Nico O'Reilly reflects on rise to stardom under Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Fresh from being named PFA Young Player of the Year, Manchester City’s 21-year-old left-back Nico O’Reilly reflected on his rise under former manager Pep Guardiola. He said: "When I first came through he said; 'On the ball, no problems, but off the ball you need to be more aggressive. More hungry. More desire'. And that's something I picked up and that's what helped me get to where I was last season and the trust he had in me. I think that was the biggest lesson he gave me."

He was speaking on the Beast Mode On Podcast.

He added: "In the school days, when you were younger, 14, 15, even a bit younger than that. Your friends would go out to parties, hang around out late and you kind of have to not go and say; 'I can't go, I've got training'. That was one of the sacrifices, growing up different to everyone else. Throughout my whole life and career I've just dedicated everything to football. You don't grow up as a normal kid."

Last season’s breakout underlined his emergence as one of Europe’s most exciting young defenders.

He is now a fixture in Enzo Maresca’s City squad.

Source: Goal.com

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