ISTANBUL—Manchester City's ascent to the top of European soccer has cost billions of euros and resulted in many tears.
On Saturday, the aim was accomplished when the club funded by Abu Dhabi won the Champions League trophy for the first time in Istanbul's Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium. This victory may have signaled the beginning of a new era of competitive supremacy for the club.
"The stars had it planned. Pep Guardiola declared after his team's 1-0 victory over Inter Milan that "it belongs to us" as he saw players, coaches, and a sea of blue-shirted supporters cry once more.
The feeling was utter bliss on this particular occasion.
15 years have passed since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan overnight turned City into one of the wealthiest clubs in the world, but the triumph is now here thanks to Rodri's strike in the 68th minute.
After winning the Premier League championship and the FA Cup this season, Pep Guardiola's squad won a remarkable trifecta of titles.
Even for a squad that has spent more than $1.5 billion on the best players in the world and recruited Guardiola, perhaps the greatest coach of his time, the Champions League has always appeared out of reach.
The potential exists to win the highest award in European club soccer on several occasions now that the psychological barrier has been breached and the funds are available to further enhance a squad that has already proven too good for the competition.
Guardiola made light of the fact that he was "just 13 Champions Leagues away" from Real Madrid.
“If you sleep a little bit we will catch you,” he said. “But I don’t want after one Champions League to disappear, so work harder next season and be in there. There are teams that win the Champions League and after one or two seasons disappear. This is what you have to avoid. Knowing me this is not going to happen. But at the same time I have to admit it, it is a big relief for the club, for the institution, for everyone to have this trophy. Because now, finally, they don’t have to ask me if we are going to win the Champions League or not.”
Guardiola won his third Champions League championship and 30th major prize with the help of this trophy, which will support the argument that he should be recognized as the greatest coach of all time.
It was his second trophy triple after accomplishing the same feat with Barcelona in 2009. After Manchester United accomplished it in 1999, City became only the second English team to win all three major titles.
Without Lionel Messi, who served as the leader of Guardiola's Barcelona squad that won the Champions League twice, there were doubts as to whether Guardiola would ever succeed in winning the competition again.
All of those queries have finally been resolved, yet despite all of the pregame boasting about City's supremacy, the game was won by the slimmest of margins thanks to Rodri's goal.
Inter had excellent chances to make it into overtime even after that goal.
Romelu Lukaku, a replacement, received the finest one in the 89th minute, but from around four yards out, he headed directly at Ederson.
Nearly immediately after Rodri's goal, Federico Dimarco hit the crossbar from close range before turning the rebound into Lukaku's legs.
“We didn’t deserve to lose,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi. “We played against a top team, but even Inter played a great final.
“Manchester City has deserved the Champions League considering what it has done in the past years. But tonight it played against a great Inter which cornered them.”
On a night when it was far from its best and had few instances of the fluid play that allowed it to easily defeat Real Madrid and Bayern Munich on route to the final, City managed to win.
