by Peter Doherty (AGAIG) » Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:52 am
Seems as likely a place to post as any:
Man City chief Begiristain risks coaching rift with Mancini as his influence grows
By JOE BERNSTEIN
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 23 March 2013 | UPDATED: 22:30, 23 March 2013
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Manchester City’s youth coaches are having to write detailed Ofsted-style reports on every training session below first-team level as technical director Txiki Begiristain strengthens his grip on the club.
With the future of manager Roberto Mancini undecided, former Barcelona executive Begiristain, 48, is increasing his powerbase regardless of who is in charge of the first team next season.
City’s coaches, many of whom were appointed by Mancini, have been told to produce plans for each practice so Begiristain can check it for content and value. He wants every City side from Under-15s to the development team, who play in the Under-21 Premier League, to share a common style based on Barcelona’s tiki-taka game.
It has led to some tension among staff at the club’s Carrington training ground, who feel torn between loyalty to Mancini and having to satisfy Begiristain.
The over-riding priority of Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano is to recruit the best young teenage players in the world, both having worked at Barcelona when a young Lionel Messi emerged through the ranks of their famous finishing school, La Masia.
City have themselves invested £150million on a new academy called The Etihad Campus which will open next year on the same site as the main stadium.
However, their vision does not automatically mean Mancini, 48, will leave this summer, though that will depend on how the Italian and his assistants can handle a reduction in power.
After City’s second straight Champions League failure, there is an acknowledgement that the club will have to sign at least one A-list star this summer along the lines of Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani of Napoli. Mancini’s first choice, Brazilian Neymar of Santos, is also being chased but is expected to join Barcelona.
Soriano, 45, described Mancini as ‘a champion’ in an interview last week but they want him to concentrate solely on coaching the first team and not interfere with the club’s transfer or wider coaching policy.
