Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva has taken on the role of Manchester City captain with a clear vision for the team. The Portuguese midfielder, while honored to be chosen, expressed concerns about the circumstances leading to his appointment. The previous captain, Kyle Walker, left for AC Milan on loan following a series of poor performances, and Kevin De Bruyne, who took over, was often sidelined due to injuries. Silva aims to restore balance and discipline within the squad, emphasizing punctuality and commitment as key standards.
Bernardo Silva said: “I think the biggest task, not just my task but of all the captains, is to create the right balance in the dressing room. I would say the right balance is good behaviour and respect in terms of arriving on time, in terms of performing well in training sessions, giving your best for the club. Don’t take any shortcuts, don’t try to cheat your job. I want to play all games and the guy that’s in my position, he also wants to play all games.”
Silva continued: “In my opinion, the stability of a team and how well a team defends builds the rock necessary to then win games and win titles. I have a game in mind, I think it was Tottenham on the Carabao Cup when we got our fourth centre-back’s injury, I think. John, Manuel, Ruben and Ake, in one game they’re all out. That’s when things started going down. Obviously not just that because a team with our experience, with our quality, even with that cannot go down as easily as we did. So there’s a lot of, I would say, guilt. But we learned a lot of things, as I said. I learned a lot of things. You definitely learn who you can go to war with and who you can’t in those moments. Hopefully it was a very good lesson for us.”
He added: “I’m a bad loser. I hate losing. I played 12 years at Benfica, which is a big club in Portugal. The way that they educate us, you’re not happy if you lose. Maybe it’s not a very nice thing to watch from the outside, but I like to think that you need players to feel bad when you lose game after game. You need to feel bad with yourself, you need to feel bad about the performance and that’s the way I deal with it. We tasted defeat and you know when you taste success and you taste defeat, you know that it feels much better. We didn’t enjoy last season. We didn’t enjoy it. It was very frustrating, very painful for I would say almost all of us and we’re back with that hunger to go again for titles. We didn’t even give it a try. I think emotionally we’re definitely back. In terms of being hungry again, we’re back. Let’s see if we have the quality because at the end, this is all very beautiful, but at the end the quality on the pitch will make a difference if we’re prepared to perform or not.”
Silva’s leadership comes at a critical time for Manchester City, as the team seeks to recover from a challenging previous season marked by injuries and inconsistent performances. Despite the setbacks, Silva remains optimistic about the future, motivated by a sense of responsibility and a desire to reclaim the club’s winning mentality. His approach to leadership, focusing on discipline and accountability, aims to galvanize the squad and restore their competitive edge. As the new season approaches, Silva’s influence will be crucial in determining whether Manchester City can transform from being the hunted to the hunters once again.
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