Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips: ‘Guardiola Made Soccer Easier’

The popular characterization of Kalvin Phillips’s first season at Manchester City has been of time lost.

Blighted by injury and the challenge of dislodging one of the world’s best holding midfielders, Rodri, from the starting lineup, the Yorkshireman has spent more time on the sidelines than any other period of his career.

According to Phillips, however, the many hours spent with manager Pep Guardiola have been anything but a waste.

“The way Pep speaks about the game helps you understand it so well,” he told me in an interview promoting Kalvin Phillips, the Road to City, an Amazon
AMZN
Prime documentary about his life.

“I feel that I understand football a lot easier now. Even just watching games I see the game completely different to what I did 12 months ago.

“If a team plays a [certain] formation I can see where the free man is or how someone can get into a free position.”

”Although I’ve not played as much it’s probably been the year I’ve understood football more than before.”

The Amazon Prime documentary offers a unique insight into a player who captured the nation’s hearts at the Euro 2020 tournament.

Voted England’s player of the year for the 2021 season, Phillips’s energetic style was a key part of the national team’s run to the final of that competition.

But few of those adoring fans knew some of the challenges the midfielder faced as a child.

As Phillips was growing up his father was in and out of prison, life wasn’t always easy as his mum worked two jobs to support the family.

As he was striving to make it as a pro soccer player, the Yorkshireman would drive past the prison his father was incarcerated located opposite Leeds United’s training ground.

Before the documentary, Phillips hadn’t delved too deeply into the subject, so I asked him why now?

“For me, it were more just to show anybody that may be in the same position as what I was or has struggled with things in the past that, no matter what, if you have good support around you, family and friends that can help you every single day, and are positive about everything that goes on your life, then positive things will start happening to you,” he replied.

“It was just to kind of inspire the younger generation to know to always believe in yourself and no matter what situation you’re in know there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Keeping Family Close

In the past decade ‘mentality’ has become one of soccer’s popular buzzwords, whether explaining a league title win or relegation collapse it’s the type of intangible concept that can be used retrospectively to prove any point.

The suggestion frequently is that mindset or elite performance is not something innate, players must train their brains to the same extent as their bodies.

So it was fascinating to hear that Phillips relies on a more traditional method for working through issues.

“I’ve never really worked with psychologists, we used to have one or England called Mitch and he was really good if you ever wanted to chat.

“[But] I’ve always just spoke to my family whenever I’ve had a problem or to get things off my chest. If I ever needed to speak to a manager I’d go speak to him.”

Kalvin Phillips, the Road to City shows the close bond the Yorkshireman has with his, mum, girlfriend and siblings.

From video calls in the aftermath of important moments to picking him up when he’s struggling with an injury setback, it’s clear just how vital those closest to Phillips are.

As a homegrown Leeds lad, he’s always faced a greater weight of expectation, as the documentary explains, there were times it felt like the whole city looked to him for inspiration.

Even in my brief conversation with Phillips it’s clear, despite all that, he’s still incredibly grounded he also sounds modest, two qualities you’d expect from someone who keeps family close.

“They were there before all this happened so they deserve as much a reward as what I’m getting,” Phillips said.

“I [want to] help them enjoy every single minute, especially my mum, brothers and sisters because we’ve been through it together when things haven’t been going well.

“For Mum, the struggles she had early on in my childhood makes me just want to repay her for all the sacrifices she has made for me and try and make her as happy as possible now.’

Sadly one person who can’t be there to share it with him is his Grandma Val, an inspiring woman who often helped Phillips’s mother look after her children.

A warm and genuine character, her influence on the midfielder is shown in another Amazon Prime documentary Take Us Home: Leeds United which follows the club throughout the 2019-20 season.

Phillips lost his grandma to Covid-19 and the restrictions at the time meant the extent to which the family could come together to remember her was limited.

“It was probably one of the most difficult times in my life, I grieved for a long time,” Phillips added.

“Now I just think about how much of a good person she was and how much time she had for everyone.

“You could be having the worst day in the world, but if you went to see my grandma she’d put a smile on your face and make you feel a lot better.”

Drawing on that resilience and ability to stay positive is something he’s had to do a fair bit this season.

As well as handling the challenge of leaving the city he spent his entire life and the club he’d been at his whole career, Phillips has had physical setbacks which would affect someone settled at a club for years.

“When you sat on the sofa at home [injured] it’s very hard to think positively,” he continued.

“But that’s what I’ve got my family and close friends for. My girlfriend made it a lot easier for me. I’d go home every single day and she’d do everything in our power to make me feel better.”

Ahead of pre-season Phillips has been putting in some extra training for the new campaign.

Hopefully should result in him having a bigger impact than last season

But whatever happens, he’s got a network who will support him, which is more important than anything else.