Typical City: Manchester City Win 5th Premier League Title in Nine Years

It’s official.

Manchester City are Premier League champions for the fifth time in just nine years. This is certainly the best time to be alive for any Cityzen. We are on top of the world and in the middle of a transformation as our club is taking its place among the European giants.

When a team wins five out of the nine league titles in any top division, that is dominance. The achievement is even more worthy of commendation if it is the Premier League.

The league is renowned for being the toughest in the world. It’s also seen as the biggest and the best. Winning five of the titles on offer in the last nine campaigns means the other 19 (or five top-six) teams in the division get to share the remaining four. We are talking about Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham here. The first four teams have been ahead of City in the pecking order for a long time.

Man United and Liverpool share 39 league titles between them (20 and 19 respectively). They have previously dominated the top flight for long spells from the old First Division to the Premier League era.

At a point, it seemed clubs like Man City were built to make up the numbers and could be satisfied just to play in the top flight. Avoiding relegation was to be celebrated while a mid-table or top-ten finish was the definition of a successful season. So competing for the title was out of the question.

All that has changed now with the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover levelling the playing field. It’s not just about money, though, as they brought in top-notch management. These other clubs have consistently made significant investments into their teams as well. So this goes beyond money. The management has been excellent and the success on the pitch is a by-product.

The football played at Barcelona has been admired by many over the years. What’s not to love about it? On their day, the Blaugrana play magnificent football that will make even a casual observer fall in love with the game.

One of the best things that happened at Manchester City was to bring on board some of the best brains raised at the Catalan side. The result has been as could have been predicted; Adding beauty to the winning culture that started under Roberto Mancini. Excellent football on the pitch and regular double and treble-winning seasons have become the new norm.

And now, the team is set to add the big one come May 29. Winning the Champions League will for sure be tremendous, but it will be a result of progress made over the last decade-plus. It signifies the peak of a club’s achievement on the pitch. But the success goes far beyond the pitch.

The vision and foresight demonstrated by the club hierarchy must be commended. The City Football Group has become a well-run enterprise that can rub shoulders with the best anywhere in the world. That is reflected in the facilities, partnerships, finances and the performances of its different teams in the football pyramid.

Maybe it’s time we all come to grips with the fact: this is no more our typical City.

Surely, this is not your “Typical City!”