Manchester City staff profiles

Written by Simon Austin — March 31, 2018
Pen pics of Manchester City's coaching, science, medicine and analytics staff. To see the staff profiles for other clubs, click here.
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL
Txiki Begiristain

Nationality: Spanish
A fine player, who was capped 22 times by Spain. Worked as technical director at Barcelona from 2008 to 2010. Brought to City by his old boss Ferran Soriano, who is now CEO at the club.
COACHING
MANAGER
Pep Guardiola

Nationality: Spanish
A disciple of Johan Cruyff and a linchpin of the Barcelona's first European Cup winning side. Graduated from La Masia to manage Barca, leading them to unprecedented levels of success, with three La Ligas, three Copa del Reys and two Champion League titles. Won three league titles with Bayern Munich, though not the Champions League. Arrived at City in the summer of 2016.
ASSISTANT
Juanma Lillo

Nationality: Spanish
Was Guardiola's assistant for two successful seasons before leaving for Al Sadd in Qatar in the summer of 2022. Returned a year later to rejoin his compatriot, who hailed him as a unique thinker and close friend.
ASSISTANT
Carlos Vicens

Nationality: Spanish
Joined City in 2017 from Majorcan club CD Llosetense, where he was assistant manager & Academy Director. Initially worked with the U12s & U13s before becoming assistant and then lead with the U18s. Won FA Youth Cup & U18s Premier League in his first season in charge. Promoted to first team when Brian Kidd left in July 2021.
FIRST-TEAM COACH
Inigo Dominguez

Nationality: Spanish
Worked as assistant at Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Marseille, before joining Lillo at Al Sadd. Then moved with him to City in August 2023.
GOALKEEPING COACH
Xabier Mancisidor

Nationality: Spanish
Brought to City by Manuel Pellegrini, with whom he had worked at Malaga. Former Majorca goalkeeper kept on at Etihad by Guardiola.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Carles Planchart

Nationality: Spanish
Analyst worked with Guardiola at Barca B, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Says Guardiola likes to sit down with him as soon as he can after a match to analyse it on his laptop.
HEAD OF PLAYER SUPPORT & PROTOCOL
Manel Estiarte

Nationality: Spanish
An unusual job title but a crucial role: Estiarte is Guardiola's mentor and sounding board. Guardiola once said: "Managers are very, very alone. It is good for me to have him here." The Catalan was once Spain's finest water polo player and won gold at the 1996 Olympics.
FITNESS COACH
Lorenzo Buenaventura

Nationality: Spanish
Worked with Guardiola at Barcelona and Bayern. Oversees the team and individual fitness programmes. Regarded as crucial to the high-energy, fast-pressing style of the manager.
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR
Simon Timson

Nationality: English
Appointed in July 2020 and is one of the most respected performance leaders in British sport. Made his name in British Skeleton, helping to turn a little-known sport into a medals factory. Subsequently worked for the ECB, UK Sport and the LTA. Heads up City Football Group's performance department, covering S&C, sport science, nutrition and psychology.
DIRECTOR OF PLAYER HEALTH & PERFORMANCE
Dan Lewindon

Nationality: English
Worked as a physio in rugby, for Northampton Saints and England, before joining the LTA as Head of High Performance Science and Medicine in 2016. Reunited with Timson at City Football Group in August 2022.
DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE
James Cheeseman

Nationality: English
Joined City in January 2022 as Head of Performance Services for Manchester City Women and promoted to Men's First Team Director of Performance in July 2023. Previously worked for West Ham, as Head of Academy Physical Development, and for the English Institute of Sport and GB Pentathlon.
Head of Strength and Conditioning
Simon Bitcon

Nationality: English
A prominent practitioner who has been with City for a decade. Has also worked with world champion boxer Carl Frampton (above, right). His brother Mark is Head of Performance Services at the City's Academy.
Head of Physical Performance
Donough Holohan

Nationality: Irish
Joined in July 2012. Was Head of Sports Science at Charlton before that.
SPORTS SCIENTIST
Barry Hamilton

Nationality: Irish
Hails from Blackrock in Dublin, where he played at a semi-pro level. Joined City from STATSports. Worked for Croatia at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
NUTRITIONIST
Tom Parry

Nationality: English
Long-standing member of staff who has worked under managers going back to Roberto Mancini.
CONSULTANT PSYCHOLOGIST
David Young

Nationality: English
Has been working with City's first team since July 2019. Also lead performance psychologist with the England and Wales Cricket Board - and worked for Wolves for four years.
MEDICAL
HEAD OF SPORTS MEDICINE
Max Sala

