Marton Fulop, the 20-cap Hungary international, has played in crucial World Cup and European Championship qualifiers before but his next two games could surpass those major moments. The importance of facing his former club Tottenham tomorrow and then West Ham on Sunday is not lost on the goalkeeper who joined Manchester City on an emergency loan from Sunderland. Fulop, 26, had a nervy debut against Aston Villa on Saturday, but City recorded a vital 3-1 victory that kept them on course for fourth place and Champions League football. They are in fifth place at the moment, a point behind Spurs.
He said: "There is so much at stake so it's probably two of the most important games in my career. The Premier League is the best league in the world and to qualify for the Champions League you need to be one of the best teams in Europe. "It's good to be here, but I don't want to be the hero. I want to do a job for the club. I want the team to be the hero and we can celebrate at the end of the season."
Fulop never thought he would be in a position to ruin the Champions League ambitions of Spurs. When they came close in 2006 losing at West Ham on the final day to allow Arsenal to claim fourth he was out on loan at Coventry. When he left Spurs for Sunderland in 2007, Ben Alnwick went to White Hart Lane as part of the deal. If Heurelho Gomes, the Spurs No 1, fails to recover from the groin injury he suffered against Bolton, Alnwick could start against City. Fulop said: "Life can provide things like this. If someone said last week that I would be at Manchester City and playing against Aston Villa I wouldn't have believed it." @Email:akhan@thenational.ae
