I’ve seen how to succeed at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola - the answer is surprisingly simple

“Keep it simple.” Three words not typically associated with Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering brand of football.

This is a manager, after all, who took Johan Cruyff’s Total Football to new levels, who made sweeper-keepers, false nines and inverted full-backs part of football’s everyday vernacular.

Philipp Lahm once claimed that Guardiola wants to ‘master’ football, Vincent Kompany said his old boss ‘triggered’ him into becoming a manager, while Lionel Messi explained that his former Barcelona boss would correctly tell him in advance ‘exactly how the match was going to be’.

The trio made a combined 407 appearances under Guardiola, but it’s the opinion of rookie Lakyle Samuel who has a keener insight into the coach’s methods in 2024. He played just three minutes of City’s pre-season friendly against Chelsea earlier this summer, and wherever his fledgling career takes him, the accolade of being a Guardiola player is something no-one can ever take away.

“When he said I was coming on I was like ‘it’s happening’. When he was speaking to me I was thinking ‘no mistakes, just perform’,” the 18-year-old told Manchester World in a recent interview.

“He was amazing, honestly. He has helped me to improve on my defensive actions and my body shape and how to read the game better. He has even helped off the pitch, trying to enjoy myself. Before I came on he was saying to just enjoy myself.”

Three weeks in America, training alongside Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish, as well as his childhood friends from the youth team, is an experience Samuel will never forget. But the nuggets of information gleaned from Guardiola could have the longest lasting impact.

But there were no convoluted tactical set-ups to digest from the game’s greatest mind, no mind-boggled details or intricate patterns to grasp. If the tour taught Samuel anything, it’s that perfection can actually look rather simple.

“There’s no need to do anything extra,” the defender reflected, when quizzed on his biggest takeaway from the summer. “If you keep it simple then you’ll always come out on top. 

“There’s no reason to do extravagant stuff or anything you don’t really do. He [Guardiola] just tells you to be yourself. I feel like defensively it’s about keeping on my feet and don’t dive into challenges.”

But as Guardiola would attest to, when teenage prodigies emerge from City’s illustrious youth system, they arrive at his door already possessing a keen insight into what makes a successful team.

“I feel like the coaches that we have they teach us the complex,” said Samuel, a Mancunian who can’t remember what football looked like before Guardiola’s era-defining practices took hold.

“So when we go over [to the first team] we think it’s simple. We have an understanding for it anyway, but he adds the details that might change the way we actually play it in the game.”

The education of young full-backs has changed significantly in the last 15 years. City alone have demonstrated that, whether it’s Kyle Walker tucking inside, Joao Cancelo bombing down the line or Oleksandr Zinchenko pushing into midfield, long gone are the days when a full-back is simply expected to defend their flank.

“Growing up I was a centre-half and I have only recently gone to right-back,” Samuel explained. “I’m more of a defensive one but I’m trying to improve on going forward much more to add more goals and assists to my game. I think that will come with time and from gaining experience.

“Us defenders getting up the pitch, that’s what you want! You dream of scoring. You don’t often get to, but if you get the chance to then you are going to try and take it. With the coaching and my own ability, I feel like I can get higher up the pitch and contribute.

“You do want to learn that side to your game. If you have the defensive bit that you already had and then you add more to it, you become more complete. I feel like it’s beneficial if you can learn both sides to it.”

For Samuel, playing as a full-back is in the blood. His dad, Jlloyd, played 240 Premier League games for Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers and first introduced him to football as a child.

“Obviously, with my dad’s influence it helped me to understand it a lot more. He helped me to understand the basics and since then I have taken myself with it.”

Tragically, the former Trinidad and Tobago international passed away in 2018 when Lakyle was just 12. It makes that desire to become a  Premier League full-back, following in his dad’s footsteps, even greater.

“He was a great inspiration to me growing up. I didn’t watch much of him - I don’t remember any games. I’ve gone back and watched things about him and I’ve gone back and watched him on YouTube. 

“He was a very aggressive player and I feel like it will help to watch clips of him and how he played. But I want to learn myself. I don’t want to be under him, I want to push myself to be my own person.

“My family have helped massively,” he added. “Obviously, through the good times and the bad times. My mum… she’s probably my best friend. She has helped me a lot. My brother and sister as well, we’ve all been involved in the football set-up since a young age.”

Samuel joined City at the age of eight, has progressed through the youth ranks and is now within touching distance of that senior squad. An England youth international, who was playing regularly for City’s Under-21 level aged 16, there’s real belief he has what it takes to make it at the elite level.

The defender is keen to experience a loan move at some point in his career, maybe even January, but is also aware that Nico O’Reilly’s progression into the first team this summer shows how quickly things can change. “It’s great because you know it could be you.”

Samuel has also played with perhaps the country's best young full-back. Rico Lewis has demonstrated all the skills needed to thrive in that role in the modern era and remains something of a guiding light for City’s young stars.

“For the inverted role, it’s about knowing who’s around you and not taking any risks on the ball because it’s not necessary really,” Samuel explained, referencing both his footballing education and the intelligence habitually displayed by Lewis.

“His ability to remain on the ball and be confident in the big games is crazy. We knew he was a top player. I was younger than him and I knew he was good. Seeing him play now, he has gained so much experience from being over there [with the first team]. He’s just turned into an amazing player.”

“I feel like he has helped us to understand that there is a chance that one of us could get in the first team.”

Samuel may look up to Lewis but knows he’s just as equipped to make that next step. He has the grounding, the education, the technical ability and intelligence needed to thrive. Chuck in his experiences this summer and his additional, internal motivation and it seems like the sky’s the limit for another excellent City scholar.