Champions League final: Man City could begin new era of European dominance

If Manchester City wins the Champions League title on Saturday it will be mission complete for the Abu Dhabibacked club European soccer finally conquered The last barrier to the games traditional elite brokenTo City the Champions League trophy represents more than just the silverware on offer if it can beat Inter Milan in Istanbuls Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium It would be a statement to the longstanding powerhouses of soccer that the team once dismissed by former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson as noisy neighbors has truly arrivedFor all the success City has achieved over a dizzying 15year period when it suddenly became one of the richest soccer teams in the world the pinnacle of the European game has remained just out of reachInter Milan the third best team in Italy this season will have to pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent Champions League history to stop City nowThe City fans who have been landing in Istanbul in recent days are here to party There is a sense of expectation in the air that their time has finally comeThere has been a feeling among many of them that soccers establishment has tried to hold them backUEFAs Financial Fair Play FFP regulations were designed to create financial stability in soccer by ensuring spending was balanced with earnings But to many City fans who routinely jeer the Champions League anthem before games it has been viewed as a way to block its super rich owners from competing with the traditional elite like Madrid Barcelona Bayern United and even InterIn 2014 City was fined USD 82 million and ordered to limit the size of its Champions League squad after breaching FFP rules Qatarbacked Paris SaintGermain received the same punishmentYet City went from strength to strength amassing even more world class players like Kevin De Bruyne Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez and hiring GuardiolaAlso Read Champions League Final Inter Milan stand in way of Man Citys treble chanceCity was banned from European competition for two years in 2020 for serious breaches of spending rules and failing to cooperate with investigators after the publication of leaked emails and documents likely hacked that allegedly showed attempts to cover up the source of the clubs incomeCity denied the charges and the ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for SportIn February of this year however it was hit with more than 100 charges of financial wrongdoing by the Premier League after a fouryear investigationAgain City denies the charges which if proven could lead to punishments as severe as a deduction of points or even expulsion from English soccers top divisionWhile that would undoubtedly break Citys dominance in England the action by the league appears to have acted as a spur for what is shaping up to be its most successful season ever with Guardiolas team going on an unstoppable run since the charges were made which has led to a fifth title in six yearsEuropean success remains the ultimate goal and after beating UEFA in the courts triumph on the field is the final frontier to what could lead to a new era of Champions League dominanceWhile City and PSG have been backed by the enormous spending power of their respective Abu Dhabi and Qatar owners neither has managed to win European club soccers biggest prize with Madrid dominating in recent yearsBut that has felt more like a mental barrier more than anything else for two clubs that have risen so fast to the top of the sport For City at least a first win could be the catalyst for many more Champions League titles in the same way as its FA Cup triumph in 2011 paved the way for 15 more trophies in the following 12 yearsFor Guardiola too it would break his own curious winless run in the competitionHe has not conquered Europe since 2011 when winning it for a second time with a Barcelona team that was inspired by Lionel MessiSince then he has repeatedly come up short with Bayern Munich and then CityThe question has been asked as to whether he could ever win it again without MessiIn Erling Haaland he may finally have found his new Messi however with the Norwegian striker scoring 52 goals in his debut season to fire City to the brink of a treble of trophiesThe only thing they miss now is the Champions League you can think and read between the words and the lines I have been coming here for a reason Haaland said this weekGuardiola has often sounded irritated by the suggestion that his legacy will be defined by whether or not he can win the Champions League with a City team that is filled with such fabulous talentHis team has repeatedly blown it against opponents it was expected to beat including losing in the final to Chelsea two years ago when Guardiolas decision not to play a holding midfielder was widely criticizedLeading up to this final there has been a serenity about the coach as he has spoken more freely about the need to finally succeed in EuropeWe have to win the Champions Thats something you cant avoid he saidWith AP inputs