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Manchester City triumphed over glorious chaos to win their first Champions League – as much a sporting triumph as a fulfillment of geopolitical ambitions
June 10, 2023 at 10:42 pm(renew 11:02 p.m.)
Ataturk Stadium – Istanbul Five minutes to midnight, but A new dawn has dawned. Napoleon said: “Whoever owns Constantinople shall rule the world”, there is no world left manchester city Conquer after beating Inter Milan here. Double variable treble. Dreams become achievements. Now history.
With five minutes to midnight, you should imagine a bird’s-eye view of Ataturk Stadium, a massive concrete structure that sits right on the edge of Istanbul’s colorful landscape. It is a glorious city of chaos, chaos not due to accidents or malfunctions in the system, but chaos as a system itself.
Far from blaring horns and cracked sidewalks and street vendors heralding their wares like songbirds, 11 players and countless coaches and staff are ecstatically running around trying to make their best impression.
Of course they know that this moment may come, but they dare not think about how they will react when they are in it, because doing so is testing fate, which is the most stupid thing for finalists. So running, jumping and zigzags are pure instinct.
With five minutes to midnight, City’s players were crying on the pitch. When they lost to Chelsea and wondered if they would be able to celebrate the feat, they were not in tears, tears of rage streaming down their faces. But the thought of every person who helped you get this far sparked tears of joy, sorrow, joy. It’s for you and it’s for them; you’re crying for them and they’re crying for you.
With five minutes to midnight, it ended 1-0. This is not surprising.last four Champions League Thus ended the final. But if you’re going to pick a goal for your first Euro Cup victory, it comes with some wishes, and City supporters got them all. in front of them? Check. Relax and release? you bet.
One player – Rodri in this case – runs the full five yards so you can see the change coming – that’s the sweet spot. You have a precious half-second to celebrate and get ready before everything goes blurry.
This is not the final that most people predicted. The cities we so often witness have little irrepressible control.
There are two reasons why this is the case.the first is Inter Milan Is a good football team, they also reached the final of the UEFA Champions League. We’ve seen City beat Real Madrid four times and Bayern three times, but so has Simone Inzaghi. So they start sabotaging, panicking, and downright annoying. They lingered for five seconds longer than needed. They stole a yard and in doing so threatened to steal a march.
Another reason for this trivial, sticky, occasionally aesthetically difficult thing? This is a final. Finals are tough, and finals are the toughest when you haven’t yet won a title for a particular breed, and you’re the best hope of doing it. Cities are imperfect because they find perfection looming. At times, their last ball into the box was desperate. So did Ederson’s first 30 minutes and Erling Haaland’s 90 minutes.
Five minutes before midnight, Ataturk is brightly lit. For all the problems that supporters have come here for, the payoff has been phenomenal.A large number of tiered stands flank the sides, providing the bulk of the 75,000 capacity, but they give way to two curveIt’s that channel and amplifies the noise into the middle.
The lights are dimmed to give the impression that the pitch is generating its own throbbing energy emanating from between the green foliage, like an Italia ’90 in high definition. Now, there’s more than one road in and out of the city of 16 million and the traveling circus of the Champions League.
Five minutes to midnight and Guardiola needs this. He knows better than most that life at an elite club is not easy for a manager, because great wealth breeds great expectations. It’s been too long. Win without Barcelona; win without La Masia; win without Messi. The value of the pawns may never measure his success, but Guardiola was an indelible master.
Five minutes before midnight, Sheikh Mansour peered down from a VIP table in Ataturk, examining his other A kingdom with the easy smiles that come naturally to the rich and powerful. To fully understand this victory, we must understand that it was twofold: a sporting victory and the fulfillment of geopolitical ambitions.
Mansour has brought his football fans here, but hasn’t played since August 2010. You can’t doubt his sense of timing. If this is Guardiola’s dream, it is Abu Dhabi’s too. Manchester City are the first state-owned club to win the Champions League. We have to say this; the game has changed in this way too.
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