Manchester City's seventh victory since the European Cup was renamed the Champions League. Photo: Getty Images/Michael Steele
Recently, ITV aired a documentary titled When English Football Ruled Europe. Maybe it's time for the producers to get ready for a second season.
The retrospective focused on the years before the IJsel Stadium tragedy in 1985, when Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa won the European Cup. Seven of the eight European cups returned to England between 1977 and 1984, with Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton winning UEFA second-tier competitions.
We seemed to be unstoppable until they were expelled after the terrible events in Brussels. Left behind tactically, technically and financially during the ban, it will take years after returning to European competition before such successes are repeated, and never with the same prolificity.
City's triumph on Saturday night was the seventh. by the British side after the lifting of the ban. In the 39 years since Liverpool won the 1984 European Cup, English clubs have been well represented on the Champions League board of honor. Only clubs in La Liga and Serie A have won more.
Bundesliga clubs have only won four in that time, so the Premier League has often left its mark on the biggest stage. But none of the triumphs of English clubs – many of them great teams in their own right – have been able to reinforce the idea that the Premier League is the strongest in Europe.
Only now that City's win means three of the last five Champions League finals have been won by an English team, don't you think the pendulum could return to pre-Eisel dominance when Pep Guardiola's side were the clear winner.
The two Premier League captains who lifted Europe's biggest trophy in four days are the strongest evidence that English clubs might be considering winning the UEFA awards every year.
West Ham United's European Conference League victory should inspire Aston Villa to repeat that success next season. The scenes in East London over the past few days will increase the resolve of many clubs to capture this last European venue in the future.
Pep Guardiola's first win in the Champions League with Manchester City set them apart from others. Photo: Getty Images/Matthew Ashton
In the Europa League, Liverpool will enter next year's tournament as favorites and Brighton & Hove Albion could go far. under the leadership of the outstanding Roberto De Zerbi.
No European team wants to play with the teams of the Premier League. Spanish, German and Italian clubs have long feared this day will come and no doubt feared it would sooner given the financial strength of English clubs, especially City.
Now they are waking up from a nightmare. Until recently, the Premier League was considered abroad the richest and most interesting, but not necessarily the most technically experienced.
Real Madrid almost single-handedly fended off the Premier League's challenge to La Liga's status as the most complete division.
But when I stood in the Atatürk Stadium and saw the City players dancing with the most coveted trophy in club football , it seemed to me that they were celebrating the first of many European Cup victories.
City can achieve what Liverpool, Milan and Real Madrid
were able to achieve the same as Liverpool under Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan, winning four European Cups in eight seasons (1977–84), Milan three wins in six years (1989–94). or Real Madrid's five victories in nine years (2014-22).
Who can stop them from defending their European title next year? In the summer, the opponents will have to significantly improve their game. A year ago, I would have said that Real Madrid, Bayern, Liverpool and Chelsea were City's only likely opponents.
Two of them won't even be in the competition next season, with Real going into a recovery period with City losing in the semi-finals. They will always reach the last stages and their imminent signing of Jude Bellingham shows that they are serious, but during the second leg they fell far behind.
The same thing happened to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals , as City turned the toughest part of the Champions League draw into a walk. The team will have to show up within the next 12 months to surprise with anything other than City winning again.
This is not an easy task. City would have probably won the European Cup earlier had it not been for defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, their domestic rivals who are often the biggest obstacle to UEFA success.
Out of the 2023-24 FA Champions League contingent, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United will return at another point in their history somewhat content to be there, aiming to exit the group stage and hoping to avoid” City in the playoffs. .
Because of City, winning is actually an optimistic hope, not a realistic expectation. This is another reason City will be confident that no team is currently capable of beating them when they are at their best.
As long as Guardiola is at Etihad, they will be what everyone else fears – a team with the best resources, the best manager and many of the best players of their generation. By adding the European Cup to City's track record, Guardiola also added weight to the argument that he is the greatest manager of all time.
City left Istanbul feeling they were just starting their career in Europe< p>Sir Alex Ferguson's supporters will always argue otherwise. The reality is that this is not even a debate outside of this country. At two different clubs, Guardiola built a team that produced the most perfect football I have ever seen live, first with his Champions League winner Barcelona in 2011 and now with City in 2023.
< p>Controversy over whether City Treble winners are better than Ferguson in 1999. This city team is on another level. What's staggering about City at Treble is how little danger there was, their most troubling moments were in the closing stages of Saturday's final when extra time was averted.
City left Istanbul feeling they were starting in Europe and not just pursuing their owners' highest ambitions in Abu Dhabi. After the 1999 treble, Ferguson had to wait another nine years to win the European Cup, and his team was successful in the Champions League, but did not dominate it.
City can leave any opponent behind. Just as it is difficult to see how either side will stop City domestically, the same is now true in Europe. The first victory is always the hardest. With that secured, the players will return to the Champions League next season with more confidence and less pressure.
A dynasty is being formed in City under Guardiola. Many will say it has more to do with City and all that has led to their success than with English football.
But amidst their desperation, local rivals may find some solace. With English clubs flexing their muscle across Europe as powerfully as they have for 40 years, there should be many more Premier League fans celebrating UEFA glory in the coming years.
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