City Of Manchester Stadium: 05 May 2010, Kick-Off 19:45
There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss… the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope.”
– Alexandre Dumas.
He talked a good game, that Dumas, but as he wrote those words he could have had no idea what ‘ultimate despair’ really meant. He never saw Robert Taylor race onto a Carl Asaba backheel.
“And that is bye bye Division Two for Gillingham, Division One here we come.”
Without that low there could not have been the high. Paul Dickov dropped to his knees, arched back, head raised to the sky, seeing nothing. Wembley combusted. Only one thing mattered. City were back.
Ultimate bliss? No. But hope. A future. City could wait.
Robert Taylor would break our hearts again, but only by signing a two year deal. We would not then have dared to hope for so much as we have now. Our wait for a trophy continues. That banner is still there. But people talk about it now. They talk about ‘when’, not ‘if’. They talk about us. They talk about little else. And the derision, we’re nobody’s second team, cannot disguise their fear.
A win for City tonight and Champions’ League qualification is in our hands. Kaka’ has offered his opinion. Gianluigi Buffon is intrigued, no doubt his accountant is too. Torres? Villa? The rewards are obvious, just three years ago they were unthinkable.
Spurs have as much to gain. They have spending power, experience, quality. They’ve been on the cusp before. They’ve also won 11 of the last 12 games between the sides. City’s 3-0 defeat at White Hart Lane sealed Mark Hughes’s fate. Under Mancini, City have sacrificed some of their verve for composure. Tactically astute, disciplined, controlled. Not words that you would ever have associated with Manchester City, but it is Mancini’s vision.
The form book holds little relevance. This is a one off. A final. The players must leave everything on the pitch. City will do just that. It may be oil which has fuelled our resurgence but it is the fire in the hearts of our support, in the veins of Tevez, Bellamy and de Jong, which will push us to a level we have not seen before.
In 1999 losing was unthinkable. Tonight may be different. “It’s not do or die for us” said Craig Bellamy. Perhaps that’s true. Perhaps our ascent is inevitable. But for those packed into Eastlands, tonight will still feel like “do or die”. Roberto Mancini has implored his players not to be nervous. For the fans that is not an option. We will do what we always have: Wait and hope.
Prediction: Impossible.