‘Blues have got what it takes for Euro win’
PABLO Zabaleta believes that City have everything required to one day reach the Champions League final.
While City have won everything there is to be won in domestic football over an incredibly successful decade, they have continued to fall short in Europe’s top competition.
The Blues have never advanced past the quarter-finals under Pep Guardiola, with the nadir being last year’s elimination at the hands of Lyon, and last reached the semi-final in 2016 with Manuel Pellegrini at the helm, losing 1-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid.
However, City legend Zabaleta has no doubt that the club will one day get there. “They are playing well, and they are winning the games. We are seeing the City that we all want to see,” the Argentine told City’s official website.
“The Champions League is very complicated, and you need to have 100 per cent players and play the perfect game.
“You play against rivals who do not forgive, there is no possibility that you will do things wrong because if you do you are out.
“The club at the sporting level has the players to be able to aspire to be a finalist.”
Zabaleta was a crucial member of the squad as City grew into a trophywinning juggernaut and, while looking back on his time at the Etihad, he has outlined how important the FA Cup triumph of
2011 was. “There were two [trophies] that marked an era at the club,” he added.
“The FA Cup that we won in 2011 because it was the first title after many years and it was also special because we beat Manchester United in the semi-final.
“We were beginning to be an increasingly competitive team and we were already beating the important clubs.
“We faced each other and for them it was no longer easy to win.
“And then, obviously for all that it means, the first Premier League title in 2012 with that famous goal by Sergio Aguero in the last minute. “It was an unforgettable moment. “You look at it and you keep getting goosebumps, I keep getting nervous every time I see that sequence, it’s tremendous.
“Those two marked a moment for the club, City began to take on a certain relevance and importance.”