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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Joe Bray

Mateo Kovacic admission proves why he's perfect Man City successor to Ilkay Gundogan

Mateo Kovacic has four Champions League medals, four Club World Cup medals, three UEFA Super Cups and one Europa League winner's medal. He has league titles in Spain and Croatia, and helped his country to the World Cup and Nations League finals.

If he retired now, he would have a personal trophy cabinet that few players in the world could rival. On his arrival to Manchester City, though, he is giving no thought to what he's already won.

Instead, he's only thinking about what there still is to win - the Premier League, and more titles over the next four years.

City have just lost their influential captain to Barcelona, and Kovacic will fill some of the positions that Ilkay Gundogan did for seven years. He has also demonstrated that he will keep the winner's mentality in the squad that has taken City to the top of European football.

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“I think City is just, at this time, the best club in Europe, and when I heard they wanted me, it’s a huge recognition for my game and a huge pleasure that such a big club wants you," he said in his welcome interview with City.

Having played under Zinedine Zidane and Thomas Tuchel among others, Kovacic stressed his excitement to play under Pep Guardiola, and desire to keep improving - an important mentality to possess in the City dressing room.

"I’ve played in big clubs in different countries, so it’s a huge pleasure to be at such big clubs," he said. "I’ve just learned that day-to-day training is the most important, to be ready for each training [session] at 100%, and this is what I want to be here as well: to be the best version of myself. I have a lot of room for improvement and to learn, so this is always a big thing that I am here.

"Whenever I watch City it’s a pleasure to watch them, how they play, and it’s so tough to play against them. It’s probably the worst opponent to play against, because they have amazing skills on the ball and how they play: it’s just beautiful to watch. Now I’m part of it and I can’t wait to learn, improve, and give my best to play under their style.

"I think there is always room for improvement and when you are in such an amazing squad that tends to have the ball a lot, to play and to keep the ball all the time, you can improve a lot. So that’s my aim: to improve and to learn, and obviously to win trophies with City."

So Kovacic clearly has the motivation to improve his own game despite his impressive CV to date, and he will also instil a winning mentality on his teammates.

"I think the most difficult thing in football is consistency, and if one team has it it’s Manchester City," he explained.

"Every year, fighting for every title until the end, and that’s just an incredible stat. I think in football what was yesterday was yesterday, and we need to look at what is today and tomorrow.

"I enjoyed nice years at my previous clubs, but now it’s time to turn a new page and to win, and I think City is the perfect club where you can win a lot and I will do my best to try to win every year, because this is the most important thing in football in the end: to collect trophies.”

The key to City's consistency has been a commitment to take every game at a time and look no further ahead. That mantra has mostly helped dominate the Premier League, and Kovacic has his eyes on the biggest trophy he is yet to secure in his career.

He explained: "I think it’s also the most difficult title [to win], because as I said before, the consistency to play 38 games in the Premier League is not easy, and City has done it in the last years in an incredible way. This is a trophy I would obviously like to win.

“I think they need to teach me what I need to do to win with them! This team knows how to win, they’ve won a lot in recent years, so I just want to put myself in there and to have to same mentality to try to improve every day and in the end to win titles.”

City may have lost Gundogan's experience in winning multiple titles per season. In Kovacic, they have someone who can take that role in the dressing room as well as on the pitch.

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