Pep Guardiola and him City of Manchester The squad couldn’t leave Estadio due to Dragao fast enough after losing last season’s Champions League final Chelsea in Porto. Guardiola gave his shortest post-match interviews and his players marched out of the stadium without speaking to any media as Thomas Tuchel’s side paraded the trophy after. their 1-0 win.
Even now, almost 12 months on, you would be hard-pressed to find any reaction or reflection from Guardiola’s men on that night in Portugal. This appears to be the club’s first and only Champions League final that hasn’t happened.
Only Man City and Guardiola players know why they have stayed, were reluctant to talk about falling to the final hurdle last season, but it would be a safe bet to assume Winning the Champions League has now become a mixture of despair. and expectations at Etihad Stadium that reflection on the near miss is only likely to intensify the pressure to ultimately win the biggest competition in club football.
But City’s failure to win the Champions League since being transformed by the financial power of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan in 2008 has become a sporting anomaly.
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Based on TransfermarktMan City have spent £1.49 billion on transfers since 2011-12 – more than any other club in world football – and they also employ arguably the greatest coach world Guardiola, who has won many titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. Guardiola has also won two Champions Leagues with Barcelona, in 2009 and 2011.
City’s domestic success in England has qualified them for the Champions League for 11 consecutive seasons since 2011-12, but despite all their advantages, Tuesday’s semi-final first leg with Real Madrid will be their third appearance in the past four years since Sheikh Mansour took over 14 years ago.
During the same period, Real Madrid won four Champions Leagues and Barcelona won three; Chelsea have been crowned European champions twice; Liverpool reached two finals, winning one of them; Manchester United reached two finals, losing both to Guardiola’s Barcelona.
Even taking into account the time it took to build the club after taking over, Man City could not lift their weight. It took Chelsea five years to reach the Champions League final after Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 and nine years to win it. But 14 years on, Sheikh Mansour is still waiting for Man City to win the final award.
As ESPN Speaks to the City of Abu Dhabi’s Hierarchy in 2018 To mark the 10th anniversary of Sheikh Mansour’s arrival, club president Khaldoon Al Mubarak made it clear that Champions League success is expected “sooner rather than later.”
“The short answer is, yes, we should win [Champions League] in the next 10 years, and obviously sooner or later,” Al Mubarak told ESPN. But it’s hard. It took Barcelona almost 50 years to win its first Champions League – it’s a very difficult tournament and what makes it more difficult for English teams is the competition in the Premier League. We have the disadvantage of having to play a very difficult game every weekend. Not all the opponents we face in the Champions League have that. “
Whether playing in the Premier League continues to be a disadvantage for clubs like Man City, however, is still up for debate. Since 2018, the rivalry has been dominated by Man City and Liverpool to the extent that domestic challenges have eased, fueled by the quality and depth of two of the best domestic and European teams.
Sheikh Mansour’s continued investment in the City team simply makes Guardiola’s side stronger, to the point where the Champions League failure mitigation factors no longer apply.
City could once argue that they were the new kids on the block, fighting to keep up with the established elite. They have to build their own winning machine and get the right to compete on equal footing, but Man City are now as powerful and rich as any team in Europe and they are far ahead of domestic giants like Manchester United and Arsenal firmly in their wake.
So there’s no reason not to win the Champions League. They’ve found every piece of the puzzle – now it’s just a case of putting them all together when it matters.
When they faced Real in their first Champions League semi-final in 2016, Man City’s Manuel Pellegrini was underrated and played as if they were unsure of their place when sharing the stage with the club. The set is said to be the largest in the world. But Man City will be a bright candidate against Real this time. They are at the top of the Premier League, with important players like Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Raheem Sterling and Ederson are both fit for top form.
The days of stage fright and excuses for falling are long gone. It was the same in Porto last season, which is probably why it remains such a hot topic, but after 14 years of investment and elite recruitment, it’s time for City to appear in the Champions League.
