Th’official site have had a chat with Pablo Zabaleta in the build up to City’s home game at Burnely which now has a degree of pressure attached…
Interesting to hear the battling Zaba’s views amid repeated speculation from hacks initially in Italy and now in England that he is off to Juventus in January. He catches Planet Blue’s mood going into a crucial game in the context of a season with lofty ambitions:
‘The next game is now very important. It is a good opportunity because we are playing at home and we need three Premier League points to stay up there. After the draws, we really need to win now, especially as we are going into the international break. It is a long time until the next game against Liverpool, and we want to be fourth during that time. It’s important to us that we are in a Champions League position going into the break.’
Zaba went on to assess what City can expect from another side who will not thrown in the towel easily, despite a huge difference in resources:
‘Birmingham were stronger than I expected. We tried to play our football and had some chances, but they were at home and made it difficult for us…even though we had a clean sheet, we were really disappointed because we lost a big chance to win after our run of draws.’
Despite a tendency to over excitedly dive in and despite his sending off at Wigan, Zaba has proved a steadier option at right back than Micah Richards who increasingly gets dragged into wrestling matches with rival forwards. He’s always eager to support SWP along the right wing and get crosses into the box.
..and of those links abroad:
‘The beginning of the season was so different for me…we all have to fight for our place, but I am enjoying it. I’m trying to play my best football and I have no problem playing right back or midfield. The manager can play me where he likes.’
This is the sort of commitment Manchester City needs in an important season.
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