MERLIN MAGICS UP MORE SILVA
Spanish ace David earns a special favour from boss
PEP GUARDIOLA isn’t the sentimental type but he broke with tradition at Wembley.
That’s because he knows David Silva is worth making an exception for.
It was fitting Guardiola made Silva his captain for what may prove the last final of his glorious career with Manchester City before he leaves in May.
It felt even more fitting to see Silva lead his side up the famous steps to hoist the Carabao Cup aloft on behalf of a team that has taken a vice-like grip on the trophy after a hat-trick of triumphs.
The Spaniard has won plenty with City, but he’s never been the first one to get his hands on the trophy before.
Guardiola’s outfit can still go on and win the Champions League and FA Cup this season, but he knows Silva is not guaranteed to be involved should they reach those finals.
So he took the chance to make him the centre of attention at the prizegiving, with a gesture that resembled Guardiola saying his own personal thank you to someone who has given remarkable service to the club.
Silva, 34, has been – and still is – one of the finest imports English football has ever seen, comparable to Thierry Henry, Gianfranco Zola, Cristiano Ronaldo and team-mate Sergio Aguero.
You could argue about who has been the best until the cows come home, but what is unquestionable is the incredible and relentless influence Silva has had on his team over the last decade.
His performance at Wembley was a welcome reminder of what he’s all about.
The man known as Merlin gets the job done with the minimum of fuss and fanfare.
It’s the reason Guardiola ranks him among the true greats.
For the gazillionth time Silva used his wand of a left foot to orchestrate proceedings.
Finding pockets of space where none seemed to exist and doing the simple things well to bring calm to the chaos. One miscontrol on 68 minutes was a collector’s item.
Since joining City from Valencia for £26m in 2010 Silva has won 11 major trophies, made 423 appearances and scored 74 goals. It’s safe to say City have had their money’s worth.
It was just a shame some City fans chose not to make the pilgrimage to London to see him shine on one of the greatest stages again.
Several hundred City tickets went unsold, making a mockery of the Football League’s decision to give a bigger allocation to the Premier League champions.
Prince William was in the house, though, and even the most famous Villa fan of all will have marvelled at the continued class of Silva as royalty watched its footballing equivalent, someone deserving of his standing ovation when being replaced 13 minutes from time.
If Aguero is irreplaceable, then what is Silva?
The task could fall to the impressive Phil Foden. Good luck with that, mate.