Joao Cancelo’s standing with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City has declined since the World Cup’s conclusion.
The formerly unstoppable full-back has played three Premier League games for the Blues without being deployed as a replacement. He played only sporadically against Leeds United and Chelsea; he began against the latter but was taken off at halftime.
That Rico Lewis was replaced by Nathan Ake rather than Cancelo or Kyle Walker on Sunday, when Guardiola was eager to make a change, was possibly damning. Cancelo was so essential to the team’s success the previous year, but the Catalan manager has made it clear where his tastes lay in defense.
Of course, this is not the first time Cancelo has experienced having to take a back seat. The full-back had trouble breaking into the first team upon his arrival at the Etihad from Juventus.
There were rumors that Guardiola and his player had a falling out, but Cancelo put those rumors to rest in February of last year. He also gave an example of how he changed his luck to become such a significant player.
Cancelo clarified: “There were issues with the coach and the way the team was performing. When I was playing for Juventus, I wanted to enjoy both playing and football.
“More than the coach, I was to blame; it was my fault. With my ambition to succeed in both life and football, I bounced back.
I’m pleased and give myself credit since I worked hard to get into the player I am today. If the Portugal international is to have any chance of returning to the first team, he must now exhibit the same level of drive.
It’s not difficult to get back in Guardiola’s good graces; just put in the effort and concentrate on your game during practice, and you’ll probably find yourself back in the starting lineup.
On Friday, when Arsenal comes to play in the FA Cup, there is a chance to reclaim a spot in the starting lineup. Cancelo is likely to start since Guardiola is likely to rotate his team as he did against Chelsea.
The 28-year-old has a good chance of regaining a regular spot in Guardiola’s lineup if he can demonstrate that he can still perform at last season’s level. But as was already noted, he needs to follow his own counsel from 2022 and make sure that his drive to do better is not clouded by frustration.