New York City FC reap rewards of shared Man.City vision
- Last updated: July 30, 2019 | 23:04
NEW YORK: Manchester City’s dominance of English football is helping their affiliate clubs to be successful around the world, using their expertise on the pitch as well as off it, New York City FC sporting director Claudio Reyna said.
New York City FC are part of the City Football Group, with Manchester City being their flagship club, alongside Girona in the Spanish top flight and Melbourne City FC in Australia, as well as clubs in Japan and Uruguay.
The American side played their first Major League Soccer (MLS) match only in 2015 but they already have two second-place and one third-place finishes in the Eastern Conference.
That instant success, Reyna said, was largely thanks to help, not necessarily financial but at all levels, from the Premier League champions at the head of the “family”.
“We are a family of clubs at City Football Group and we all have direct links back to Manchester,” Reyna said in an interview.
“It is great to be able to have more insight, tap into the network that Man City has. From our coaches being able to go over and learn from their coaches in their academy, or have their academy director coaches come over here and support us to exchange out ideas. “There is a sharing of scouting information at all levels. For the first team, it is very useful. It is great to get information, to learn. There is a shared philosophy of how to play football and how to get things done at City Football Group on the field and off it.
“In Manchester, Pep (Guardiola) is obviously doing an amazing job, and we all want to be playing soccer like that. “One thing I have learned from day one is the organisation that our chairman has trickles down throughout his teams. The plan is this, and there is no adjustment from that.”
Big Premier League clubs have often had feeder clubs in Europe where they have sent their young players to gain valuable experience, such as Manchester United with Royal Antwerp in Belgium or Chelsea sending youngsters to Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Reuters