Football can be terribly unjust, much like life can be. The Blues have repeatedly lost on the continent, despite Manchester City being arguably the finest team in Europe for the past few seasons. The previous season was unique.
The righteous team was eventually named European champions, making all the wrongs right. The accomplishment was overdue. Pep Guardiola had a few choice words to say to Kevin De Bruyne, one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the game, following the misunderstanding that ensued during the celebrations.
It was a heart-to-heart conversation that resembled a father talking to his son who has been deserving of praise but keeps falling short. The father was pleased with his success, but he was even thrilled for the kid.
“We succeeded. We succeeded. We succeeded. We succeeded after seven years of fighting. Kev, we succeeded. With tears of pleasure, Guardiola told his co-captain, “Now we have it.
The interaction between the player and the manager was both significant and outstanding at the same time. In actuality, Kevin De Bruyne was the Man City player who most deserved to take home the Champions League trophy.
The offensive midfielder, who transferred to the team from Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga in 2015, has been nothing short of extraordinary since. For more than eight years, he has consistently been the team’s top player or its second-best player.
Even though the Blues, particularly under Guardiola, have been a squad that can scarcely miss a single player, Kevin De Bruyne has largely been an exception. The 31-year-old City midfielder, who turns 32 tomorrow, has been a force to be reckoned with.
He is essential to the Belgian midfield and has contributed significantly to City’s recent success. Last season, he added another 10 goals and 32 assists, demonstrating exactly how much he helped the squad win the triple.
He could need better luck with injuries in Champions League finals, but now that he has finally won a trophy that has escaped him for so long, he won’t care as much about it.
When De Bruyne kept chasing shadows, it seemed like a grave injustice to see other, less skilled players from numerous other European clubs, such as Liverpool and Chelsea, win the Champions League.
Thankfully, the plot has evolved since then.
Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, and Joe Hart, among others, missed out on the honour. similar to the likes of Michael Ballack, Ronaldo Nazario, Lothar Matthaus, Lothar Matteson, Lothar Maradona, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Francesco Totti. Gianluigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram did.
But Kev deserves the Champions League medal more than any other member of the current City team, or even current players from other elite clubs in Europe.
The same is true for Man City as a whole.
