One of the most trusted players Manchester City have had under Pep Guardiola over the years was Fernandinho. The Brazilian veteran, who is now 40 years of age, was a stalwart for City, playing 383 games for the club and winning five Premier League titles.
Of course, a lot of that success came under City’s legendary manager, Guardiola. The Brazilian played 244 games under his tutelage, skippering the side on multiple occasions and even chipping in with 12 goals and 17 assists.
Towards the end of his time at the Etihad Stadium, Fernandinho saw a drastic change in his position.
Fernandinho’s change of position at Man City
Of course, for much of his career, Fernandinho was a midfielder. In a City shirt, the former City captain tended to operate as a number six, although he did play in more advanced roles.
With that being said, 232 games came at the base of the midfield.
Pep
However, Guardiola did alter his role in the side, with the 53-cap Brazil star becoming a centre-back. That coincided with an injury for Aymeric Laporte, with City needing a dependable man at the back in his absence. In total, Fernandinho played 45 times there for City, becoming a trusted figure at the back.
Back in 2020, he spoke to Sky Sports about converting to a centre-back. He explained that “it was a little bit strange adapting” to his new role at first, due to the space in behind the back line, but eventually he “was able to do it.”
Fernandinho-1
He gave a lot the credit to Guardiola for his impressive transition from midfield to defence.
He said the Spaniard “gives you the information you need about the opponent and of course about yourself,” which certainly assisted the move to defence.
Fernandinho is not the only City star who has benefited from Guardiola’s close man-management, especially when it comes to operating in a new position.
Pep’s modern-day Fernandinho
One of the real standout things about Guardiola as a manager is how adaptable he is. That could be flexibility during a game, switching up his system and showing great innovation, or asking a player to operate in a new position.
Well, someone who has reaped the benefit of that sort of adaptability is Matheus Nunes. The Portuguese international is a midfielder by trade, like Fernandinho. However, he has played plenty of times at right-back under Guardiola.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Matheus Nunes react
He has truly played everywhere in a City shirt, having just reached a century of games. In the 101 appearances he has made so far, 27 of those have come at right-back, more than anywhere else.
Nunes has been more productive there than in any other position on the pitch, too. He’s scored twice and assisted five from right-sided full-back. He offers a real threat, making runs into the penalty box, as this strike against Burnley earlier in the season showed.
The Portugal international, who has 16 caps for his nation, is a player whom Guardiola thinks highly of. Back in 2023, City’s manager described him as “one of the best players in the world,” which is huge praise indeed.
Well, the stats certainly show just how good a full-back Nunes has turned into. Last season, he was among the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League, for example, averaging 1.24 key passes per 90 minutes, which ranked him in the top 25% of Premier League full-backs.
Nunes vs. PL fullbacks (24/25)
Stat (per 90)
Key passes
Passes into penalty area
Assists
Progressive carries
Long passes completion %
Stats from FBref
This is surely a move that you can put down as a success. Guardiola has certainly reinvented Nunes' career with the positional change, making him a formidable right-back who can offer another presence in midfield and a goal threat.
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Guardiola has a knack for successfully converting players’ positions, be it in a time of need or for a tactical shift, just as he did with Fernandinho. Nunes is certainly the latest success story.