It was the moment City fans had waited so long for. Too long. The biggest club never to have qualified for the Champions League had finally made it into Europe’s premier club competition. As the team walked out onto the Etihad Stadium pitch to play Napoli, that moment had arrived.
Decades of mismanagement, underachievement and false dawns had led via the FA Cup and third place in the league to this game. Not only that, but the draw had thrown up a fascinating set of teams, the clichAi??d ai???Group of Deathai??? that would provide a stern test to all involved. It was seemingly an exhilarating introduction to the competition for the Citizens of Manchester.
Why then has the Champions League campaign left some feeling slightly cold?
Well, the obvious riposte would be that it is the sign of a typically bitter football fan. Some fans are left cold because City haven’t performed very well, facing the very real prospect of dropping into the Europa League for finishing third in their group. City have only performed well once, when winning 3-0 away to Villarreal – not that the performance away to Napoli was quite as bad as some made out.
It could be claimed that if City had breezed through the group, City fans as a whole would be showing a lot more enthusiasm for the competition. This is a common experience for football fans. Watched your team exit the Carling Cup? Simple, claim you’re not that bothered, after all it’s nothing more than a “Mickey Mouse” competition.
The fabled ai???Group of Deathai??? never really materialised either. Bayern Munich breezed through the group, whilst Villarreal did the opposite, a shadow of the team of last season, and they go into the last game of the group still seeking their first point. In the end, interest in the group boiled down to a shoot-out between two of the four teams in the group.
.
But whilst the views above may not be universal for City fans, or even a majority, the feeling is there amongst many, and it is not borne out of bitterness. Some felt this way from the beginning – that night at home to Napoli felt underwhelming from the start, and the hardly-electric atmosphere proved many were hardly bursting with excitement.
The League format doesn’t help of course. A straight knockout setup (as any cup competition should be) would focus fans’ attention pretty well. But as money rules, as it has for decades now, that’s nothing more than a pipe dream. But the endless hype on the television tells all fans that the Champions League is the be-all and end-all. It is the ultimate competition, cherished by all, the pinnacle of a footballerai??i??s career, and without participation your club is an also-ran, unable to compete for the best players, unable to dine at footballai??i??s top table.
The reality is slightly different. The competition rarely allows its best teams to exit at such an early stage, and even those that fail, get the option of a second chance in the Europa League ai??i?? a consolation prize for the underperformers. Only when there are 16 teams left, even more so when there are only 8 teams left, does the excitement grow, only then does the heart beat faster.
With City’s huge investment, they have come so far so quickly, that perhaps it has been hard to take it all in ai??i?? perhaps there’s too much to invest energy in, considering the barren years that preceded this run of success.
But the true answer may lie in the Premier League table. When City played in Napoli, it was a match the locals had been building up to for weeks. Their league form had hit a bumpy patch, memories of victories like a 3-0 win against Inter already fading, the goals too had dried up. The Champions League table however offered plenty of hope if they could beat City and gain a famous victory. City though were five points clear at the top of the table. They have in their sights, even at this early stage, a prize they have cherished for decades. This canai??i??t be considered a get-out clause, an excuse for defeat – the teams put out by Mancini should by rights have had enough skill to qualify. But defeat and elimination will not be the end of the world.
Even with all the investment, it was a struggle to comprehend the reality of the club competing for a league title, after all the barren years that had gone before. Now that it is happening, it is the undoubted priority, the focus of many fans’ attention. Anything else is a bonus.
For some fans the league will always be the priority ai??i?? domestic glory beats anything else. Perhaps over the next few years the perspective will change somewhat. Perhaps some big European nights and competing against the best teams in Europe will fire up the enthusiasm. But for now, the Premier League is where it’s at. If City win that, their season will be an undisputed success, and one that will live in City fansai??i?? memories forever.
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