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Any good parent can tell you that it is dangerous to look as if you prefer one of your children to another, and so can the football manager.
And yet Pep Guardiola's public treatment of two of his brightest young talents could not be any different.
Manchester City manager Bernardo Silva is enthusiastic, repeatedly declaring his love for the Portuguese international and declaring this week to be the biggest star of his national team, a bold statement in which Cristiano Ronaldo remains in the game.
But when asked questions about Leroy Sane, Guardiola is more reserved, less effusive and more reserved in his praises.
At the press conference that preceded the match against Schalke, Guardiola was quizzed on both players.
Mentioned, Bernardo enthused for him as "the biggest star" of Portugal, a "lovely person", "the most beloved locker room" and "a joy".
But when Sane's subject was tackled, he called the young German "incredible player with potential" and repeated twice that "it depends on him" in terms of the size of the player that he becomes.
The two men are in direct competition for a spot in the Carabao Cup final team at Wembley on Sunday – and Sane's brilliant cameo at Schalke, when he scored a superb equalizer, made this selection a little more difficult.
It may be disconcerting for a stranger to see the affection that is bothering Bernardo while he sometimes seems a little distant on the subject of Sane.
But we all saw why Sane had hard love and Bernardo puppy love.
The former Schalke player came off the bench with City trolling at the Veltins Arena and, after winning a free kick close to 30 yards, Sane immediately claimed.
Kevin De Bruyne gave a resigned shrug – he was ineffective since such staging – and Sane stepped up to draw the Blues level dramatically.
It followed a pattern. It often emerges from a period of marginalization to produce something astonishing.
He did it last season, while he was away for the start of the campaign, Guardiola openly questioning his approach.
When he got his chance, he was sensational in a Carabao Cup win at West Brom, then continued against Liverpool and scored two beauties.
It was a performance of the players bench that dared the manager to drop him again. He did not do it and Sane was named Centurion and Young Player of the Year.
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But he was excluded from the German team of the World Cup. Toni Koos asked if that mattered to him enough. He was again dismissed by City early in the season.
This is a case of different personalities, different from that of the manager.
Sane is a polite and decent young man, friendly and charming when you spend some time with him, but he often introduces himself as a distant man, browsing the mixed areas, facing the stone, ignoring the demands of the day. interviews.
Bernardo may be a little too nice for his good – he has a hard time saying "no" to journalists, simply because he has endearing innocence and such a kind soul.
Guardiola embraces this beauty and recognizes that she has become the source of a strong bond in her team.
Sane is a little more complex, can be more pungent and reacts clearly when his ambition is questioned and his ego is stung.
It's not that he's a fugitive observer like some players – Guardiola will not have such characters on his team.
But he seems to need more stick than carrot, and if there is a little distance between the manager and the player, we have the impression that one day Sane, while he straddles the football world, will recognize that the gaffer did it for a good reason.
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