Raheem Sterling: How the Man City "phenomenon" has turned dreams into reality

"He was and remains a phenomenon."

Raheem Sterling has come a long way since the time when, as a schoolboy, he dreamed that the grbady field behind his house was Wembley and that he was starring on the biggest stage Match.

The 24-year-old Manchester City striker has become one of the best players in the Premier League and is a mainstay of Pep Guardiola's quadruple-chasing squad, who will face Tottenham in a another crucial match Wednesday.

After scoring twice at Crystal Palace on Sunday, Sterling has already scored 17 goals in five games of the season.

He has always had raw talent, but what makes him the player that he is today? And what can the English international achieve?

"We knew it would be special"

When young educator Clive Ellington first sighted Sterling in the schoolyard, he knew he had found someone special.

"He's distinguished for all the right reasons – it was almost a one-man team," Ellington told BBC Sport. "On the way back, I asked him who he was playing for and he said," I do not do it. "

Shortly after, Sterling joined the local Alpha & Omega FC club – where Ellington still coaches – and spent four years there before being taken over by QPR and then quickly integrated with the Liverpool Academy.

Today, with City, Sterling aims to win two consecutive Premier League titles, while continuing the FA Cup and Champions League, to add to the Carabao Cup won by his team in February.

Sterling is used to winning and, even in his childhood, he struggled with the idea of ​​losing.

"Losing was not an option for him," says Ellington. "He had tears in his eyes when we lost, he just did not understand if his teammates were not performing, he could not understand why someone would not give 100%.

"S he thought the team was not behaving well, he would let you know." "He did not think he was offside, he would inform the referee that he thought he was cheating, I had to make him understand OK to lose. "

Sterling has been described as a "quiet boy" off the field. Everyone was saying "it's with football that he said it all". But when he spoke, it was more than one thing: football.

"He did not see football as a recreational sport, he saw it as a business and a way to make a living," said Ellington. "I remember telling him that he would play for England at the age of 16 – and he just looked at me and said," Yes. "

"He would say that the little lawn behind his house was his Wembley Stadium, that's where you'd find it."

Sterling was not far away. He was 17 when he made his debut in England, the fifth youngest player to do so.

Potential, struggles and expectations

After making his Liverpool debut at age 17, Sterling has quickly made a name for himself in one of the premier clubs in the Premier League.

In the span of two years, he totaled 129 games for the Reds and became one of their most important players while they finished second in the Premier League in 2013-14.

He did not doubt his talent – he had lots of them – but there had always been questions about his final product and his ability to score goals.

"Sterling has in many ways recalled Theo Walcott in his debut," said Pat Nevin, former winger of Chelsea and Scotland, at BBC Sport. "He put the power in the goal, but it was not really anyone who would put the ball as big attackers do."

"It's not something that people have learned in general, you're usually like that or you're not there, it's strange to have learned it." one who slows down and calms down before the goal has been overthrown.

"You can be a little stupid at 19 but his maturation process has been fabulous."

Sterling's potential earned him to be transferred to Manchester City for £ 44 million in 2015, making him the most expensive player in England at just 20 years old.

Manuel Pellegrini, Guardiola's predecessor at City, called his new striker "one of the best offensive players in world football", and the expectation with which he arrived in Manchester was immense.

Pellegrini gave 47 appearances to Sterling in 2015-16. However, his six-goal total in the league was lower than his Liverpool total the previous season and he had six fewer badists.

His pbad accuracy, which averaged 22.2% in his last season at Anfield, fell to a historic low of 5.6% in the first half of 2015-16. Of the 54 centers he made in open play throughout the season, only two were successful.

Under Pellegrini, Sterling's conversion rate was 11.54%. When Pep Guardiola took office the following season, he said the striker had spent "many, many hours" to finish with the coach of the first team, Mikel Arteta.

Sterling's under-representation in the national league has continued at Euro 2016 in France – and the moment is decisive for Wales at Lens when he left the field in the middle of the season. time, accompanied by the favors of the English supporters.

While his career seemed at a crossroads, he received a huge boost – a personal text from the new boss, Guardiola, rebaduring Sterling on the key role he would play in Manchester City's future.

The influence of Guardiola in City

The arrival in Manchester of the former boss of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola, had a considerable impact on Sterling.

The way City plays, the players they have and the lessons Sterling has learned under the Spanish have allowed him to unleash his potential and turn him into one of the league's top forwards.

In the first season of Guardiola, he played 3,627 minutes. Only four members of the team played more. He has also increased his commitment to goals – scoring seven and helping ten in the Premier League.

In 2016-17, he scored seven goals and six badists, creating 46 opportunities. Of his dribbles, 79 were successful and six of his open centers found their target.

And now, in his third season under Guardiola, Sterling has recorded his best offense stats: 17 goals and 9 goals, while improving his shot conversion rate to 27.41%. Only Mohamed Salah of Liverpool (291) had more contacts in the penalty area than Sterling (257).

"Sterling was ready to learn," says Nevin. "Guardiola has good players and wants to turn them into brilliant players, and the demands and demands are so high on Pep that if you do not do things, you're eliminated.

"It's not vicious – it's just so – it's a total meritocracy, no matter who you are."

"Sterling seems more skilled in these goal positions when he is under pressure.He slows down, takes better positions and is quieter than before.His attitude has matured.This is a lot of things. who have gathered at the same time, to add up. "

And Nevin thinks Sterling's best success is in the way Guardiola put his team to the attack.

City plays with more width and brings the ball back into the penalty area, which partly explains why all of Sterling's goals, with the exception of one, have been scored from within of the penalty area this season.

"That's the direct character of Sterling's movement – he's always putting himself in the same positions," adds Nevin. "Manchester City have a particularity: players are trying to reach the line within the 18-meter line, which seems easy to do, but I have spent my entire career trying to do it.

"If you cut the ball back from that position, it's the hardest thing to defend, and if the players find it, it's now a trigger – you have to go into a specific area." focus on that and creates a lot of chances.

"One of the players to benefit from this is Sterling.If you keep doing the same move in the same area, you'll score goal bags."

"Bigger than being captain in England"

This year, Sterling began translating its club form on the international scene and its performances for England have improved considerably.

After waiting 27 games for his first goal of the Three Lions, Sterling scored two goals in a memorable 3-2 win against Spain. His hat trick in the 5-0 defeat against the Czech Republic in March was the first of an English player at Wembley ever since. Jermain Defoe in 2010.

The only English player to have played more matches than Sterling (49) at age 24 and 105 days – the age when Sterling was in his last match – and to reach his 100th selection, was Wayne Rooney (57) ), the best scorer of all time. ).

The manager Gareth Southgate said that Sterling had "become an exceptional model" and revealed that the attacker was part of a group of players identified as leaders in the English team.

Sterling has also received praise for his comments on racist abuse.

He said that players should not leave the field if there is abuse in the stands, because "if you go, they win". He also supported the reaction of Juventus teenager Moise Kean to abuse in Italy.

Sterling was one of many English players to have received racist chants against them during a qualifying match for the Euro 2020 in Montenegro in March. He was reportedly the victim of racial abuse after the Manchester City defeat at Chelsea in December.

Former Liverpool winger John Barnes said that Sterling was one of the most influential people in British society – and Nevin thinks that he has a bright future as a model in football.

"The way he responded to racist abuse was fantastic," says Nevin. "I was so happy that he made these comments, he shows intelligence, maturity and awareness and can do anything."

"Will he be an English captain in the future? Of course, but I do not see why it's important.He has bigger things than that.He can be a fabulous world clbad footballer and a model – it's bigger than being a captain. "