Manchester City’s versatile player Oleksandr Zinchenko has insisted that his wife Vlada Sedan criticized the football manager of the club, Pep Guardiola as a fan not as his wife none as a journalist who she is.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian football star who stated this in a statement issued recently has been under severe attack from some critics via social media because his wife blamed Manchester City’s defeat on the Spanish tactician.
Recall that Manchester City was stunned out of the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League campaign after French Ligue 1 side Lyon defeated the Premier League club 3-1 in the quarter-final stage of the competition.
Just like other fans of Manchester City who were not happy that City failed to progress beyond the quarter-final stage for the third successive seasons, Vlada Sedan, the wife of the club youngster who also happens to be a journalist faulted the tactics of Guardiola over the defeat.
Vlada Sedan posted this on social media hours after the match: “Perhaps I have no right to say this, perhaps Zinchenko will forbid me. But to put it mildly, and in order not to swear, this is completely Guardiola’s fault,’ she said.
‘At such a crucial moment, making such an experimental tactic for Man City is a bummer. I have no right to criticize, but why play three central defenders when the players themselves take their heads.
‘I simply have no words, because to have such a line-up… look what players play at Man City, what a bench. Literally few clubs in the world can boast such reserves.’
Though the Champions League campaign is over and German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have been crowned the champions of the tournament, fans of Guardiola are still not happy that Oleksandr Zinchenko did not caution his wife not to publicly speak against his manager.
They also subjected him to harsh criticism for an interview he granted where he talked about the tactics Guardiola used in the match and how he reacted after the match which they perceived as criticism of Guardiola‘s tactics.
Oleksandr Zinchenko clears himself
Hence, to clarify the whole controversy, Zinchenko had to issue a statement to stress that he did not judge the tactics of Pep Guardiola and praised the wealth of experience of the Spanish tactician.
His statement read: ‘Guys, I need to say a few things about this interview. First of all, I didn’t say anything bad or judgmental about our tactics so don’t confuse my words, please.
‘I was explaining that we as players understand the effect tactics have and how given we have such great experience, we can adapt to the tactics we are given. On the night we lost to Lyon but that doesn’t mean the manager was wrong to try. If you have seen my interviews in the past and the way how I talk about our manager then you can believe me. He is number one.
‘Second one about my wife.
“Although she is a journalist, she is also a fan. During the whole season she was traveling with us all away and home games because she is a massive City fan! In the video, you can see her emotions straight after the game and she gave an opinion like all fans do because she wanted us to do better.
‘We totally understand now that she shouldn’t post it on social media because she is my wife but she was now trying to make a journalist’s opinion on the manager of the team, she was simply reacting to her disappointment as a fan.
‘I’m writing right now from my wedding and instead of enjoying that unbelievable moment I have to do this because I can’t skip it and leave it like that. I hope you understand.’
Zinchenko and Vlada Sedan got married on Tuesday, August 25 amid the controversy Sedan’s comment had caused. The Ukraine international who has been at Manchester City since 2016 is reportedly in trouble with the manager over his wife’s comment. He made just 25 appearances in all competitions in the just concluded 2019-2020 season due to his fitness issues. This could get worse in the forthcoming 2020-2021 season if he doesn’t appease his manager before the commencement of the season.
As it stands, the £219,000-per-week Zinchenko is reportedly earning at Manchester City is at risk because the manager might decide to give him less playing time which might frustrate him out of the club before the expiration of his contract in 2024. He might even be loaned to a lesser club throughout the duration of the forthcoming season which would commence on September 12.
