Pep Guardiola’s side is dominating now, but his good fortune and the wealth that propelled it are left more productive for posterity.
Fans were warned not to invade the court. There was a message on the big screen a few minutes before the end, a reminder in the PA formula that entering the playing surface was strictly illegal and would not be tolerated. There was a line of stewards and policemen in a position as sprinters near the sideline, in a position to secure the turf as soon as the game was over.
And then, the game was over, and within seconds, the grass was wrapped in hammered boots and footsteps and a little woman doing cart wheels, which, to be fair, was very cute. Players and city staff dodged a swarm of flying bodies, some fully clothed and some not, each carrying a smartphone with a small blinking red dot on the screen. They weren’t partying, you see; They simply took what they believed belonged to them. Some guys decided to do a tension check on the goal posts at the south end of the court: a probably more productive task that was left for the summer and the maintenance staff was trained.
Nothing to oppose box invasions, personally speaking: as long as there is no intentional damage and no damage is done, then who cares?Doing what he was looking for had found a sudden taste for regulation and order. Eventually, the workers’ security corps restored a modicum of calm and the few remaining intruders retreated to the stands, their contents captured, their thirst for freedom satisfied.
Thus, in one form or another, the coronation can take place: an occasion that in the end turned out to be similar to the coronation proper, another occasion committed to the glorification of state force and the demonstration of sumptuous riches founded on the exploitation and plunder of the earth. They had obviously planned this occasion at City for some time. The T-shirts had been newly printed. The “Champions” banner was unfurled on the façade the moment the final whistle blew in Nottingham on Saturday night. Even the players’ reaction to the victory was not captured in choppy phone footage, but through City’s internal film crew, in a position that will be rolled out to the club’s virtual channels within minutes.
Here, everything is left to chance. In many ways, this is the founding philosophy of Abu Dhabi’s little blue-sock puppet: the ability to hint only at the next move, but all the moves that follow, meticulous attention to detail, frank willingness, and unabashed assurance to remove only obstacles. , however, things that one day may be obstacles, perhaps.
Seven of this season’s Premier League clubs have yet to win even 3 games in a row. City have just won 3 titles in a row and the most remarkable thing is that they barely look like the car, as if it were something natural, as if it were water. Water, like the car that starts when you put the key in the ignition.
There was a match to play first, of course, which was quite forgettable. The Chelsea players had formed a guard of honour beforehand: only the starting 11 and the substitutes, otherwise the pitch might not have been wide enough to accommodate them. Many people seemed to slip, even if it was the pre-match watering or the tears of the city’s enemies, no one can say for sure. There was even the comforting sight, around the half-hour mark, of Raheem Sterling who passed without fail on purpose and wasted a one-on-one in front of the City fans. Who said this position made no historical sense?
In the medium term, Chelsea’s abundant wealth deserves to make it one of the most productive clubs to challenge City’s dominance, as soon as it can abandon the habit of signing Frank Lampard. Decent openings, Chelsea’s caretaker manager waved and raved in his technical realm, aware that a home result for the champions would be the kind of feather on his cap that could secure him a permanent job. Not this job, obviously. Maybe one of England’s youth teams. Or anything in Belgium.
But ultimately, Chelsea is the meat in the room here, and in many ways, everyone too. You already get the impression that City are moving away from their existing time and place, a trend most evident in the common and not stupid attempts to compare them to three-time winners Manchester United in 1999 or Bob Paisley’s Liverpool or Arsenal’s Invincibles or whatever.
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It is also seen in Pep Guardiola’s growing willingness to talk about his legacy, in City’s attempts to commemorate his triumphs in near real-time, the statues of David Silva and Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero. The offer is already settled; Now, it seems, City are aiming for the afterlife and the future.
And here, of course, the terrain becomes more delicate. A Premier League poll is coming: more arguments to win, more campaigns to plan. More challengers and more wonderful groups will come. Perhaps future generations will have a darker view of the wealth that helped City succeed and how it was hijacked. No one, not even autocratic leaders, has his full legacy. Some things, as always, are more wonderful to posterity.