Community Shield – Grealish-Haaland, the new “bro story” which makes the business of Guardiola and Manchester City

You should have seen them in the corridors of Lambeau Field in Greenbay at the end of the match against Bayern Munich, a week ago… The preparation match between Man City and Bayern Munich just ended (1-0) in the Wisconsin, Erling Haaland, scorer after twelve short minutes, had obviously not forgotten his friend in the attack, Jack Grealish, with whom a sacred chambering competition was born. “I cost half as much as you, so I don’t have the pressure…”

Because yes, a scent of “bromance” is gradually beginning to settle in the Citizens locker room between the “darling of the Kingdom” and the Norwegian cyborg. And that’s probably one of the big takeaways from the Skyblues pre-season. Between laughter and “spikes” at all costs, Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish very quickly found themselves within the Mancunian workforce, on the meadow, as well as outside. A godsend for Guardiola and others.

Shadow and light

If the arrival of Erling Haaland is, obviously, an immense added value to the already well-crafted workforce of the Catalan, it also seems to be a nice breath of fresh air for the esthete Jack Grealish, as he confided during the preparation. “He’s a great guy, a brilliant guy. The first day I met him, we took a car together and even after that ride, I said to myself: ‘what a guy’. He is down to earth and very open about his way of being. We get used to it.”

Recruited for 117 million euros, a Premier League record, the native of Birmingham knows what he is talking about and is aware of the expectations that revolve around his new teammate. “Obviously there will always be high expectations, but these days you have to live with it. I think if he misses an opportunity or something, people will always have something to say. I had to get used to it myself.”

Returning with other intentions for his second season with the Skyblues, “Peaky Jack”, already very popular in the locker room, will be able to rely on a strong ally. At the end of a very complicated season on the sporting level where he struggled to justify the colossal investment made by the Mancunians last summer, this “brain made for football“, as Brendan Rodgers called it in 2020, was a little late in the ignition. But this time seems ready to go full throttle.

One more card for Guardiola

An old-school ten, formidable in his ability to punch and create breaches towards the surface, Grealish has found the perfect playmate to occupy the areas he likes to find. The perfect ideal colleague to finish the construction site, above all. Their first joint outing against Bayern was the first illustration of this.

But this situation does not seem to surprise the former Salzburg striker, visibly well prepared for this new field of possibilities. “As you probably know, I watched a lot of City games, and in recent years they played without a (leading) striker. Of course I saw myself in these situations like today, I’m not surprised.”

And if there is one who can rub his hands with this doublet, it is Pep Guardiola. Because the arrival of the Norwegian giant necessarily changes the plans of the technician. But more than a change of habits, it is above all a major asset to feed the Catalan’s tactical science.

Time will (necessarily) do its work

If the complementarity outside the meadow between the two friends is already visible, it was necessary to be patient to see it materialize in the game. Haaland spared, in particular because of its few physical glitches from last season, the doublet did not compete only forty minutes together on the green rectangle. Enough to glimpse beautiful promises.

Reinforced by the presence of Kevin de Bruyne, with whom the first automatisms are rather remarkable, the duo knows that they can accomplish great things. “It is good. He can improve, I can improve, but our understanding is good and there is a great vibe with him, we will have fun“, launched the striker with lucidity after the preparation meeting against Bayern Munich (1-0), on July 24.

However, it will take time before the Mancunian machine is running at full speed. The last piece will have to take the time to get up to speed, as Kun Agüero explains, bathed in guardiolism between 2016 and 2021. “Haaland will need time to adapt to England and Pep’s demands, just like I did. Logically he will have a period of adaptation to a championship as strong as the Premier League, but I think he will follow his own process and the results will soon be visible..”

Patience or not, Haaland seems ready to do battle, with the revengeful Grealish in his wake. This Saturday, for the Community Shield against Liverpool (kick-off, 6 p.m.), Manchester City will once again be able to test their brand-new attacking squad against their best opponent in five years. Reds who have also changed a lot this summer in front. This first confrontation as an aperitif has something to promise.