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Ferran Soriano Promises Champions League Triumph for Manchester City

Is it more than a promise?

Manchester City v Aston Villa - Premier League Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Manchester City begin each season these days as one of the favourites to win the Champions League, and that’s for a reason. The club parades some of the best players in the world at the moment. With the manager also being arguably the best in the world, success is the natural outcome from the combination.

And so the club has achieved so much success in recent times that some forget playing in Europe’s elite competition in itself is an achievement.

Moreso, as it’s relatively new for the Blues. Yet, the team has been making steady progress to the top of the European football mountain.

City’s Chief Executive, Ferran Soriano has assured that the club will eventually get there by achieving a much sought-after goal. He gave the assurance while speaking on the Dr. Football podcast.

“The Champions League is a trophy that we want, but we know that it is subject to a bit of luck and we are not obsessed,” said Soriano.

“People talk today about the success that Madrid have had in recent years, and I think it would be fair to say that they were a bit lucky. Perhaps I could say that they deserved to lose against PSG, against Chelsea, against us or against Liverpool.”

“We are patient, it is not an obsession, we will win it at the right time.”

Beginning from the 2011/12 campaign when the Blues, as newcomers, were knocked out in the group stages of the competition, the team has grown in leaps and bounds over the years.

First, it was about claiming a place in the top four consistently. Now it’s about being there in the later stages among European heavyweights season in, season out.

Analysts now consistently mention City as one of the favourites to lift the trophy every season. That, in itself, is remarkable progress. But not satisfied with just being in the thick of things, the club faithful dream of finally bringing home the trophy.

Soriano has called for patience, knowing it will happen one day. Having made so much progress already, the team is getting closer with each passing season. Every failure is counting as experience that will ultimately yield good results in due course.

To get the job done, City, like all other top clubs in the world, have invested heavily in the team. That’s usually required to make it capable of delivering the goods. But that has been the stick used by opposing fans, managers and other clubs’ officials alike to flog the Cityzens.

The moment the conversation begins about winning on the continent, they are quick to table the fact that City have spent humongous amounts in pursuit of the dream.

The opponents make it sound like other big teams like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus Barcelona and even Bayern Munich have not spent big as well to build their squads.

The difference between them and City is the experience gathered from many years of failure. City have had their fair share in recent times and learned a lot from it.

Heartbreaks at the hands of Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham, Lyon, Chelsea and more recently Real Madrid have been difficult to bear. But it comes with the territory. Sometimes it’s just a matter of a little luck here or there.

One day, things will definitely go City’s way. And like Soriano has stated, the Blues’ time to celebrate will come.