Phil Foden has worked extremely hard to become as good as he is – and Izzy Christiansen has shared something he was doing years ago that has helped him become such a great striker of the ball.
Foden was City’s star of the show last night in the 4-1 win over Aston Villa, scoring a superb hat-trick to reach 20 goals for the season.
Foden, 23, dazzled playing a central role as Kevin De Bruyne was rested, with pundit Ally McCoist even likening him to England legend Paul Gascoigne at one point in the match.
It was a scintillating performance from City’s number 47, who is heading the right way for the PFA Player of the Season award at this rate.
Foden’s third goal last night was especially good.
Some have likened it to Wayne Rooney’s famous goal for Manchester United against Newcastle United.
It was a fierce hit from Foden, who is getting a bit of a reputation for his ball-striking.
Izzy Christiansen has now shared something that Foden used to do at City which has really helped him in this particular area…
Izzy Christiansen shares what she observed Phil Foden doing years ago at Manchester City
Foden may not be the tallest or strongest player around. But he doesn’t half hit the ball with some venom sometimes.
His shooting technique is very impressive, and he certainly gets a lot of power behind his efforts.
Izzy Christiansen appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live, and shared something she saw Foden doing years ago which has likely contributed to his impressive shooting ability today.
Christiansen played for Manchester City Women for just over four years, and would often see the 23-year-old in the gym.
She said: “After playing at City and being around the academy when Foden was coming through, I was around him a lot in the gym, because we shared the gym with the academy players.
“There was a sports scientist there who had Foden doing, I don’t know how many, but there was a lot, hundreds of lunges a day, just to strengthen his legs up. I know that sounds really basic, but they put so much emphasis on the physical development of the player.”
Foden’s physicality is underrated
For all of Foden’s elegance, he has definitely improved in recent times from a physicality standpoint.
Here and there, he will still get barged off the ball, but that is happening a lot less frequently now.
Foden’s many lunges during his academy days have most definitely served him well. It is clear they have really helped him to be able to strike the ball hard.
And then, such exercises have also helped give him strong legs for holding his ground against defenders.
Foden has always had technical brilliance. But the club should be credited with the way they have prepared him for the rigours of the Premier League.