Why Martin Demichelis Was Man City's Most Surprising Player in 2014/15 Season

The rise of Martin Demichelis at Manchester City has been one of the most remarkable turnaround stories in English football’s recent history. Having been mocked and hammered by the press and, indeed, sections of his own support immediately after coming into the City first-team early last season, he has since established himself as the club’s best and most consistent defender.

Demichelis is 34 and lacking pace. After initially failing to cope with the intensity of the Premier League, he was written off by many as a flop, a player past his best and unsuited to the rigours of the English top flight.

But Manuel Pellegrini, who had worked with him at Malaga and was desperate to bring him to City, kept faith with the Argentinian, and he has reaped the rewards.

In a season in which Vincent Kompany’s form has imploded and Eliaquim Mangala has found adjusting to the City first team somewhat difficult, Demichelis has emerged as a beacon of consistency and a steadying influence in the City defence.

He made 31 league starts and barely put a foot wrong. Both Mangala and Kompany look more comfortable alongside him than when paired next to one another, and, as a result, Demichelis is one of the first names on Pellegrini’s team sheet.

His lack of pace is hardly a concern. He reads the game so expertly and intuitively that he rarely needs to rely on it. His challenges are timed beautifully, and he’s the most vocal player in City’s back four, the man orchestrating offside traps and organising the other defenders.

Has there been many better pound-for-pound signings in City’s recent history? Kompany, at £6 million, has proven to be an absolute bargain, given the impact he had before this season, and Pablo Zabaleta was another who arrived for little and delivered spectacularly.

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Gareth Barry, a £12 million signing from Aston Villa in 2009, was an unsung hero throughout City’s FA Cup and title-winning period under Roberto Mancini and will forever be remembered by the City fans as a man who emphatically paid back the money spent on him, but at £3.5 million, Demichelis is right up there with the club’s best recent bargains.

He was offered a one-year contract extension earlier this season—richly deserved recognition for what’s been a fine season. Even if his role reduces next season because a new player arrives or if Kompany and Mangala begin to show improved form, his presence around the training ground will be hugely significant. He’s experienced and played at the very highest level, and City’s young players can learn a lot from him.

But, as it stands, he will return in August as City’s No. 1 centre-back, and Kompany and Mangala will have to battle it out to partner him.

Pellegrini needs Kompany back to his best, and Mangala, who was signed as a long-term option, must improve his reading and understanding of the game. Those two were seen prior to the start of this campaign as potentially City’s centre-back pairing for years to come, but both have been eclipsed by their more senior team-mate.

Having been at the centre of a media storm that characterised him as a liability, Demichelis has undergone the kind of reversal in fortunes seldom seen. The 2-0 win away at Hull City in March 2013 was the turning point, but this season has seen him go from strength to strength.

Very few expected him to become such an entrenched fixture in the City side, but an excellent, largely error-free season has justified Pellegrini’s faith in him. He’s been superb and deserves huge credit for the way he has answered his critics.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.