We’ve cracked the code to blow away Ronaldo
FERNANDINHO says Manchester City have cracked the Champions League ‘code’ and are ready to become historymakers in the Bernabeu tonight.
The Brazilian believes City’s away performances in Europe this season back up his confidence that the team can ruin Real Madrid’s formidable home record.
Following the goalless first leg at the Etihad Stadium, City only need a score draw to clinch their place in the final in Milan on May 28 and give Fernandinho the perfect 31st birthday present.
Yet a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Real have won all five home matches in Europe, bagging 18 goals and conceding none.
But after scoring three against Sevilla and Dynamo Kiev away from home and two at both Borussia Monchengladbach and Paris Saint-Germain, Fernandinho thinks Manuel Pellegrini’s men are capable of upsetting the odds at the Bernabeu.
Even in the only away game they have lost – a 1-0 groupstage defeat against Juventus – they squandered chances.
“This year the whole team have understood how to play in the Champions League,” he said. “And that was important, especially in the away games at Sevilla and Monchengladbach in our group and then against Kiev and PSG in the knockout stages. It was about having a more cohesive, compact team that doesn’t give the opponent as many scoring opportunities.
“And in attack we have players who showed their strength and quality.
“We’ve learned from our mistakes, and we’ve overcome difficulties too, like injuries. We’ve been missing important players. Nevertheless, the squad has proved to be very strong and we managed to qualify in first place in the group ahead of Juventus, who were finalists last season. We were unlucky to lose both matches against them. “In the last 16 and the quarter-finals we also beat two good teams to reach this semifinal stage, and now we are very close to achieving an historic moment for all the players, and for the club as well.”
Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart may be the stand-out players but Fernandinho says fellow Brazilian Fernando, inset, has been an unsung hero in the club’s progress in a vital midfield anchor role that has provided the back four with a protective shield. “Since Fernando arrived he has shown his value in the work he does – he’s been a really important player in all the matches in this Champions League,” he said.
“He brings a balance between the midfield, defence and attack. He also wins a lot of balls and he has a very good long pass. So he’s been one of the best players and he’s also grown a lot with the team. He’s a spectacular player, fantastic, and, God willing, he will help us get to the final.”
Fernandinho also paid tribute to manager Pellegrini, who is determined to bow out as a Champions League winner before Pep Guardiola takes over at City this summer.
“He’s a very calm coach, he always talks with his players a lot,” he said. “He has his philosophy and his idea of how to play and he passes that on to all the players and staff in the week during training.
“We’ve taken on well the way he wants to play, the way he likes to win matches, particularly in the Champions League. We’ve understood perfectly the way he wants things to be, the way he sees football and that’s been very important for all of us.”
Fernandinho has experienced his share of semi-final disappointments – none worse than Brazil’s 7-1 mauling by Germany in the World Cup last four in 2014 that left his country in a state of total shock. But he made history by helping Shakhtar Donetsk become the first Ukrainian club to win a European trophy when they lifted the 2009 UEFA Cup, and is determined to secure a rare European double.
“I’ve had disappointments, I’ve had some happiness, so you learn from those and take something from everything,” he said. “The pressure in a semifinal is high but when you’ve
done something wrong you try not to make the same mistake again, and whatever you’ve done well you try to do again, so you can reach the final.
“Winning the UEFA Cup at Shakhtar left its mark on everyone’s career, and it went down in the history of the club and the country.
“If Manchester City can win the Champions League it would leave its mark on the life of every player and fan.”