It’s time to capitalise in Europe...
PEP Guardiola routinely uses history to play down City expectations for the Champions League.
“Our great success as a club was the Champions League semi-final, in all our history. I don’t know whether we are ready, it’s the truth, I don’t know,” he said back in October after another manager had mooted the Blues as favourites.
“My favourites are the teams that have a history bigger than us – Real Madrid, Barcelona, these teams.
“I believe Juventus buying Cristiano [Ronaldo] wanted to show that this year they want to win. They reached the final twice, each time they get closer.
“Atletico Madrid will be playing at home [if they reach the final]. It’s a team that did very well in the last few years. And then some other team will be in, and I hope we can be there too.”
City’s two European exits under Guardiola have seen them fail to rise to the occasion, but the argument for a lack of experience is growing weaker as the tournament progresses – especially with Real Madrid’s shock defeat. The loss of the most successful team of the tournament means that just seven of the sides left in have lifted the trophy since it became the Champions League in 1992.
Of those, one of Bayern Munich and Liverpool is guaranteed to exit at the last-16 stage and Juventus, trail after the first leg. United, Porto and Ajax have all already secured qualification for the last eight.
Feasibly, City’s seven potential opponents for the quarter-final could be Tottenham (zero Champions League wins), Ajax (1 - in 1995), Porto (1), United (2), Bayern (2), Atletico (0) and Barcelona (4).
Whoever goes through at the Allianz Arena next week, if Barcelona get past Lyon at home there will be just two teams left in the tournament that Guardiola can claim have considerably more Champions League pedigree than City in recent years.
Liverpool are probably the most dangerous of those teams given their form this season.
As well as struggling to assert their usual dominance in their domestic leagues this season, it’s worth noting that Barcelona and Bayern are under pressure in Europe with the Spanish side falling at the quarter-final stage for the last three seasons and the Germans stuck at the same hurdle since Guardiola left.
Ajax’s victory over Real Madrid was seen as another wobble for the established order, and it has been City’s intention to topple that for the last decade.
With the squad and manager they have in place at the Etihad, there has never been a better opportunity to make their own history rather than live in the shadow of what has gone before them.