Pep Guardiola has blocked his Manchester City players from using the internet at the club’s training base in a drive to foster more face-to-face communication and a greater team spirit.
The Spaniard has arranged for certain areas of the City Football Academy to be free from 3G signal and disconnected from the in-house Wi-Fi system.
Pablo Zabaleta revealed the move from the Catalan which aims to make it harder for players to be distracted by their phones or other mobile devices.
“He forces us to have breakfast and lunch together at the club. The internet is cut off, we are held incommunicado. We don’t even use 3G,” the full-back told Argentina’s TyC Sports.
Zabaleta, who is enjoying a resurgence under Guardiola, is a devotee of the 45-year-old’s methodology. “You always want and dream to be trained by the best coaches, and today I have the opportunity to work with one of the best,” he said. “Actually, you learn a lot, especially the way you live it. Beyond knowledge, his passion for football.”
Other changes made by Guardiola include the banning of pizza after matches, with players now snacking on nuts. Guardiola has also instructed the squad to eat together at the Etihad Stadium following home games.
Players no longer have to stay at the CFA before home matches and if any are deemed overweight they run the risk of having to work away from the first-team squad, as Samir Nasri had to do during pre-season.
