Former Manchester City player Paul Dickov, now a club ambassador, poses with the FA Cup, English Premier League, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup trophies during the club's recent Treble Trophy Tour of China.

Manchester City fans pose for a group selfie during a match-viewing party in Shanghai for City's victory over Sheffield United on Aug 27.

"I would get nowhere near this team!" Paul Dickov gleefully admits when asked if wishes he had plied his trade for Manchester City during the Pep Guardiola era. "I would be alright with Pep's pressing, but just don't give me the ball!"

While he never quite managed Erling Haaland's strike rate, Dickov remains a bona-fide cult hero with the City faithful, mostly thanks to a last-gasp goal in a Wembley playoff that helped the club gain promotion from England's third tier in 1999.

How times have changed. Fast-forward to 2023, and Dickov is a Man City ambassador, fronting a just-concluded Treble Trophy Tour around China, and the Abu Dhabi-owned club is more concerned with building dynasties than beating the drop. And while City has gone through a whirlwind transformation from perennial underachiever to reigning European champion, Dickov stresses the club has never forgotten its roots.

"It's in a different stratosphere now, but I have arguments with people all the time about this. The owners have done a fantastic job and they really do make a conscious effort to keep the history there," Dickov told China Daily last weekend at the end of a two-week-long trophy tour that visited fans in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Tianjin and Beijing.

"There are still so many people who worked at (City's old stadium) Maine Road in 1996 that are still there. People like Danny Wilson who worked in the ticket office, who is now more or less on the board. Clare Marsden is still player liaison officer. Club legends like Mike Summerbee and Joe Corrigan. They have made sure to keep the heart and soul of the club intact and that connection with the fans is still there."

The Erling effect

Indeed, despite the seismic changes at the club since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, a link can be traced from Guardiola's all-conquering squad to Dickov. The former Scotland international shared the Maine Road turf with the father of last season's 52-goal phenom Erling Haaland, defender Alf-Inge (not to mention ex-Team China star Sun Jihai, who Dickov describes as "an amazing person "and "one of the best guys I met in football".)

Knowing his dad so well, Erling's rise came as no surprise to Dickov.

"Alfie and I were teammates for two years and he's a great guy. Erling's got an unbelievable hunger to improve all the time. Last season when he was scoring all these goals, they didn't even think he was at 60 percent yet," said Dickov.

"People forget, he's a baby really at 22 years old, and to go and do what he did last season is phenomenal. He's a funny guy, but super, super humble, and I wouldn't expect anything less because his dad and his family are the exact same."

As a former forward himself, Dickov attributes the prolific Norwegian's magic touch to his mental fortitude.

"He can go 20 minutes without touching the ball, but he just believes that when he does get chances he's gonna score. He can touch the ball 11 times in a game and score a hat-trick because he's got that hunger and desire and belief that it's gonna happen for him."

Dad's wholesome home cooking also helps, it seems.

"Erling is clean living and he watches what he eats, and he's got the famous lasagna that Alfie cooks for him the night before a game," continued Dickov with a smile. "Alfie comes over and cooks his lasagna for him, it's a little tradition."

Haaland already tops the Premier League goal chart this term with six in four games, and Dickov believes another scoring spree would mean an unprecedented second straight treble is not beyond the realm of possibility for City — even without talismanic playmaker Kevin De Bruyne ruled out for four months with a hamstring problem.

"There is a reason why only one (English) team had ever done the treble before, and that was Man United (in 1999). So it shows you how difficult it is to do. But there's a little part of me that wouldn't be surprised if City managed it again," said Dickov.

"I heard people say over the summer that since winning the Champions League complacency might kick in. But, honestly, after they won the Champions League, I was at the party — which was a good party, by the way! — and the players and coaches, after speaking to them, they were already thinking about next season and this is the night they've won the Champions League!"

Pep talk

It's the genius of Guardiola that will keep City ahead of the chasing pack, reckons Dickov.

"He keeps evolving all the time," he said of the man widely considered to be the soccer's greatest-ever coach. "There are not many clubs over the last few years that could lose a Vincent Kompany or David Silva or Sergio Aguero or Fernandinho or Ilkay (Gundogan) and Riyad (Mahrez) this year and then improve and still go better. I mean people will say that's down to spending money but if you look at the club's net spend it's one of the lowest in the Premier League.

"So I think to keep evolving the squad but also evolve how we play — we've seen the false nine (position), the inverted fullbacks, we've seen a back four that went to a back three with John Stones moving into midfield. And now we're seeing teams copying what they're doing — Liverpool bringing Trent Alexander-Arnold into midfield (from defense)."

Dickov is confident more tweaks this term can compensate for De Bruyne's absence. "This season we've already seen more ball carriers in the team — Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol have also arrived, all ball carriers," he said.

"And then what a boost to have a fit, fresh Kevin De Bruyne going into the second half of the season."

Dickov has pinpointed Bayern Munich as City's biggest rival for European glory this time around, thanks to the addition of Harry Kane from Tottenham. And he sees last season's runner-up Arsenal — coached by Guardiola's former assistant Mikel Arteta — as the main threat to City's bid for a fourth straight Premier League crown, a feat no club has managed in 134 years of English soccer.

"The one that stands out has got to be Mikel," Dickov replies when asked what Premier League coach comes closest to Guardiola's greatness. "He's learned his trade under Pep. He was very, very popular with the players when he was at City. I was fortunate enough to be in and around the club during preseason and you could see the influence Mikel had on some of the players.

"People sort of forget two and a half years ago they were calling for his head, which is crazy. To be fair to the Arsenal board, they've stuck with him and they've seen the plan that he's got. Mikel is very similar to Pep, looking ahead all the time."

Dickov's latest trip to China is his second visit this year alone, and if his predictions for the season prove accurate, fans could witness a return for another trophy tour next year. Whatever happens on the pitch, Dickov envisages the club's Chinese fan base will only continue to grow.

"I've been to Beijing four times and Shanghai five — they are big, big cities so the fan base is gonna be bigger. But this time we also went to places like Hangzhou and Zhengzhou, and to see the amount of fans we have in these other cities, I really wasn't expecting it," he said. "The turnout was sensational. They're turning up in their hundreds. So it's great to see and it's nice for the club to be able to say thank you to them."

jamesboylan@chinadaily.com.cn