By Samuel A. June 11, 2023
For a landmark of high pedigree to be achieved, there must be a defining moment. A moment that takes you through it all, a moment of all or nothing, and passing through all these moments and coming out strong determines whether or not you should be called a champion. The Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday hosted one for the history books, as Manchester City’s obsession of winning a Champions League trophy came to an end.
Ever since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Abu Dhabi United Group took ownership of the club in 2008, Manchester City Football Club haven’t looked back for once, with their performances and growth getting better and better every year, from winning their first Premier League title in style to dominating it for the next ten years. However, winning Europe’s premier cup competition had been the ultimate aim, which prompted the appointment of the veteran coach, Pep Guardiola. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent over the years, and controversy had surrounded the club, and even most especially the manager, becoming the subject of mockery and trolls because of their Champions League failure. But finally, after years of agony, pain and emotions, the Champions League is, finally theirs after a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, one which will live long in the memory for the significance of the result, rather than the match itself.
This was not only a night when City won its first Champions League. In beating three time champion Inter, Pep Guardiola’s side also became the second English team to ever achieve the treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season, with the first being Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the 1998/99 season.
It was a match of few chances but plenty of intriguing moments. Bernardo Silva went close in the opening five minutes for City, while Erling Haaland had arguably the best chance of the first half in the 26th minute, forcing a low save from the Inter goalkeeper, André Onana. Nicolò Barella also got what I’d call a ‘half chance’ after spotting City goalkeeper Ederson off his line and took aim at goal only to skew his first-time strike dreadfully wide. That was as good as it got in the first half as Inter’s high-energy, aggressive pressing left City with plenty of possession, but very little to show for it.
The second half was just as fraught, with Inter continuing to defend brilliantly and City continuing to search for openings. But in the 68th minute, the deadlock was broken after Rodri hit a curling first-time shot from a poor Inter defender clearance. Moments later, Phil Foden had a chance to double the lead, but was denied by Andre Onana, who was superb on the night. The miss from Phil would have proven costly, if not for Ederson’s heroics in the dying moments of the game. Federico Dimarco’s header struck the crossbar at first, while his follow-up effort from six-yards out hit teammate Romelu Lukaku accidentally. Then, the closing minutes were very tense for Manchester City, as Inter Milan kept pressing high up the pitch, whipping in crosses from all angles. Ederson stopped a Lukaku header from point-blank range, and stopped another header in the last minute of the game to secure the trophy for City.
It was in September 2008 that Sheikh Mansour – who attended only his second City game on Saturday, wrote an open letter to City fans, telling them that the owners were ambitious, but at the same time, “not unreasonably so”, understanding that it took time to construct a team, a club that could challenge for league titles and European trophies.
It was the arrival of Guardiola in 2016 that was meant to change City’s fortunes in the Champions League, yet it was the acquisition of Haaland last summer which made City formidable in Europe. The striker himself this week admitted he was bought to help win this competition. He “feels the pressure,” he said. Not that it has shown on the pitch during a season in which he has scored an extraordinary 52 goals, though he did fail to find the net in Istanbul with Inter’s defence keeping him on the periphery. It is the Norwegian’s goals which have been key to turning what Guardiola described in the buildbup to the game as a “dream” and an “obsession” into reality. Yet, the man behind the success is Guardiola himself.
It is hard to believe that this was a club playing in the third tier of English football in 1999, struggling to win games let alone trophies. A 2003 stadium move, to what is now known as the Etihad, followed by investment by the club’s Abu Dhabi owners, the likes of which soccer had not seen before, paved the way to this memorable night in Istanbul.
This first Champions League title could lead to many under the leadership of Guardiola, a manager who has been described by many as the greatest in the history of the game, a man many of his players have called a genius, and now the first manager to win the treble twice, having initially achieved the feat with Barcelona.
