Joao Cancelo going from struggles to smiles shows Pep Guardiola's under-rated Man City strength

For all his indisputable qualities in the dugout, Pep Guardiola is not a cuddly football coach.

That's not to say he isn't frequently and almost aggressively tactile with his players during games and training, but those instances are more by-products of his bristling, unrelenting intensity.

The big, gurning bear hugs Jurgen Klopp throws around? Not for Pep.

But that is not to say he does not value the importance of a human connection with his players. On the contrary.

Such relationships are vital to any great manager. Contrast Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter in the first decade of this century, when he engendered a band-of-brothers feel within his all-conquering squads, with the bedraggled contemporary version who appears to generally loathe modern footballers.

For all the talk of Alex Ferguson unleashing his infamous "hairdryer" on Manchester United players who stepped out of line, it is telling how many of his former charges still consider him something of a father figure.

"Every player is a world. You have to understand them as much as possible. Sometimes you need time to understand each other - it's normal," Guardiola said on Friday, discussing Joao Cancelo after the full-back penned a contract extension at City until 2027.

The Portugal international is in his prime and enjoying a prolonged run of career-best form.

The specific manner of Cancelo's ascent from seemingly questionable 2019 recruit to one of the premier operators in his position across world football is frequently held up as a very Guardiola triumph.

A conventional, overlapping attacking right-back during his time at Valencia and Juventus - albeit one with evidently phenomenal technical qualities - Cancelo has refined his game in line with the