According to a report from Daily Telegraph, Pep Guardiola has already seen Brian Kidd, Manchester City’s former player and long-serving assistant, his backroom staff when he comes at Etihad. Kidd also worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United during his earlier days at Old Trafford.
City’s new boss has also started to plan his strategy for Premier League success following the announcement on Monday that he will replace Pellegrini next season when Pep’s current contract with Bayern Munich ends.
In 2009, 66-year-old Kidd returned to Manchester City, with whom he had played between 1976 and 1979, as a technical development manager, and then went on to become assistant to Roberto Mancini that year.
Brian Kidd will offer the continuity at the first-team level when Guardiola joins City with his four faithful staffs who formed his inner circle in Barcelona days and now at Bayern Munich. The list includes Guardiola’s personal assistant, Manuel Estiarte, the former Olympic water polo gold medal winner; coach Domenec Torrent; Carles Planchart, an analyst; and Lorenzo Buenaventura, the fitness coach.
Kidd has also worked with Pellegrini, whose other staff will go out with the Chilean at the end of the season. They are Ruben Cousillas Fuse, the Argentinian assistant who has actually served under the current manager for most of his career; the goalkeeping coach, Xabier Mancisidor; and fitness coach Jose Cabello. Brian Kidd had successfully given Pellegrini and his staff an insight into English football and it is believed he will do the same for the next manager.
Manchester City initially decided to make the announcement of Guardiola’s joining early, but right now they want to keep it a low-key until summer.
There is also a huge possibility for both City and Bayern to face each other in the Champions League and while the early announcement, not an ideal plan; both Guardiola and City Hierarchy decided that it will be much better to deal with the uncertainty in this way for the rest of the season.
While Guardiola does not officially take charge until July, the club’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain is doing all the works to sign the players whom his new manager wants at City next term and that operation should remain well advanced before Guardiola’s arrival.