Former Spanish winger Albert Riera has explained why joining Manchester City on loan in January 2006 was the best thing he did to help develop his game.
Riera has been speaking to The Coaches Voice in Spain regarding the various managers he worked under during his playing career, including Stuart Pearce at Manchester City.
Riera joined the Cityzens on loan from Espanyol in January 2006 after a falling out with his then manager at the Spanish club.
He would only spend five months at Manchester City, making 18 appearances for the club and scoring one goal in his time at the club.
It was largely a forgettable spell in his career, with the deal ending in the summer and the winger returning to Espanyol for two years before eventually joining Liverpool in a €9.8m deal.
By the time he ended up at Anfield he was a significantly different player to the one who had been at Manchester City, but it appears he does not regret the loan move at club in the slightest, even if they were “radically different” to the team that exists today.
“Luckily, from that mistake (refusing to play at Espanyol) of mine came the best thing that could have happened to me to improve going to Manchester City,” he said.
“So, it was a poor City – in quotes – because when I went there was no money. But they did have the same incredible fans as now.
“The coach was Stuart Pearce. A coach who had a very direct game philosophy: we protected ourselves behind and we had to go up very, very quickly. Pearce wanted two-way games because he understood that was the way we could win, especially against the biggest teams in the Premier League.
“A radically different game from what City plays now, but at that time it was the only way we could play in relation to the players there were.
“You can’t try to play a certain way if you don’t have the players for it. That more direct game made me a much better soccer player. I was used to football in Spain, with less rhythm and enough time to think with the ball. But in England the pace is frenetic.”
