They were singing "We Are The Champions" while Pep Guardiola held Kevin de Bruyne in his right arm and Ilkay Gundogan in his left. As the obnoxious rock anthem blared out over the Ataturk Stadium, he might have found himself in a rather fitting location among his players. It took Guardiola seven seasons at Manchester City to lead the team to the European championship. He has always been accompanied by De Bruyne and Gundogan, the German being his first signing and the Belgian being the last surviving member of Manuel Pellegrini's 2016 semi-finalists. The frustrations have been felt by both the vice-captain and the skipper. They could now enjoy the pleasure. Some people believed that City would eventually rule all of Europe. De Bruyne and Gundogan, who will turn 32 and 33 this summer, respectively, could be excused for thinking they lacked such assurances of success. The fact that this award escaped the previous generation was brought home by Rodri, their game-winning player, as he acknowledged some of the players who had come before and who had brought City to this level, including Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, and Fernandinho. Not this one, and possibly not the ones that will follow either. The confident goal scorer asserted, "We can leave a legacy for the future. "We can trust in ourselves that we did it, and this is what teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and AC Milan -- these kinds of clubs -- did in the past."
All of which could be what their competitors worry about. Guardiola, who is as tenacious as they come, tried to distract him from it, even for a moment, with his history of consistently winning. "Now is the time to celebrate," he declared. He laughed in the face of analogies to Real. He claimed, "We are only 13 Champions Leagues behind them." "Be on the lookout, Real Madrid; we're coming your way. You take a quick nap, and we'll get you. The mocking aside was made with a purpose in mind. In the past three decades, only Real have kept this trophy. Even when Guardiola was in charge of a Barcelona squad that was frequently hailed as the best ever, the defending champions twice lost in the semifinals. When a team wins the Champions League, an era of dominance can be easily predicted. Due in part to the unpredictable nature of cup games versus great teams, it seldom ever occurs in reality. "People say I have to win trebles every season," Guardiola thought. "I am a good manager, but no." But there was still a caution. City might be able to endure. They might not only have one big hit. "There are teams that win the Champions League and after one or two seasons disappear," Guardiola continued. You must stay away from this, I said. Knowing myself, this won't happen. With a contract that lasts until 2025, a system that is centered on him, and a readiness to acknowledge his employers, it appears that he is here to stay. How many clubs trash the project, he questioned, "Normally when you don't win the Champions League after so many years you are sacked." His own enterprise had endured earlier grief in Europe. It's possible that City won't regress until Guardiola, Erling Haaland, or both depart the team. Rodri appeared to be optimistic about the future. We have a really solid roster for the upcoming years with players like 22-year-old Erling and the young men who are currently joining.
The average age of City's starting 11 is, in fact, not particularly young at 28 years and 137 days, and that was with Riyad Mahrez, 32, and Kyle Walker, 33, sitting on the bench. Additionally, there is a chance that a team that rarely loses players they want to keep could lose a pair just as the number of treble winners reaches an all-time high.