Manchester City unveil Pep Guardiola: New manager promises to prove himself in England

New Delhi: The blue half of Manchester on Sunday celebrated the unveiling of their prized possession, the hugely successful Pep Guardiola as City's new manager at a fan event.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss soon captured the attention of everyone in attendance at Etihad Stadium, with as many as 7000 fans cheering for the Spaniard.

"That is why I am here. I proved myself in Barcelona and after I proved myself in Germany I wanted to prove myself in England," he said.

"I cannot do that alone. I need the players, the staff. We need our fans. Without that, it is impossible," he added.

The 45-year-old joined City after three years at Bayern, where he won a hat-trick of Bundesliga titles but failed to reach a Champions League final. But he won the continental title — which has now become a sort of obsession for the heavy spending club — twice as Barca manager.

Guardiola will see his new team take on former club Bayern in a pre-season friendly on July 20 in Munich, before participating in the 2016 International Champions Cup — which will have neighbours United and Borussia Dortmund.

They will play another league rivals – Arsenal – in a friendly on August 7 at Gothenburg, Sweden, before the start of 2016-17 campaign. In their first match of the new season, City host Sunderland on August 13.