Leroy Sane credits Pep Guardiola for “re-programming” the way he played football

In his recent interview with kicker (via Goal), Leroy Sane gave Pep Guardiola credit for “re-programming” the way he played football. The winger spent four seasons playing for Guardiola at Manchester City in the Premier League before completing his blockbuster move to Bayern Munich this summer. There had been rumors suggesting that there had been a falling out of sorts between Sane and Guardiola during his last season as a City player, but Sane has said that wasn’t the case at all.

He might not have played as much as he would’ve liked under Guardiola in the 2018/19 season before tearing his cruciate ligament ahead of the 2019/20 season, but Sane said that the Spaniard transformed his game on a tactical level. “In positional play, in the general perception of the entire game, in tactical behavior both offensively and defensively - Guardiola downright reprogrammed me,” Sane said.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

Even down the most minuscule details, Sane continued, Pep made him more tactically astute and aware: “It’s the simple movements that make you think, ‘Oh, never’. But when you implement them, you realize very quickly that Guardiola is right. What he advises helps a lot, it makes the game easier and faster. Tactics are the most important thing to him.”

In the same kicker interview, Sane spoke about how eager he is for the new challenge at Bayern. There had been suggestions that his so-called falling out with Guardiola at City was one of the big reasons for him deciding to leave, but he said he’d already won everything there was to win in England, and was ready for a new challenge in Germany, where silverware eluded him when he played for Schalke earlier in his career. He was delighted to see Bayern secure another historic treble and said that he’s incredibly eager to help Bayern try to secure another one this coming season. He’s ready to hit the ground running.

We’re eager and ready for that, too, Leroy! AUF GEHT’S!

Photo by M. Donato/FC Bayern via Getty Images