MISTER NICE GUY
Pep defends “tough, intense” Fernandinho despite picking up three red cards in 40 days
PEP GUARDIOLA has backed bad-boy Fernandinho for a new Manchester City deal – despite three red cards this season.
The 31-year-old Brazil international is out of contract in 18 months, but his long-term future was thrown into doubt after being sent off three times in just 40 days.
Fernandinho could return to the City side for the first time in almost a month at West Ham tonight, with Blues boss Guardiola endorsing a new deal for the star he calls “one of the nicest guys I’ve met”.
“I am so happy with him and would be delighted if he continues for a long time here,” said Guardiola.
“He has one more year on his contract. It’s not just in my mind but the club’s too. He’s an important player but we have had to play a lot without him, so I am happy he’s back.”
The midfielder was sent off in City’s draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach in November, and saw red again 10 days later for shoving Cesc Fabregas over advertising hoardings
at the Etihad, during the home defeat to Chelsea.
Fernandinho (with Guadiola, right) only played two games for City after serving his three-match ban, before being hit with a four-match suspension for another red card at Burnley on January 2.
But the City boss said: “He’s not aggressive. He’s a tough, intense player like English football is. He is one of the nicest guys I’ve met.
“We have talked a lot about what happened against Chelsea. We accepted the ban, and we don’t complain, but he’s not aggressive, he’s honest.”
While Fernandinho has made errors of judgement, Guardiola has admitted he’s made mistakes too – by thinking he’d cracked it soon after arriving at City. The Spaniard won his first 10 matches in all competitions but mistakenly believed his players had fully grasped his philosophy.
And he reckons they are still lagging behind Tottenham and Chelsea when it comes to the quality of their build-up play. He added: “In the build-up, Tottenham and Chelsea are the best, especially Spurs with Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen, and how they move in respect to the other players.
“Both teams know exactly what they have to do and still we are not in that process. Our inconsistency is for that reason.
“We learned a lot, improved a lot in the beginning, and then we stopped. It was a little bit my mistake.
“I’m pretty sure we started really good and you have to restart that. Because our build-up is so fundamental in my vision of football.
“I believed we had it, but the players did not believe we had it. So I have to adapt to them.”