Nationality: Italian
City's long-standing team doctor. Despite the recruitment of Eduardo Mauri (below) and regular rumours about his future following Guardiola's arrival, Sala remains. A graduate of the University of Ferrara in Italy.
DOCTOR
Eduardo Mauri

Nationality: Spanish
Joined City last summer. Played for Espanyol before qualifying as a doctor and working for them in that capacity. Went on to Qatar national team and AS Eupen in Belgium. Another Catalan on the staff.
HEAD PHYSIO
James Baldwin

Nationality: English
Joined the club from Middlesbrough in March 2009, initially with the reserves. Promoted to first team in November 2010 and then took the top job in February 2019, replacing Lee Nobes.
PHYSIO
Anthony Greenhouse

Nationality: English
Joined City in February 2008 from nearby Oldham. Promoted from Academy to first team in February 2019.
PHYSIO
Federico Genovesi

Nationality: Italian
Qualified osteopath who previously worked at Lazio and Palermo in Italy.
PHYSIO/ SPORTS THERAPIST
Mario Pafundi

Nationality: Italian
Joined City in October 2016, having previously worked as a sports therapist for Team Sky and British Cycling.
PHYSIO
Steve Sparks

Nationality: English
Joined from Southampton, where he had worked for the previous decade, in December 2020.
PHYSIO
Thomas O'Malley

Nationality: English
Was Head Physio at Wigan Warriors rugby league from 2017 to 2020 before joining City.
PHYSIO
Nick Oakley
Nationality: English
Was Head of Sport Science & Medicine at Crewe before joining City in January 2017 as Lead Elite Development Squad Physio. Promoted to Rehab Physio and then First-Team Physio.
PERFORMANCE THERAPIST
Ben Thompson

Nationality: Welsh
Joined City in 2007 and also worked for the Wales national team for three years.
SPORTS THERAPIST
Eduardo Alvarez Gil

Nationality: Spanish
Spaniard joined the club in July 2016.
ANALYSTS
HEAD OF PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Harry Dunn

Nationality: English
Succeeded Stephen Rands (City's former Head of Analysis) as Head of Performance Analysis at Scunthorpe, then joined him at City in September 2014. Promoted to Interim Head of Analysis when Piet Cremers left the club and then to permanent Analysis Lead.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST (TRAINING)
Ryan DeFreitas

Nationality: English
Joined City in this new role in September 2022, having previously been Head of Academy Performance Analysis at Leicester City for nine-and-a-half years.
SET PIECE ANALYST
Jack Wilson

Nationality: Scottish
Hired from Brentford, where he was Assistant First Team Performance Analyst, in November 2022. Had worked for the Irish FA, Hearts and Dundee United before joining the Bees in September 2020.
OPPOSITION ANALYST
Craig Nosworthy

Nationality: English
Joined in July 2021 from Huddersfield Town, where he was Head of Performance Analysis.
PERFORMANCE DATA ANALYST
Daniel Wright
Nationality: English
Joined from Derby County, where he was first-team Technical Analyst, in July 2021.
DATA SCIENCE
DIRECTOR OF INSIGHTS AND DECISION TECHNOLOGY
Brian Prestidge

Nationality: Scottish
Heads up data science across the nine teams in the City Football Group, including Manchester City. Was promoted from Data Scientist in January 2020, replacing Lee Mooney.
LEAD AI SCIENTIST
Laurie Shaw
Nationality: Scottish
Has a formidable CV, having worked as a Research Scientist and Lecturer at Harvard University, for a £30bn hedge fund and as a policy advisor to the British government. Joined City in January 2021 as the club looked to bridge the data science gap with market leaders Liverpool.
HEAD OF FOOTBALL INSIGHTS
Ravi Mistry
Nationality: English
Joined in June 2020 as a Football Intelligence Officer. Promoted to current role in May 2022. Previously worked for The Information Lab in London for five years.
PERFORMANCE PHYSICIST
John-Mark Sisman
Nationality: English
Appointed in July 2020. Role is to "accelerate the application of physics-based concepts that have been developed at City Football Group over the last four years in order to solve football-focused performance challenges.”
TALENT ID CO-ORDINATOR
Chris Baker
Nationality: English
Hired from Huddersfield Town in August 2020.Responsible for co-ordinating scouting operations and integrating data into the process.
FOOTBALL INSIGHTS ANALYST
Maram Al Baharna
Nationality: English
Worked for media company The Athletic as a data journalist before joining City in January 2023.