Manchester: Almost immediately after leading Manchester City to its first Champions League title, Pep Guardiola spoke of the need to build on that success.
Real Madrid’s record haul of 14 European Cups is safe for some time yet – but there is every reason to believe City will go on to win the competition again and again.
This was, after all, its second final in three seasons.
The 1-0 win against Inter Milan in Istanbul’s Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium Saturday night had been coming. And the wealth of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, combined with Guardiola’s apparent insatiable drive for perfection, means City has the potential to become even stronger in the coming years.
Guardiola is a huge fan of Michael Jordan. And just as one title wasn’t enough for the Chicago Bulls icon, who went on to win six NBA championships, Guardiola knows City’s legacy in Europe depends on repeated success.
Madrid is a serial winner, having lifted four Champions League titles between 2014 and 2018, and winning again in 2022. That is the benchmark for City.
“There are teams that win the Champions League and after one or two seasons disappear,” Guardiola said.
“This is what you have to avoid. Knowing me, this is not going to happen.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of City’s treble of trophies this season, including the Premier League title and FA Cup, is that it came in a year of transition in which a new striker in Erling Haaland was added, along with a change of system as Guardiola adopted a three-man defense.
There is the potential for further evolution in midfield with captain Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva possible departures.
Left back Joao Cancelo was loaned to Bayern Munich midway through the campaign and could leave permanently in the summer.
Guardiola was a big admirer of England international Jude Bellingham, but Real Madrid has won the race for the highly-rated midfielder.
An alternative may be sought, particularly if Gundogan or Silva go. In Phil Foden, City has a high-class option ready for more involvement than he managed during this season.
Guardiola is not the type of coach to stand still and City’s Abu Dhabi backers have consistently provided with the funds to improve his team with the world’s best players.
Jack Grealish became English soccer’s first 100 million pound (USD 139 million) signing after City was beaten by Chelsea in the Champions League final of 2021.
Last year, Haaland, who was coveted by almost every top club in Europe, was added to a team that had just won back-to-back league titles.
Having finally made the breakthrough in the Champions League, Guardiola will not want to risk taking a backward step. That is likely what he will tell Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was in attendance to watch City’s crowning glory.
There was a 12-year gap between Guardiola’s last European Cup win with Barcelona in 2011 and his latest. He has triumphed in this competition on three occasions and knows how difficult it is to win.
Only Madrid has successfully defended the trophy since it was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992, winning it in three successive seasons from 2016-18.
That is a measure of the standard required to dominate the European game. And while City may have bold ambitions, the competition could hardly be more intense.
Here’s a look at which country’s clubs could get in the way of repeat success for Guardiola’s Man City next season:
SPAIN
Madrid has already moved to sign Bellingham in a deal that could reach $139 million. Karim Benzema’s decision to head to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia means a world class striker is needed and Tottenham’s Harry Kane has already been linked.
Vinicius Junior is establishing himself as one of soccer’s global stars and, along with Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni, is part of the Spanish giant’s next generation of potential “Galacticos.”
Barcelona is back on top in Spain after winning the league title this season and will look to build on that. While it missed out on the re-signing of Lionel Messi, it has been linked with moves for City pair Gundogan and Silva.
ENGLAND
Arsenal pushed City hard for the Premier League title and after qualifying for the Champions League will reportedly try to strengthen with the signing of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
Manchester United has made forward steps under manager Erik ten Hag, winning the League Cup and qualifying for the Champions League. If a buyout of the club can be completed soon, it could go big in the transfer market this summer, with a top striker the priority.
Newcastle completes the list of English clubs that will compete in Europe’s top competition and its Saudi owners will, surely, look to bring in more star signings.
City also faces a potential threat from the Premier League which has hit the club with more than 100 charges of financial wrongdoing. City is accused of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18 and the punishments could include a deduction of points or even expulsion from English soccer’s top division. City denies the charges and has already had a two-year ban from European competitions overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020, after a UEFA-appointed panel found “serious breaches” of financial rules from 2012-16.
FRANCE
Qatari-backed Paris Saint-Germain is still waiting to make the same breakthrough as City has in Europe and is planning to move in a new direction following the departure of Messi.
Brazil’s Neymar could also leave, with the French champions looking to focus on young and home-grown players.
Having gone down the superstar route without success in the Champions League, it will be fascinating to see if a shift in strategy changes PSG’s fortunes.
GERMANY
It took a dramatic 89th-minute winner on the last day of the season to see Bayern Munich lift the German league for the 11th successive season.
Bayern was swept aside by City in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, but has the resources and recruitment expertise to ensure it should always remain a force in Europe.
ITALY
Inter threatened to pull off one of the biggest Champions League final shocks and lost by the finest of margins against City on Saturday night. In Simone Inzaghi it has a coach that went head-to-head with Guardiola and pushed him to the limit.
On that basis Inter could well go far again.
But league champion Napoli was the standout team in Italy last season – and for a long time looked like a potential Champions League winner. How it copes after the departure of inspirational coach Luciano Spalletti remains to be seen, while a number of its star players like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen and Kim Min-jae could be coveted by rivals.
AP