Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol speaks to the Manchester Evening News about a difficult season at the Etihad
Sport Simon Bajkowski Chief Manchester City writer 17:00, 04 Apr 2025
This season has forced everyone at Manchester City to rethink what has brought them so much success. Nobody wants to rip up a formula that has brought so many titles, yet if it is no longer working does something need to change?
For Josko Gvardiol, it was black and white. Scott Carson now calls the Croat the Crossword King after his new passion for getting his brain working spilled over from his house to the training ground and even the plane journeys to and from Bournemouth.
"I think we spend too much time on phones and these things we should avoid, especially before the game," he told the Manchester Evening News. "To stay focused, to stay in the game. And follow the match plan. But to be honest, I just started doing crosswords.
"There's a friend of mine, Kristijan Jakić, who plays for Augsburg in Germany. When we were with the national team, one day I went to his room and I saw him doing a crossword. To be honest, I am addicted now.
"What I like to do is wake up, grab a coffee and do it for an hour or two. Even yesterday on the plane, on Saturday, I went to Bournemouth and on the way back as well."
The irony in Gvardiol's new hobby is that very little about him is black and white. Over half an hour at City's training ground this week he talks warmly about how his dad - who runs a fish stall in Zagreb's biggest market - stopped him from quitting football to pursue basketball when he was 16 and annoyed that he kept being benched in the Dinamo academy.
Gvardiol didn't want to take the advice but he did, and having moved well past the moody teens he speaks to his father every few days when he isn't going for a coffee with teammate Mateo Kovacic.
The 24-year-old has been pleasantly surprised by Manchester after ignoring some negative reviews of the city by reckoning that it couldn't be any worse than Leipzig where he was, although he still goes home whenever he can. His dad's signature octopus salad is always a draw, and with sisters who play handball and volleyball respectively there is always plenty of action in the household.
It is City that is now Gvardiol's home though, fulfilling a dream to play in England that he has had since he was 10. That only grew when he ballboyed for Dinamo when they hosted Pep Guardiola's side in 2018 in the Champions League, and after rejecting Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds when he went to Leipzig he also was happy to pass up the chance to join Chelsea before City came calling in 2023.
Even that hasn't been as planned though. There was no talk of playing left-back when this commanding centre-half who had scored against City in the Champions League the previous season for Leipzig was discussing his move with Guardiola and sporting director Txiki Begiristain.
Yet he has managed just a handful of games in his favoured position, instead becoming Guardiola's latest hybrid left-back - even sticking to the flank this season despite a crisis in the middle with Nathan Ake, Manu Akanji, John Stones and Ruben Dias all suffering frequent injuries.
Speaking to him, it is clear that he prefers centre-back and the last two games when Nico O'Reilly has played on the left have been a relief. It looks easier for him and it feels easier for him.
However much that satisfies though, he didn't move to City for an easy life and the left-back role is one that he has made his own. A string of spectacular goals helped secure his first Premier League title last season and he has been one of City's best players this season if not the best.
"It’s much easier to play central but the situation is that we’ve got no defenders. Even if I have to play as a full-back, I’ll give my best to help the team," he said.
"It wasn't that easy to adapt because the rhythm and the energy in the Premier League is different. As you mentioned, seeing me in the box and being up front is something I've had for a long time. I just needed the freedom when I got the ball to do what I know best.
"This is what I have here in the final third. We all know we have qualities and we are here for a reason. That's what I like about Pep.
“I remember before he wanted me to be in the pockets – from the position of full-back, which is OK, when you lose the ball you transition and the distance I need to cover, it means a lot of running.
“I’m a different kind of full-back, the way I’m built is different but I’m giving my best and I’m doing alright."
Gvardiol may be but the team are not this season, with an injury crisis sending the form of the team spiralling since November. They head into the second Manchester derby of the season fighting for fifth place rather than the title, up against arguably the worst United side of the modern era that they somehow managed to lose to in December despite leading in the 89th minute.
Two costly errors from Matheus Nunes sparked another painful collapse, and it has been a season of difficult blows to deal with. Gvardiol was there for his teammate after the defeat, having appreciated similar backing when he messed up in the 3-3 draw against Feyenoord.
A dismal year on the pitch has not broken the dressing room, and they go to Old Trafford knowing that they can still have some success this season in the form of Champions League qualification and an FA Cup.
"To be fair, we didn't play good [against United]. You could see it already in the first half," he said.
"But that was a tough period for us and I think in that moment we shouldn't be worried about the style we play and how we play. We should be more as a team, stick to each other and support each other.
"After Nunes' mistakes and penalty, life goes on. I did the same against Feyenoord in the Champions League. Our season has been like this for a long time. The good thing is that we are here for each other, we support each other.
"I remember when I made a mistake in the Champions League, I got a couple of messages from my teammates. Everyone could see it on my face and body how I felt the next couple of days. I learned and I grew.
"It is difficult to accept, especially after last season. We all know how much we fought last season and we all know that we were that close to repeating something that they did two years ago. There is nothing you can do.
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"All you can do is to get ready for the next one, to train better, to take care of you even better than you used to. There are still ten games to go and hopefully we can achieve our goals at the end of the season."
