Pep Guardiola has claimed he had never heard of Jobe Bellingham as the Borussia Dortmund midfielder and brother of England and Real Madrid star Jude prepares to face Manchester City in the Champions League. The younger Bellingham followed his older sibling's path by moving to Dortmund last summer from Sunderland, having also come through Birmingham City's youth ranks.
Jobe Bellingham enduring slow start at Dortmund
Bellingham has made a slow start to life at Dortmund following his £32 million ($41m) transfer, starting only four games across the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Bellingham’s status as a squad player rather than a regular starter has reportedly led to tensions between his parents Mark and Denise and coach Nico Kovac.
It was reported that both parents were banned from the Dortmund dressing room after arguing with Kovac over Bellingham's reduced role in the squad. And last month it was reported that Jobe had been left feeling "massively insecure" about his place in the team.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportGuardiola knew little about Jobe's exploits for Sunderland
The younger Bellingham played a key role in Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League last season and has generated a huge amount of attention after following a similar, albeit less rapid, path to Jude – who has helped knock City out of the last two editions of the Champions League with Real Madrid. However, Guardiola was nonplussed when asked whether he knew much about Jobe. "No…I didn't know him back then," the coach told a press conference.
Guardiola explains why he gave City squad day off
The day before a Champions League match is usually a busy one for teams involved in the competition as they run through tactical plans in their training session, which is normally played out in front of reporters and television cameras for 15 minutes. But in a surprising and rare move, Guardiola cancelled training and opted to give his players the day off, with the exception of Erling Haaland who did media duties. His side will instead train on the morning of the game.
Guardiola explained that he wanted to give his players more time to recover from their 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday. Dortmund had two extra days to prepare for the game, winning 1-0 at Augsburg on Friday.
The City boss said: "We will train tomorrow morning. No [it is not unusual]. I have done it a few times. Not a lot but I have done it a few times and sometimes I prefer it. It was such a demanding game against Bournemouth that I prefer today at home and tomorrow we train." On Dortmund having more time to recover, he added: "We are used to it. It is what is. Nobody is going to change the schedule. In Germany, in France, all the teams in the Champions League they try and play on Friday to get more [rest]. I don't like it but it is what it is."
Getty Images SportGuardiola expecting easier path to knockout rounds this time
City endured a torrid time last season in the first edition of the revamped Champions League. They only scraped their way into the knockout playoffs as they finished 22nd out of 36 teams in the league phase thanks to a comeback victory over Club Brugge in their last game. The sides placed ninth to 24th qualify for the playoffs to advance to the last 16 and City were in serious danger of missing out after drawing at home to Feyenoord and losing away to Juventus, Sporting CP and eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
City have taken seven points from their first three games and have their next two fixtures, against Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola believes they will have a calmer path to qualifying for the playoffs, if not directly to the last 16 by virtue of finishing in the top eight, as the squad is not depleted by injuries as it was this time last year.
"It is not about being not prepared last season," he said. "Last season we were injured. Fifty-percent of the squad were injured during months and months and especially during that period when there are a lot of games. Of course we are prepared for the format and for the old one. We will be ready. It is just last season, we had a lot of problems in terms of not having players and that was more difficult."