Topic: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Season - page 1264. (Read 141744 times)

I feel it is very clear indeed between them but Pep Guardiola could adjust that later with Kovacic as Gundongan's replacement will probably stay in the same position.

I will not doubt Kovacic's ability he will definitely maintain or improve his performance with Man City of course by performing like this then their midfield line will be stronger and I feel that after Kovacic replaced him there is no significant difference in this case, Pep Guardiola is always there a good plan in choosing the player he wants.

Me too I am very experienced in football and I have been following events and regards to clubs' spending and total balance and Manchester City have been one club that has spent minimal to average on signing players and another spending, there is no doubt that Manchester City has spent a good amount on new players before the start of the last season and that contributed to the club success but not in totality since the management put in place some other mechanism that aided the club success in last season.

Also, clubs shouldn't neglect the role players play in clubs' success since results involve accumulative efforts, and players play a big role in that efforts.

No, Kovacic doesn't have the same qualities as Ilkay Gundogan.

I know Kovacic is a good midfielder, but when you compare his stats with Gundogan it's clear Kovacic is way behind. It's just that Kovacic is younger than Gundogan who might be able to help Manchester City's midfield look good without too many problems. If Manchester City really want to maintain their good form next season, then they must be able to recruit players who are better than Kovacic.

Gundogan Germany The midfield star has already moved to Barcelona. As a result, the matter has become a cause of concern for Manchester City manager Guardiwala. Because this German midfield star played great for Manchester City in the last season but he could not stay with Manchester City in the end, the main reason being that he will not stay in Manchester City on a one-year contract. However, Guardiola must find a worthy replacement this summer transfer window. As Gundogan is captaining Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne may be captaining Manchester City in his absence.

Money is one of the things which I can say contributes to the success of a club, money spent on quality players when the transfer window is open always contribute to how the club is going to perform that season, pep have being doing well, with all the players pep Guardiola is signing, then we all see that he is getting prepared for next season, we all know that a strong player which is Gundogan already left Manchester City, so pep Guardiola needs to be very careful so that he can get a perfect replacement for him.

But sometimes a club will spend huge amount when the transfer window is open and they will end up performering poorly that season, their won’t be postitive result for the money they spend, similar thing happened to chelsea last season, so it’s not all about signing players, but a coach needs to sign experienced players that are dedicated to work for the team.

There are many powerful clubs who have never won the Champions League trophy. It is not always the case that the strongest teams will win the Champions League trophy. Especially in the knock-out stages if a little goes wrong, many big teams and smaller teams lose. Because there is usually no chance in the knockout stages, a year's pursuit is over if you make a mistake.  
Manchester City is already a good team in terms of strength but they finally managed to win the Champions League trophy in the 2022-23 season after a long pursuit. But they were favorites in the previous season as well but they were dramatically defeated by Real Madrid in the previous match due to which they had to wait another year.

I agree that Ilkay Gundogan and Mateo Kovacic are not up to par. Mateo Kovacic might be good to fill the void in Ilkay Gundogan's position, but his quality in attack is not exactly the same. You are also right, Manchester City should have bought star players who really have proven quality such as Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, Declan Rice, and several other star players, but Manchester City have not managed to get one of them.

Mateo Kovacic isn't bad, of course but Manchester City should be concerned with players they can use over the long term instead of just a few seasons. Mateo Kovacic is 29 years old, he's still going strong but he doesn't seem to be contributing to the goals and assists stats of the teams he's played for.

That's why, as I've said, Pep Guardiola is implementing his legacy at the Manchester City club. so when he left Manchester United, Pep Guardiola's philosophy was still used and implemented by his successor coaches. So far, only Arteta is almost certain to be able to continue Pep Guardiola's legacy. because they both have exactly the same characteristics. after all, Arteta was once an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola. But I'm not sure how long Arteta will stay with Arsenal and whether he is capable of becoming Pep Guadiola's successor at Manchester City.
By the way, next season City are still the favorites to defend their title in this competition. Pep Guardiola's squad is still touted as the strongest team compared to other competitors. but for sure, we cannot predict what will happen in the world of football. although, we can talk based on data and statistics. Unfortunately, football does not only refer to data and statistics. because anything can happen.

Next season, several other competitors will try to appear competitive and one of them is Madrid. Don Carlo knew that City was in its heyday. however, Madrid will not allow City to defend the Champions League title for the second time. or perhaps, the other teams. for sure, next season we will be presented with a competition that is more exciting than the previous season with many new competitors who will both fight for the trophy of this competition.

I am not going to say Kovacic is a "bad" player obviously but he is not the superstar they were looking for. People do not realize how teams are evolving these days, look at Real Madrid, they have a team that is getting much more expensive by the day and they are looking for other superstars as well. When Madrid is discussing about Jude and Mbappe, we turn around and see City getting Kovacic.

Don't get me wrong, like I said at the start, Kovacic is alright and there is nothing wrong with him, but I was looking for someone who was a bit younger (25 or less) and potentially worth 100+ Million, like maybe Musiala, that would have been the perfect deal for them. This just feels like it lacks the hype it should be creating, he is replacing the captain after all.

