An appetiser to savour

IT would be a stretch to call it the Jorginho derby, but Sunday's Community Shield clash between Manchester City and Chelsea will give us a glimpse of why the Brazilian-born Italian midfielder was the subject of such a bitter tug o' war between the two clubs.
Earmarked as the long-term successor to Yaya Toure, Jorginho was going to be Pep Guardiola's main signing of the summer. The deal was done and all but dusted only for Napoli to insist he was part of the package that took Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea.
Not for the first time, big-spending City were gazumped – and enraged. They complained Napoli had bullied the player into following his boss to Stamford Bridge.

It was an underhand way of getting compensation for their manager (who they sacked) and a big blow to City whose plans were thrown into disarray. But if you think the anger will spill onto the Wembley pitch, think again: Sarri and Guardiola are the best of friends.
They even met for dinner during the World Cup, the Catalan having been given much food for thought in their Champions League encounter last season. He hailed Napoli as "maybe the best team" he'd faced in his entire career after a purple 25 minutes when they totally bossed City at their own mesmerising, high-pressing game.
They make unlikely bedfellows. Sarri, 59, is a latecomer to football, never played professionally and had a career in banking. But in his ability to get teams to defend 40 metres further upfield than the Italian norm, Guardiola recognised a kindred spirit.
Their clashes this season will be watched for their football master classes not their feistiness, and Jorginho is sure to be the focus of attention. He will be Sarri's lieutenant on the field, the man who can show his teammates what the elderly, chain-smoking boss is raving on about. He will also show Guardiola what he missed.
All that said, City are trying to pretend that missing out on a future fulcrum of their side could eventually be a blessing in disguise: with no Plan B, Guardiola is looking at youngsters and just happens to have a few stellar candidates. England's Phil Foden and Spain's Brahim Diaz are the best known but earning rave reviews lately has been Claudio Gomes, the 17-year-old City snapped up from PSG in June. Not the least intriguing aspect to the annual curtain raiser will be making our own comparisons on Sunday night.
Not to be outdone, Sarri will have his own precocious youngster in Callum Hudson-Odoi who has been stealing the pre-season headlines. Just 17, the kid could be the most exciting graduate to come from their much-vaunted but still no-end-product academy.
He had Arsenal's Hector Bellerin – no slouch himself – on toast in Wednesday's game while further up the pecking order is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Fresh from helping England to an unlikely World Cup semifinal, he could just be a major beneficiary of Sarri's coaching.
Another Englishman hoping for a run in the side is Ross Barkley, a shock £35 million (RM185 million) recruit from Everton last season. Having once been touted for greatness, he now looks more like another Ryan Gosling than a Paul Gascoigne, but Sarriball could offer him a last chance at redemption.
The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Tim Cahill, David Luiz, Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso will also be expecting a lift after their careers stalled during Antonio Conte's tortured final season. And with it looking more likely by the day that Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois won't be heading for Madrid, competition is going to be fierce.
This is why the bookies make the Blues third-favourites for the title so we could be seeing the two of the best teams in the Premier League competing for the Shield – something that this fixture does not always guarantee.
Although it is not usually that competitive either, it offers a chance to put down a marker. Neither manager will be near to fielding a full-strength side but Guardiola's may be wetter behind the ears than his friend's.
With more players in the later stages of the World Cup and mindful of a tough opener at Arsenal next weekend, he will see it as another chance to gauge the quality of the next generation.
They will be bolstered by those who didn't go to Russia such as Leroy Sane, Aymeric Laporte and maybe Riyad Mahrez, whose ankle injury against Bayern was not as serious as feared. Early returnee Bernardo Silva has already suggested he may come into his own after a so-so first season and is sure to feature.
So this clash between the two most recent champions – their league games have proved pivotal in each season – should whet appetites for what could be mouth-watering collisions to come.
Luiz, for one, has been impressed by Sarri. "I love this philosophy," says the Brazilian. "We play high, with a lot of possession of the ball in a technical way. He's trying to help us every single day, double sessions, to learn quickly his philosophy."
Sounds uncannily like Guardiola's. It could be the start of a rivalry to savour.