From the very hour I set foot at the Pullman Istanbul Hotel and Convention Centre, one of the prime hospitality centres in the nation’s capital, it was all-too obvious Turkey was set for an extraordinary invasion of football purists.
That the stage was set for football’s grandest setting at club level was all too perceptible as every corner of Istanbul had images of the City – Inter collision.
The traffic situation was crazy, simply unbearable. The citizens perfectly understood the occasion and obliged. In fact, they had no option.
On a normal day, one would require less than 30 minutes to drive from the Pullman Centre to the Ataturk Olympic stadium. On this occasion, I needed two hours to accomplish that mission. Indeed, I had to disembark from my taxi to complete the journey by foot to avoid further traffic. Istanbul was simply choked.
The match was scheduled for 10: pm Istanbul time. By 9:30 am, I was already on my way. To my amazement, the stadium was already overflowing.
The meticulous and visionary planning of UEFA, ensured thorough FAN PARKS were created for the adherents who soaked the occasion with music and drinks throughout the period until two hours before kick-off when they entered the stadium.
The time was finally set for Manchester City and Inter Milan to lay claim to Europe’s most prestigious football crown. Alas, the noisy neighbours finally shouted the house down.
A blue moon rose above the Bosphorous, strode out of the shadow of their respected neighbours, Manchester United and rushed into the light, joining the table of nobility, primacy and regality.
Rodri’s side-footed finish in the second half not only sealed the day for City, but propelled Pep Guardiola to the TABLE OF MEN, previously reserved for revered kings like Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man – Guardiola. City’s ascent from nowhere to everywhere over the last decade-and-a-half has been funded and constructed – Abu Dhabi funds, channeled through Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the orchestra dutifully conducted by Joseph Guardiola Sala, born January 18, 1971.
I am sorry. I hardly credit coaches for successes on the field in same way I do not revile and censure them for failures. My age-long philosophy is that FOOTBALLERS PLAY FOOTBALL, not coaches.
Alas, an exception to the rule – Guardiola, a coach extraordinaire, highly phenomenal and truly distinguished, his coaching “handwriting” all over City.
In truth, City were far from their clinical, ruthless, destructive best. Nerves got them once again, just as in 2021 when they succumbed to Chelsea. But even on an “average” day, they were good enough to overpower Inter-Milan.
What an irony. I have always regarded Kevin De Bruyne the best midfielder in the world. Sadly and strangely, the occasion got the better of him as he failed to glitter. His situation was worsened by a hamstring as he departed prematurely.
A blessing in disguise? The introduction of Phil Foden injected agility and celerity into City’s game. Finally, when Rodri upset Onana in Inter’s posts, few at the Ataturk stadium were surprised.
The euphoric atmosphere that engulfed everyone at the stadium after Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak, whistled for the end of proceedings was understandable. For all his exploits in England, few would offer Guardiola and City that cult status, because of the missing puzzle in the jigsaw – the Champions league. The debate is over – Guardiola is a football saint, canonised by two trebles, the first with Barcelona, a true salt of the football earth.
All hail the City angels – Ederson, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Manuel Akanyi, John Stones and all the others who contributed to this historic feat.
But the story would be incomplete without a worthy tribute to their forebears. This was a project started by City greats like Fernandino, Sergio Arguero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and others space will not allow me to mention.
At this rate, it is going to be difficult unsettling this new football machine. As voracious as Guardiola is, he is now eyeing the quadruple – beating Sevilla to win the Super Cup on August 16. On the evidence of what we know now, it is not impossible.
On Wednesday, August 16 at Greece’s Stadio Gerogios Karaiskakis in Athens, City will win yet another silverware to cement their status as the new football machine.
This trip to Istanbul would not have been possible without the sponsorship of TURKISH AIRLINES. Great Airline, Great Service.
Thank you Aytenkin Serbest. Give me Turkish Airlines any day.
BY KWABENA YEBOAH(SWAG PRESIDENT)
