The Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday was Manchester City’s, the scene where an obsession finally became reality and history was made.
Ever since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Abu Dhabi United Group took ownership of the club in 2008, winning Europe’s premier cup competition had been the ultimate aim.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in the last 15 years, and controversy has surrounded the club, but now the Champions League is, finally, theirs after a 1-0 win over Inter Milan 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 became only the second English team to achieve the treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.
The first to do so was Manchester United in the 1998/99 season, and while comparing teams from different eras is futile, this City side is certainly as dominant domestically as that United team of Alex Ferguson, winning five league titles in six seasons.
(LLB)