I'm trying to comprehend and understand what you are saying, the best team as whole or favorite team? We all do have favorite team that we always wish to win the Champions League but sometimes, plans are shattered along the road. For the best team, everyone knows from the group stage that Manchester City were among the best team last season, Inter was also a good but we're lucky to maneuver some great teams but Guardiola way of winning was exceptional that's why they are the best even before the final was played, I knew long ago that they were going to win that cup but for this season, I have to see some matches before I can have a say for the best this season.

Even if Dortmund had won the title this season, the difference would have been negligible. 11 titles for Bayern in 11 years and 10 titles for Bayern and 1 for Dortmund in 11 years - little difference in my opinion. And if we do not forget that the ratio of club budgets remains as 2 to 1 in favor of Bayern (although once upon a time they were comparable), then the illusion of competition finally disappears.

It must be accepted that a team achieves its goal of success based on the coach. No matter how bad a team is.  If the coach is skilled. So it doesn't take much time for Kochhar to turn that bad team into a complete team. As you must have seen, even if Guardiola did not win the Champions League, his style of play was very good. Things are different in the knock out phase as a few mistakes can see many strong teams eliminated in this knockout phase game at any moment. Knock out stage games are played with many responsibilities of each player

This is right but in the Champions League it is not always the best team that wins the title. Guardiola couldn't was not able to win the Champions League not because he is a bad coach or had a bad team. But in the knockout stage of the Champions League many things can happen that influence the game and make the stronger team lose as a result. I felt that Guardiola had the best team often times in that tournament, but there were some minor issues here and there that got them eliminated. The luck that Real Madrid had three years in a row was missing for Manchester City. Now it could be Manchester City who defend the title as the second team in history.

A replacement for Gundogan has indeed been found, but will Kovacic have the same contribution as Gundogan? I personally honestly can't be sure though, at least Kovacic is also playing well at Chelsea but still, I don't think that is a guarantee when playing at a different club. But yes, apart from that, I personally still believe that Pep Guardiola still has a very good ability to build a good squad. Therefore, whether or not there are new players to replace Gundogan, I personally still believe that Manchester City still has a big chance to dominate next season.

Pep Guardiola has been very enthusiastic about this beautiful and neat game since he coached Barcelona and he has applied that to Manchester City until now. It's no wonder that for many seasons Manchester City dominated the domestic league before finally last season they won the long-awaited title, namely the champions league. I

That's all thanks to the work ethic that Pep Guardiola has with his players, he is always firm and disciplined which ultimately shapes all the characters of the players in his squad. We are still curious whether in the Champions League next season Manchester City can continue its consistency or not when other teams will not remain silent and will try to win back the title from Manchester City.

Mateo Kovacic is a pretty decent replacement on par with IKay Gundogan for the same position. I am also very impressed with the tactics implemented by Pep Guardiola in terms of selecting and releasing his players to keep the team running on actual performance and I think Manchester City will still be a strong team next season in the Premier League competition and the Champions League because Manchester City is still have more great players in their current team.

City has been also getting kovacic as a replacement for him and why shall city feel worry about that? Kovacic has been winning more UCL compared with gundogan. he has been also experiencing played in the some big clubs like real madrid and chelsea and got success with both of clubs. There's no thing that must be feeling worry about that. City is also trying to find more midfielders too. Some candidates already linked to the city.
Gundogan was not only a good player in the world. Missing him will not make it difference for manchester city.

You can take a look at this and compare him with gundogan https://www.transfermarkt.com/mateo-kovacic/erfolge/spieler/51471

I agree with that. Guardiola's system works like a clockwork for Manchester City. He has built this squad to be compatible with his system. After a good planning Manchester City have become one of the strongest teams in the world. They are even shown as the biggest favourite for the Champions League title every season.

We don't even know what would happen when Guardiola leaves the team. Manchester City would need to bring a manager who can maintain a similar system for this team. Otherwise there would be a need of a huge change and who knows how good they can be after that.

So money is really not enough to achieve something unless you have a solid management.

IIkay Gundogan for a fact is world class midfielder who's prowess in the middle of the park can never be undermined. But I don't think his departure from Manchester City to Barcelona will create a significant vacuum in City's midfield.
After he left City for Barcelona, Manchester City has signed a suitable replacement for his position at the club. Mateo Kovacic will not just replace his position but also his jersey number at the club and with Pep Guardiola's rotational skills, City would've still not felt his departure even without signing Kovacic

That's why Breiðablik will get more advantage compared with buducnost as the club must be playing away against Breiðablik. Im feeling doubt if buducnost gonna win the game easily. Buducnost was also performing so well during the first preliminary match too.
Breiðablik was winning with huge scores against san marino team but i think buducnost has different level compared with tre penne which has been defeated easily by buducnost.
The match gonna happen in the same place as previous match between Breiðablik vs tre penne. It's very hard to know which team gonna win the match caused by the stats from both are pretty much equal at this moment.
buducnost has a bit better in the stat caused by it was able winning more match compared with Breiðablik in all of competitions.