһe lіne, аt ѕoмe рoіnt іn tһe fᴜtᴜre маncһeѕter cіtу wіll fіnd tһeмѕelʋeѕ once аgаіn lookіng for а new маnаger. Wһo’ѕ tһаt goіng to Ьe, tһen? аccordіng to tһe lаteѕt аʋаіlаЬle oddѕ, cһаnceѕ аre іt’ѕ one of tһeѕe lаdѕ.
10) Marco Rose
The RB Leipzig manager has a contract until 2025, signed last summer while reaffirming his commitment to the club and the area. Which does all hint at the timing being spot on even if nothing else feels quite right about a Klopp disciple taking the City reins.
9) Kieran McKenna
McKenna’s time is surely this summer when everything is ludicrous, not next summer when he’s either led Ipswich to blameless but inevitable relegation or is either ensconced at or recently sacked by Manchester United. Hard to see how any of these scenarios equal ‘Pep Guardiola’s replacement at Manchester City’.
8) Luis Enrique
Can’t really see how being manager of Paris St-Germain could be any preparation for being manager of Manchester City. Just entirely different jobs.
7) Julian Nagelsmann
Sh*tting the bed when you finally get the chance at a genuine superclub is not a great way to go about getting another shot so quickly. Currently attempting to restore and repair his reputation in international football which is no easy task. There are some promising signs, though. City manager one day? Yeah, we could see that. But Guardiola’s successor? Not so much. Feels like it’s going to need some kind of success elsewhere first – would winning the Euros with Germany be enough?
6) Zinedine Zidane
Still seems outlandish but the idea of Real Madrid specialist Zinedine Zidane rocking up in the Barclays at Manchester City feels vaguely less implausible than him turning up anywhere else in England. Certainly less daft than the idea of him putting himself through the Old Trafford wringer.
Would certainly fit City’s idea of themselves, while City now have the Guardiola-reinforced status that might appeal to the great man. And let’s not pretend that the idea of Real Madrid’s most successful player-turned-manager replacing Barcelona’s in the City hotseat wouldn’t be dripping in delicious narrative.
Still, though. Always feels like Zidane’s prominence in all these lists is a product of collective wishful thinking more than anything else.
5) Michel
Such is the nature of the modern game that Knows The Football Club can now also be Knows The Football Group. Michel had Girona on one of the least likely title bids ever seen in La Liga and ‘fading to third behind Real Madrid and Barcelona’ still represents astonishing over-achievement. Him being promoted from within the group rather than the more traditional boot-room promotion from within thus cannot be ruled out if this season turns out to be more than the flashiest of flashes in the pan.
4) Ruben Amorim
Very strongly linked with Spurs pre-Ange, Liverpool post-Klopp and still there or thereabouts in the Chelsea and Man United reckoning. If he ends up doing another year at Sporting before rocking up at Manchester City it will have been an expertly played long game, you have to say. Does seem the right kind of chap for the undoubtedly difficult task of replacing Pep.
3) Xabi Alonso
This would be quite something, but here is a manager who almost certainly will end up at one of the giant clubs he represented as a player. The beauty of being a highly-rated young manager who played for Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid is that you’re going to have plenty of options.
Has confirmed he is spending another year at Bayer Leverkusen after this year’s unbeaten (domestically at least) antics, and that does raise the possibility of his timing being better with regard to City than any of the great clubs on his CV. It’s also a risk; there has to be a very decent chance this summer marks the very high point of his reputation and standing, and two of his three ideal jobs were both available.
2) Vincent Kompany
He’s the Knows The Club appointment, the Spoke Well, I Thought appointment, but he’s going to have to show a lot more Barclays smarts than we’ve seen thus far to confirm there’s more than City DNA in the appointment. Just nothing about City’s success over recent years to suggest the level of sentimentality that such an appointment would require after Kompany took Burnley straight back to the Championship so very meekly as part of the worst group of promoted clubs we’ve ever seen.
Fascinating in many ways that being named Bayern Munich manager hasn’t really altered his chances here all that much. It’s very much swings and roundabouts, isn’t it? On the plus side, he would now come to City with big-club experience, but at the same time if he’s available in a year’s time then how well have things gone in Germany? Then again, a year is now about the standard length of service for any Bayern manager so maybe it all means absolutely nothing.
And that’s why he’s still second favourite.
1) Roberto De Zerbi
All went a bit wrong at Brighton in the end, didn’t it. Currently being strongly linked with the available-right-now Chelsea job, which is mad enough for a manager with no discernible big-club experience on the back of a season that has to go down as a failure, but replacing the best manager in the world at the best team in the world would appear to be an even bigger stretch.
Might be brilliant, but it’s a big ‘Hmm, not sure’ from us. A very flaky favourite at the very, very least.
