Hoffenheim boss Nagelsmann plots to undo Guardiola
Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann is plotting to outsmart his idol Pep Guardiola when Manchester City attempt to get their Champions League campaign back on track by winning in Germany on Tuesday.
At 31, Nagelsmann is the youngest coach in Champions League history, and admits to being a keen student of Guardiola’s methods.
Now he hopes to thwart the Spanish master tactician in Hoffenheim’s first home Champions League match in the club’s history.
“I don’t know if it it’s always an advantage to know Pep Guardiola, because then you know that he is doing so much the right way or the best way,” said Nagelsmann.
“It’s not very easy to say exactly how he will set his team.
“He has different ways to play against different opponents.
“You can see a lot of similarities in his style, but also see a lot of differences.
“As I said, it’s not easy to approach his style of play, but I have a few ideas.”
In Sinsheim, City will be aiming to bounce back from their shock 2-1 loss at home to Lyon in their first Group F game.
This is the first time Nagelsmann will go head-to-head with Guardiola.
CITY AIM TO BOUNCE BACK
City desperately needing a win to kickstart a Champions League campaign that began with a shock 2-1 defeat to Lyon for the competition favourites.
There should therefore be no shortage of motivation for Pep Guardiola’s men, but one member of the City squad will be especially keen to make a big impression back on German soil.
Leroy Sane was one of the stars of City’s romp to a record 100 Premier League points and the League Cup last season. The 22-year-old was crowned Young Player of the Year in England thanks to a stellar return of 14 goals and 19 assists in all competitions. After being dropped for City’s first four Premier League games of the season, Sane scored just two minutes into his return against Fulham and has created a goal in all three of his appearances since.
REAL HEAD TO MOSCOW
Luka Modric returns to the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday, the scene of Croatia’s World Cup final defeat to France, not only as FIFA’S best men’s player but the star of Real Madrid too.
For the first time in his six seasons at Madrid, Modric will line up for a Champions League tie without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sold, or Gareth Bale, who is injured.
There will be no Kaka, Angel di Maria or James Rodriguez either, all of whom Modric has rubbed shoulders with. At 33, he has outlasted them all.
In this current squad, Modric stands out. In part, because of his brilliance, which has never been in doubt, but also because of Real Madrid too. The Galacticos are, just about, all gone.
Bale is the last, and he would have been playing against CSKA Moscow, had it not been for a thigh injury picked up on Saturday.
As the remnants of the old mode depart -- Ronaldo is gone, James unlikely to return -- the new, younger and cheaper, batch have risen to the surface.
Alvaro Odriozola, the 22-yearold right back, could make his Champions League debut on Tuesday in the absence of Marcelo and Sergio Ramos.