Destiny did not waste any time. The first name drawn was Manchester City; the second, FC Barcelona.
For the 2011/12 English Premier League Champions, Monday’s Uefa Champions League draw in Nyon pitted them against probably the toughest opponent they could have faced.
For everyone connected to the club, however, it should have been sweet music to their ears. City are well and truly in the big time now.
At first, it may seem that fate, or Luis Figo, had dealt city the cruelest of hands. Having failed to qualify to the round of 16 in the last two seasons, yesterday’s draw was a graphic indictment of the punishment that finishing second in the group stages can lead to. Arsenal, who drew holders Bayern Munich, would certainly agree.
But look a little closer and the picture, for City, starts to look a little different, a little brighter.
You are going to meet the big teams at some stage, so why not now, managers often say on such occasions. Rarely do they actually mean it; ask David Moyes if he would be happier switching places with Manchester United’s city rivals.
“All teams in the Champions League are exactly the same,” Pellegrini said yesterday. “If you want to win something important, you must beat important teams.”
For once, the words sounded more than mere lip service. For City, a clash with the world’s unofficial No 1 club of the last decade really is a blessing. And not even one in disguise.
It is no exaggeration to say that the tie with the Catalan giants represents the biggest two matches in the club’s history. For City’s Abu Dhabi owner, it is tangible reward for the resources, and faith, that Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed has invested in the club.
For the team, the chance to face the world’s greatest players.
“Barcelona, great draw! Any footballer should want play those games,” captain Vincent Kompany tweeted to his followers.
For those fans too, a chance to visit one of football’s most famous cathedrals, Camp Nou, not to mention welcoming the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Xavi and Andres Iniesta to the Etihad Stadium.
Nor would those Barcelona players be looking forward to facing Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Alvaro Negredo and David Silva.
In fact, City themselves were the one team from the runners up pot that all the group winners wanted to avoid. El Mundo Deportivo, one of Barcelona’s daily sports newspapers, was in little doubt ahead of the draw, with a headline: “El City, No!”
There are several intriguing subplots.
Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, and Toure returning to the club where they both became European champions. Former Real Madrid coach Pellegrini back at Barcelona. The fitness and form of Argentina teammates Aguero and Messi ahead of the World Cup.
Begiristain told the club’s website: “I think it will be a great match. Ours is a team with a lot of confidence especially after winning against the champions in Munich – that will give us a lot of confidence. Not just at home but away as well ... Our manager knows perfectly Barcelona because he managed in Spain for a long time. In this sense, we are confident.”
He added that the text messages “will be flying” between Messi and Aguero.
At home, Pellegrini’s team are in a league of their own domestically, with a string of stunning wins against Manchester United (4-1), Tottenham Hotspur (6-0) and Arsenal (6-3). After a stuttering start, they are favourites to win the Premier League.
And despite a comprehensive 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich in October, City will now be confident of getting a result even against mighty Barcelona.
Even away from home, City will fancy causing an upset, as Chelsea did against Pep Guardiola’s side in 2012 and Liverpool did in 2007. The manager was bullish after the draw yesterday.
“The Bayern Munich result has given us a lot of confidence. We are improving every day and we must continue to improve,” Pellegrini said. “I think Barcelona will be very concerned that they have drawn us. They are not the team of two years ago.”
The role of underdogs should suit City, who will approach the matches with little of pressure that Gerardo Martino’s team will be facing.
They are the only club out of the remaining 16 to never have played in the knockout stages of the Champions League, while for Barcelona even exits at the semi-final stage have in recent years been seen as failures.
On a recent visit to Abu Dhabi, Pellegrini spoke with a certain degree of inevitability about Champions League in February draw.
“Playing in the knockout stages, over two games, anything can happen,” he said. “I’m certain we are going to play against a very strong squad. But we are also a strong squad.”
Strong enough, perhaps, to write a glorious new chapter in the club’s history.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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