Gab and Juls debate if Real Madrid can upset Manchester City in the semifinals of the European Championship. There is a time and a place for this.
The Manchester City squad could not get out of Porto quickly enough after losing in the final of the European club competition. The players headed out of the stadium with barely a word to the media as the side paraded the trophy after their win.
You will not find any reaction or reflection from the players about that night in Portugal almost a year later. It is as though the club has never made a final appearance in the competition.
It would be a safe bet to suggest that winning the European Championship has become such a mixture of desperation and expectation that the City players are reluctant to talk about it.
Since being transformed by the financial power of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, City has failed to win the European Championship.
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According to Transfermarkt, City have spent more money on transfers in the last four years than any other club in the world. In 2009, and 2011, he won the European Championship with Barcelona.
Despite all their advantages, Tuesday's semifinal first-leg clash with Real Madrid will be only their third appearance in the past four since Sheikh Mansour.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester United have all won at least one trophy during that time.
City have failed to punch their weight despite accounting for the time it took to build the club up. After Roman Abramovich took over, it took five years to get to the final. Sheikh Mansour is still waiting for City to win the ultimate prize 14 years later.
When the 10th anniversary of Sheikh Mansour's arrival was marked by the Abu Dhabi hierarchy, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak made it clear that the club would win the trophy soon.
The short answer is that we should win it in the next 10 years, and obviously sooner than later, according to Al Mubarak. It took Barcelona almost 50 years to win their first European trophy, and the competition in the English league is even more difficult. We have to play a very difficult game every weekend. Not all of the competition in the league has that.
It is questionable if playing in the premier league is a disadvantage to City. The quality and depth of the two best teams in the country and Europe has made the competition dominated by Cityroller andLiverpool.
The continued investment in the City team by Sheikh Mansour has made the squad stronger, which no longer applies to the reasons for failure in the competition.
City used to argue that they were the new kids on the block, trying to catch up with the established elite. They had to build their own winning machine and earn the right to compete as equals, but City are now as powerful and wealthy as any team in Europe and they have left domestic giants such as Man United andArsenal firmly in their wake.
There are no excuses for failing to win the title. It's just a case of putting them all together when it matters, because they have found every piece of the jigsaw.
When they faced Real in the first leg of the semifinals in the 2016 European Championship, City were a little unsure of their place in the tournament and played as though they didn't know what to think. City will be favored against Real. Key players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, and Ederson are all fit and on top of their game.
The days of stage fright are over. It was the same in Porto last season, which is probably why it remains a sore subject, but after 14 years of investment and elite recruitment, it is time for City to deliver.
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