I had an affair last night. It was just a one-off, though. Just once. And it certainly didn’t mean anything.
That’s right! I went to see City play Hamburg in the UEFA Cup. Why? Well, tickets were only £5 and for one reason or another I have only been to Eastland of Manchester once before. And I admit, part of me was utterly curious to see how the Blue half life of Manchester feels like.
In fairness, the City fans generated a decent level of noise the whole evening. For any of you who are not so into football, this was their first appearance in the quarter-finals of a European competition since 1979. A thousand congratulations I dedicate to City for their finest achievement so far.
After taking my seat, it took only a minute to register a full house on a checklist that I’ve made about things that might I found that evening. Inflatable bananas? Check. Fans wearing City head dress? Check. City’s blue flag? Check. Anti-Manchester United chants? Check. I could swear that I even heard a few London accents, although I must be wrong on that one because everyone knows City fans only come from Manchester, don’t they?.
As for the action on the pitch, it was refreshing to watch a game of football that I’ve never seen before since I came to Manchester. The atmosphere was completely breath-taking; City’s fan singing their traditional song for their team endlessly, thousands of City’s fan waving their flag at the same time, and everyone would stand up from their seats when there was a shot to score a goal. Watching as a neutral, not being a fan of either sides, allows me to analyse the game with an unbias head, to acknowledge and appreciate good football no matter who’s playing it.
That night, there was a surprising amount of good football on show. Maybe not so much in the first half – both teams’ decision to defend high up the pitch, combined with City’s lack of out-and-out wingers, led to over-crowding in the midfield – but in the final 45 minutes the match opened up and the likes of Zabaleta, Elano and Hamburg’s midfielders were allowed freedom to express themselves. Robinho, as expected, produced moments of magic and always looked capable of unlocking the Hamburg defence.
Ultimately, however, the gulf in class between City and United is massive. For me, Rio and Vidic are cool under pressure and always attempt to play the ball out of defence, Dunne and Richards were nervy and usually opted for long punts forward.
Manchester City’s midfielder such as Ireland and Elano are all capable of turning the game, but they’re equally prone to a sloppy pass or a half-hearted tackle by Hamburg’s defender. Meanwhile, Caicedo, City’s huge striker, reminded me of Filippo Inzaghi and not because he has a superb finishing touch, but the comparison was made due to the fact that he was continually getting caught offside throughout the game.
Despite dominating in the second half and going close on a number of occasions to forcing extra-time in the tie, City found themselves out of Europe when the final whistle blew. Tough luck City. Maybe all of you would be more victorious in the years ahead.
On my way back home, I overheard some lads saying that in a couple of years time, City would conquer Europe’s football and would laugh when they look back the defeat they had that night. I wonder who would be in charge at that time. Maybe Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti? That might happen due to the large amount of money that the City’s owners have which could lure other excellent managers who could make a change to City.
Overall, the experience was absolutely great. Now I know how it feels like to watch a football game in the UK, live in the stadium itself. Everything that happened that night, was completely unforgettable.
p/s: I am a Manchester United fan. The views expressed in this blog are personal to me and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester City’s fan. It also does not mean that I’ve betrayed my loyalty to United.
