Manuel Akanji says he is happy to be Manchester City's 'Mr Versatile' and will play any position manager Pep Guardiola asks him to.
The fixtures are coming thick and fast as City aim for a repeat of last season's treble. They are currently in a three-way battle with Liverpool and Arsenal to retain their Premier League crown, face Chelsea for a place in the FA Cup final and are all-square with Real Madrid as they go head-to-head in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final next week.
City are well used to playing every three to four days at the business end of the season and have used the 28-year-old Swiss international Akanji in central defence, left and right-back, and even as a holding midfielder.
But you won’t hear any complaints from the player.
“Now I don’t have a real position,” he told the official Manchester City podcast. “When I came here I was a centre-back who had played full-back a couple of times. I knew I could do it but it wasn’t my best position.
“Here it is so different. The way you play full-back is different. Sometimes you are a third centre-back or in some games you are more in midfield so a lot of things come with this position, it’s never the same. I’m just trying to learn the roles.
“I enjoy the adaptability. I have never played three games in a row in the same position. Maximum two. Normally I change every game. In the beginning it was a little bit difficult because you need confidence about what you are doing, especially in midfield where I had never played before.
“Suddenly opponents are behind your back when normally they are in front of you. So the more I played the more confident I got and now it doesn’t really matter where I play. I’m happy being on the pitch and helping the team.
“Everyone is trying to be in the starting XI. There’s lots of competition. I’m no different.”
City signed Akanji from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for around £15 million just before the summer transfer window closed.
He had played more than 100 times for the Bundesliga club and had in excess of 50 caps for his country, yet wasn’t considered a high-profile signing, arriving as he did in the wake of Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, a teammate of Akanji's at Dortmund.
Akanji went on to play more minutes in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign than any other City defender and became a staple in all the big European games including the Champions League final win over Inter Milan in Istanbul last June.
Whilst others drew the attention and individual awards, Akanji continued to catch the eye of his coach.
Guardiola is usually reluctant to talk about individuals at length and much prefers to espouse the virtues of the collective.
However, the City boss was happy to extol the merits of a player he has come to rely on for the big occasion.
“What a signing, we are so lucky to have him,” Guardiola said. “He is a lovely guy, open minded, well educated and so intelligent. He listens and learns very quickly and is so adaptable he can play in several positions.
“He can play full-back, central defender and now holding midfielder and when arriving in the final third he has the ability to make the pass.”
That final point was never more evident than in the 2023 Champions League final in Turkey with Akanji heavily involved in the build up for Rodri’s winning goal.
Fast forward to the present day and Guardiola knows Akanji's versatility could again play a vital role if they are to repeat last season's treble success.
Akanji, who supplemented his burgeoning medal collection by helping City win the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup in 2023, is ready for battle on all three fronts.
“We are in a good spot. We all have difficult games ahead but we want to play these games and fight for more titles,” he added.
“The main focus is just one game at a time. There are some big weeks ahead. We get used to handling the schedule. You cannot think ahead or your head will not be in the present.
“It really is just one game at a time. Then you have to show your best performance so you are picked for the next game. You don’t want to let your teammates down. It is the only mindset you can have.
“Winning the treble last season could be an advantage or a disadvantage at the end of this season’s competitions. Other teams might have hunger but we have the experience and know how to do it.
“When I joined this club I hadn’t won a lot of trophies but I came here and always had the feeling we would win the league. We have a winning mentality and now the new players here want a taste of it so we are trying to make this another historical season.”
City’s run-in promises a variety of opponents which mean a host of different skill sets are required. Akanji will take them all in his stride but admits some are more difficult than others.
“As a defender the toughest players to face are those who are good at dribbling allied with a good football IQ because you have to cover those players all over the pitch. If you lose sight of them they might do something good,” he said.
“The Premier League is definitely more physical than the Bundesliga and there are more individuals who are better. In the Bundesliga there are a lot of good teams but I feel here it doesn’t matter if you play against the third in the table or the 16th – all of them have good individual players and you can really feel it as a defender. You can’t switch off for a second. That’s the difference.
“Here we are constantly playing in the latter stages of the Champions League against the best teams in Europe too and that’s where you can learn the most.
“City was a very easy changing room to come into and to get adapted. It helped that I played right away from the beginning and this cannot happen if the changing room is not good. I feel really comfortable here.
“When you play for Manchester City you are normally in possession a lot. I like playing further forward, the offensive side of the game. Pep demands a lot from defenders in the build up play. If I see openings and passes I try to take them.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
ON%20TRACK
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
CHELSEA SQUAD
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Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin
Favourite film: Marvel movies
Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
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