Jack Grealish was belting out Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere at the top of his voice as John Stones cracked open his first beer for 11 months. It was gone 2am in Istanbul and the Manchester City party was moving on from the Ataturk Olympic Stadium to the team bus. The swirl of memories they were leaving behind were many and varied.
A tearful Erling Haaland wrapped in a Norwegian flag, finally free of Inter Milan’s cloying defence, soaking up the moment. Phil Foden, never wanting the night to end, having a kickabout in the centre circle with Kevin de Bruyne’s seven-year-old coming up for 1am.
One moment though stood out. A bearhug cuddle between Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva which felt like it would never end. It bore the look of a heartfelt thank you and a farewell. Even in the moment of ultimate fulfilment as the treble was landed the band was breaking up. Silva is likely to move on in the summer, Aymeric Laporte too – maybe even the captain Ilkay Gundogan. Such is football life. Every team, even the greatest ones, evolve.
Guardiola’s task will be to manage the change and to re-stoke City’s fires now that their Everest has been scaled. But before he begins the process of rebooting City, he will need to reboot himself. As they stood on the pitch on Saturday night Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak tried to push Guardiola’s sights towards next season when the final will be staged at Wembley.
Guardiola shut him down. He did not have the energy. Masterminding City’s historic season – football’s longest – had taken everything he has. He lived every last second of City’s exquisite agony in Istanbul as he has done all the way along their road to three-pronged glory. Guardiola’s treble put him alongside Sir Alex Ferguson, who sent him a warm good luck message on the day of the final, as the only manager of an English club to achieve the feat.
It was Guardiola’s second of his career having done the Spanish version with Barcelona. The most influential manager of his generation, his hit rate is incredible. Asked about the secret of his success ahead of the final, he smiled and answered: ‘Messi and Haaland’. Great players help, of course, but he helps great players too.
City have many advantages with their wealth but without Guardiola, they could not have evolved into the edifice of excellence they are today. He is a football obsessive, relentless and driven, but now his seven-year-itch at City has been scratched there will be a natural pause for reflection.
Few thought Guardiola would stay at the Etihad – anywhere – this long. He has insisted previously that he will see out the remaining two years of his contract at City but he also reflected that he did not know how he would feel if the treble was achieved.
Complete? Sated? Ready for a break from the management treadmill? Maybe a call to his new text friend across Manchester, the manager who cornered the market in longevity and seasonal renewal, would help in this regard. Ferguson would no doubt tell him the work is never done.
In the Champions League era only Real Madrid have ever conquered Europe back-to-back. When United achieved the treble in 1999, they won the league again the following season but the Champions League proved a step too far. likewise Guardiola’s Barcelona side after 2009. It will be down to Guardiola to decide whether he is up for it but there is always another challenge.
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