Phil Foden

Phil Foden – A Cityzen Born and Bred

Whilst his rise to superstardom has been quick, it’s easy to forget that Phil Foden is still only 20-years-old. The world is truly his cliched oyster.

There is absolutely no argument against Phil Foden being one of the most exciting prospects in world football. The 20-year-old has already been regarded as England’s new wonderkid, and they have welcomed the hype with open arms given his rapid progress through the ranks in Manchester City’s youth teams before showing his ability in the first-team with aplomb under Pep Guardiola early this season after a handful of cameo appearances. Now the youngster has grown spectacularly in his role to become a crucial player in Guardiola's roster.

The Stockport lad has come a long way and there is an even longer way for him to go. But how did the young gem make his way out of the rough? Let's have a look at the brief history of Phil Foden.

City fan Since Day One

One of the very few football superstars to be born after the Y2K revolution, Foden grew up in the Stockport area in Greater Manchester. Although most of his family supported the red side of Manchester, Phil and his mother surrendered their loyalties to the sky blue territory.

The mother and son duo would go to the City of Manchester Stadium and sing Blue Moon with outpouring passion. From a very young age, it was clear that City's was the badge he always wanted to wear with pride.

Before Foden stepped on the stadium's turf as a player, he walked on to the pitch as a matchday mascot for Manchester City in 2007 against Sunderland. Although he wanted to walk out with City hero Micah Richards, as Foden described his dream come true in an interview, he eventually went with Martin Petrov.

In another anecdote by the youngster, he described Sergio Aguero's dramatic league – clinching goal against Queens Park Rangers in 2012 as unforgettable and ecstatic. He also further explained that he and his mother were exactly behind the goal and that the crowd went berserk at the full-time whistle.

Young English Protégé

Besides being an ardent supporter of City, Foden also became a part of the club's system at a very tender age of four and officially registered as a youth academy player at nine.

From an early stage, it was evident that the young lad possessed a special knack for football. Former City youth director Jim Cassell, who spotted him in an under-9s game, explained his bewilderment at Foden's ball control and body movement. Cassell described Foden's abilities as "rather unusual for someone of his age".

Despite the massive overhauls occurring at the club due to the Abu Dhabi Group takeover, Foden showed his faith in City's system and rejected interests from other clubs. On the other side of the spectrum where players like Jadon Sancho left in search of greener pastures, Foden stayed put and kept working hard to achieve his dream of playing for his favourite club.

A Revelation in India

It was May of 2017. England had reached the final of the UEFA Under-17 Euros against Spain. Foden managed to get on the scoresheet, however, the young English lions faced an unfortunate loss in the eventual penalty shootout.

England had another chance at redemption the same year in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India. This was Foden's moment to show the world who he truly is. And boy, did he shine in his moment. The English youngsters went on to win the tournament spectacularly, thanks to the Mancunian's brace in the final against Spain, of all teams.

Foden also won the best player of the tournament for his heroics from the right-wing and later, was titled BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year!

Knocking on the Gaffer's Door

After sending the world in awe of him, Foden returned to Manchester and he was rewarded with his first-team debut. He came on for Yaya Toure in the 75th minute in the UEFA Champions League at home against Feyenoord.

With multiple appearances in the Champions League that season, Foden broke a bunch of records, the most prominent one being the first player born in 2000 to start a game in the tournament.

The Englishman's debut senior goal for City came the following season in an away EFL Cup tie against Oxford United. His impact both as a starter and as a substitute was undeniable, which even led the manager Pep Guardiola to jokingly say that his manager needs to play him more often.

Stockport Iniesta

As the season progressed, Foden's consistency kept on impressing the locals of the Etihad. His delicate dribbling and feather-like ball control made him famously known as 'Stockport Iniesta', after his place of birth and his gameplay resemblance to the Spanish maestro.

Foden soon became a fan favourite with his fearless style of play and started making a resounding claim to be a starter. Pep could not deny the youngster's ability and publicly made a promise that the club will nurture him to make him their crown jewel.

The young star also made some appearances for the English Under-21s in 2019, a year before he made his senior team debut in a 1-0 win against Iceland. Although, it turned out to be a bittersweet memory for Phil, as well as for his compatriot, Manchester United starlet Mason Greenwood.

The Icelandic Mischief

A couple of days after the game in Iceland, Foden and Greenwood reportedly snuck in two local girls into their hotel room. Despite the stringent COVID-19 guidelines, they are said to have bribed one of the hotel's workers to let the girls into the team's secure bubble.

Rightfully so, English national team Gareth Southgate was fuming with the youngsters and reprimanded their actions. Calling their behaviour naivete, the coach clarified that the duo had apologised to the team and would further be suspended for the upcoming Nations League fixture against Denmark.

Foden and Greenwood issued public statements of apology on their social media handles. In his statement, Foden emphasised that representing the Three Lions on his debut was a matter of immense pride for him and he had made a poor decision because of a lapse in his judgment.

Breakout Season

Foden did not let the incident affect his performances. In fact, the youngster took it in his stride and put in excellent displays throughout this season. 

After the emotional departure of club legend and Foden's idol, David Silva, the youngster was trusted by Guardiola to take over the Spanish midfielder's position. Foden has done exactly that. In his 45 appearances, his highest in a season for City, the Englishman has been instrumental with his 21 goal contributions.

His most important goal came away against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, where he drilled in a powerful low-driven shot from the edge of the box to the goalkeeper's near post.

Foden has been played in a lot of positions across the field this season, most frequently on the left flank as a winger as well as an attacking midfielder. His hold-up play and forward passing has become some of the strongest weapons in his arsenal. With around 1.5 key passes per game and a passing accuracy of 87.45%, Foden has channelled his inner pass master and will be looking forward to capitalising on these traits.

What's in Store for Phil

For a 20-year-old to have a century of club appearances and nine major club titles under his belt is quite an unusual feat. But when you are Phil Foden, this is just the tip of the ginormous iceberg. It is fairly safe to say that, given his boundless talent and passion for the club and the game, there is nothing but a bright future waiting for the young Englishman.

Foden's potential is immense and, with Guardiola as his manager, it would be some sight to behold if the Spaniard manages to even make a fraction of the impact he made with a certain Lionel Messi. After all, Pep did say that Foden was the most talented youngster he has ever seen in his career, as a footballer and as a manager.

The expectations are sky-high from the local lad but with patience, hard work and persistence adding to his natural footballing abilities, we could be witnessing the era of Phil Foden's dominance.

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