Ederson is Guardiola’s trusted man at City – 09/06/2023 – Sport

Ederson enters the field this Saturday (10) with a new chance to be champion of the Champions League, Manchester City’s biggest goal since it was bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group, in 2009.

Two years ago, the team was also the big favorite, but was defeated by 1-0 by Chelsea, in Portugal. Favoritism is repeated in this final against Inter Milan, in Türkiye.

English Premier League and FA Cup champions, City could have the perfect season. The game is also a stigma for coach Pep Guardiola, who won two Champions Leagues as Barcelona coach but struggled at Bayern Munich and also at City.

Present in all of Guardiola’s titles at the club, Ederson quickly became the boss’s trusted man, taking the vacancy that belonged to Claudio Bravo. He made his debut in 2017 and has been the top choice ever since, although Ortega faced United in the FA Cup final.

What explains Ederson’s success, according to Benfica’s goalkeeping coach, Paulo Marques, is his psychological profile and talent with the ball at his feet, which makes him one of the best in the world in the position. But it was not always so. At Benfica, there were difficulties.

“It was a context [em que ele era] young. The capabilities and features already existed. However, he still didn’t have some psychological characteristics that made all the difference: having a different mentality, a different maturity. He was not very proactive, not very active in training, he needed to feel extrinsic motivation. He was a little sleepy, as they say”, he told Folha, about the goalkeeper’s first spell at the Portuguese club, still at the base.

Ederson would return to Benfica already formed, after having played in Ribeirão and Rio Ave, also in Portugal. He molded himself to both experiences. In the second, he worked alongside Jan Oblak, today at Atlético de Madrid.

“When he returned to Benfica, he already had a different mentality, a strong, professional mentality, one of overcoming obstacles and of always wanting to be the best. He is very good at watching the game from front to back, as he has the ability to put the ball for 70 or 80 meters with precision. I feel that he has grown a lot in terms of decision-making, he manages to decide very well when he can play the ball further or closer”, noted Marques.

In Rio Ave, the dispute with Oblak was healthy, and the two traced similar paths. Both went to Benfica and then found success at top clubs in Europe.

“Ederson was always very calm, in his own way, a little quiet, but very good people. We lived together for a while. When Ederson arrived, he was young, and we had Oblak, very good and very safe. bench and we saw Ederson, with a game of feet, but he was very young. He was already very cold. He put the ball where he wanted”, said defender Marcelo Ferreira, his old teammate.

According to him, that team was already based on Guardiola’s Barcelona, ​​always trying to have the ball at their feet and find spaces through the ball touch. Having a goalkeeper with good passes meant having an extra player for this construction, with a numerical advantage over the opponents.

“In a game against Braga, we looked up and saw that the stadium was very high. We kept saying that we would be able to kick the ball over Pedreira [estádio do Braga], but only Ederson did it. He hit up and passed the hoops easy [risos], and everyone was amazed. He has a lot of strength in that left leg, to play from one area to another with ease”, said Marcelo.

“In Vila do Conde, where Rio Ave is located, there is a lot of wind. So, when Ederson was downwind, he had to control the force because the ball could go over the other goal and sometimes it crossed on one side to another from the field.”

Ederson arrived at Benfica after a spell at São Paulo, where he was released. To this day at the Morumbi club, coach Toninho Rodrigues said that he was impressed with the archer when he was still very young, in Osasco.

“I remember like it was today when I saw him play at Gilberto’s school [Lopes] and Ozias [Matos] and I already invited him to go to São Paulo the following Tuesday. From the trip we took to Japan, he was 13 years old. I was saddened by his dismissal from São Paulo, but happy for having recommended him to Benfica and for everything that has happened in his life.”

“With his feet, he is the best”, declared Pep in 2021. “The quality of the pass, I would say, is the best. Manuel (Neuer) and Victor (Valdés) were also incredible, but the quality of the pass [de Ederson] it’s the best. I wouldn’t say who’s the best [no geral]because I had success with amazing goalkeepers in Victor, Manuel and Eddie [Ederson].”

Valdés won two Champions Leagues with Guardiola and one without him. Neuer won the title twice as well, but not under Pep.

Ederson is missing a game for the greatest glory of his career.