Man City 'returns to the village' to conquer the world

Man City did not show off too much in the tournament taking place in the US.

While the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is a showcase for the world's most traditional and financially powerful clubs, Manchester City - a symbol of modern football backed by an oil empire - chose to start its journey to conquer the world from... a humble university stadium in Florida.

From luxury to simplicity - The story of 15,000 euros

Gone is the Etihad Campus with its state-of-the-art recovery rooms, cutting-edge data analytics systems, or climate-simulated training pitches – Pep Guardiola’s team is training at Lynn University’s Bobby Campbell Stadium, a quiet facility located in Boca Raton, Palm Beach.

The reason for this “landing” is not due to Pep’s tactics or “humble” philosophy. It is simply a financial problem: FIFA only spends 15,000 euros per day for teams to cover their own accommodation, training and security costs. This support is already a struggle for mid-level clubs, and for the big clubs – who are used to living in luxury – it is… not enough to rent half of the Etihad Stadium.

Therefore, many teams have to go to universities - where the facilities are adequate and close to the competition venues. Real Madrid has to pay for tents to serve as a working place for the press. Meanwhile, Man City, although they can "compensate" if they want, choose the shortest way in terms of travel, accepting to give up convenience to optimize physical strength.

Man City determined to conquer the cup in America.

Palm Beach - where Man City are based - is the ideal transit point for their group stage schedule: Philadelphia - Atlanta - Orlando. If they go further, Man City will most likely still play in Orlando, thereby saving maximum travel time. Guardiola understands that, in a short tournament, the stability of the venue is more important than a high-end gym.

And so the multi-billion dollar team stepped onto Bobby Campbell Stadium - a 500-seat stadium, originally for students. During the week, the campus was dressed in a new coat of paint with the Man City logo and colors. It was both funny and thought-provoking: a team that represents the pinnacle of modern football, starting its world campaign in a setting that was full of "college football".

Not luxurious, but enough to conquer

Despite the simpler training conditions than usual, Guardiola still had his strongest squad at his disposal: Erling Haaland, Rodri, Barnardo Silva... all present. They didn’t need a sauna imported from Sweden to score goals. What they needed was strategy, connection and team spirit - the kind of thing that can be cultivated anywhere, even on a private university campus in Florida.

Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer couldn't hide his pride: "We are honored that the European champions have chosen our city as their training base. Thank you Manchester City!"

Despite simpler training conditions than usual, Guardiola still had his strongest squad at hand.

Manchester City, the symbol of globalized football, kicks off its FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ campaign in an unlikely location. The story highlights the contradictions within the FIFA model: expanding the tournament to increase its popularity, but financial support has not kept pace with the scale of the organization.

However, perhaps this simplicity is the spiritual support. No luxury, no ostentation - just a great team returning to core values: training, fighting and conquering.

At 11pm on June 18, Man City will play Wydad Casablanca. They may not have the most prestigious training ground, but clearly, this club is ready to touch the only title that Pep Guardiola still lacks in his club coaching career: the World Cup. And who knows, a new chapter of Man City history will begin... from the student football field.

Source: https://znews.vn/man-city-ve-lang-chinh-phuc-the-gioi-post1561363.html