In the eight years since Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of Manchester City, perhaps the biggest disappointment has been the club’s performance in European competitions.
Their first leg victory in Kiev in midweek has put them well on the way to qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time, having twice been knocked out at this stage in recent seasons by the all-conquering Barcelona.
However, with big chances set to sweep the Etihad this summer, could manager Manuel Pellegrini bow out in the best way possible by bringing the Champions League trophy to Manchester in May.
An array of City supporting punters here in the Tavern are seriously thinking it can be their year, and say this is the club’s best chance of reaching the final of the Champions League.
Here we look at FIVE reasons why that could be made possible………..
[ffc-gallery]
PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE REASONS!
[/ffc-gallery]
One step in the quarters
They are already well on their way to a place in the final eight of Europe’s premier football competition.
A strong showing in their midweek victory at Dynamo Kiev, ahead of the second leg at the Etihad has made them strong favourites for a place in the last eight.
Obviously, the competition will get tougher from that point but as City’s confidence grows by progressing each stage, anything could happen.
They are not challenging for everything now
Manuel Pellegrini, and City, came under heavy fire for fielding a very inexperienced side in their recent FA Cup tie at Chelsea.
The final score, perhaps, showed that they embarrassed themselves slightly by being on the receiving end of a 5-1 scoreline but that could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
After the Capital One Cup final this weekend, they are only challenging for the Champions League and Premier League so they don’t have that added distraction of the FA Cup as well.
They have a great squad
On top of everything else, to win the Champions League, the squad needs to be full of quality and experience at this level.
After a good few seasons of Champions League football under their belt they are now capable of mounting a serious bid.
Individual talents such as Joe Hart, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Raheem Sterling combined with the experience of Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, make City a formidable outfit these days and having so many matchwinners on the pitch at any one time also make them a threat to any side left in the competition.
Change of manager
Outgoing City manager Manuel Pellegrini is highly respected by all his players, and indeed all at the club, and the best possible way for him to sign out of the Etihad Stadium would be to bring the Champions League trophy to Manchester in May.
Pellegrini can have every right to feel hard done by as he still has the chance to deliver the second Premier League trophy in his three seasons in charge, as well as the Capital One Cup again, as well as maybe the biggest prize of all.
On the flip side of that, incoming Pep Guardiola will no doubt want to conquer Europe next season with City, and the current squad need to prove that they can cut it at this level or they could very well find their places under threat next season.
Improved European form
Season by season, City’s Champions League form has improved, their first run into the competition saw them eliminated at the group stage in their first two seasons before back-to-back last-16 defeats to the all-conquering Barcelona.
City will look at the line-up and see plenty of opponents that they will fancy their chances of meeting, and beating in the quarters, with the likes of Wolfsburg, Gent, Benfica, Zenit and PSV, but will hope for a little bit of luck in avoiding the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich who will likely be the two that City will fear playing more over two legs.
However, if they could avoid those until the final then absolutely anything is possible over 90 minutes.
