A TALE OF 2 CITIEZ
Manchester City vs Liverpool, their rivalry, their legacy and their futures?
(Written by Abraham A. Instagram: @stripeddflacko, twitter: @fwflackoo)
Over the years, there have been rivalries in the English game that have shaken the very core of the country, with some of these rivalries as old as time itself. Some have been formed due to provinces, states, towns, cities, and others have been formed through ambition, success and domination of the sport. Regardless of how it was formed, one thing has always remained and that is legacy. Not all the rivalries in England have stood the test of time. Teams have fallen off, wrong ownerships have led to mismanagement and a host of other reasons have led to fall of some of these rivalries. Till date though, we remember those clubs, not for what they are anymore, but what they were and their Legacy.
That is nothing short of what is being written, boldly in the history books by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. When it comes to rivalries, there are so many others, debatable or not, that arguably have more significance and emotional gravitas but at this very moment, even the most nonchalant fan would tell you we’re witnessing one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the league. That is the legacy these two eras would be leaving behind. Pep vs Klopp, a rivalry that has been gargantuan wherever those two have been but even they would admit, they have probably outdone themselves this time.
At the tail end of yet another season, these two clubs are once again, on the summit of world football, fighting on all fronts for the presentable trophies this season. Liverpool have already won the League cup, both teams remain in the FA Cup, City are 6 points clear of Liverpool at the top of the league, and although Liverpool have a game in hand, the City vs Liverpool game at the Etihad, is shaping up nicely, yet again, for another “You must not miss” clashes. We’ve already seen how a goal line clearance won City the league. It’s probably going to be similar margins when they both face each other again.
It is possibly going to be the decider of what happens in the league and where the trophy lands at the end of the season. Although, this may sound like a regular top table clash between two teams going for the title in their own domestic league, some may argue, this might be dress rehearsal for the Champions League final as both teams are also the favorites for the European trophy.
How they have gotten to the summit of the English game is not a fluke, neither is it a mistake. Pep and Klopp might be on the receiving end of most of the praise for the accomplishments of these two teams, but there have been people in the background that have laid this foundation in place.
It was in February, in 2016, that City had already announced the departure of Manuel Pellegrini, with Pep Guardiola set to be in succession. Why did they make such a huge decision with so much of the season still left to play? Would Pep Guardiola fit in the premier league? So many questions were leveled at City especially because Pellegrini in his own right, had done a good job at City. However, if you asked Sheikh Mansour, he’d probably tell you his plans were not to win a premier league title or two. He wants a dynasty, he wants to create a legacy, not just in England but in Europe itself. It’s no coincidence that when Pep built one of the greatest teams ever, in his time in Barcelona, Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain who were also present at Barca, are in City’s board now. City have made it clear, this isn’t a phase, it’s an Era and so far it’s looking nothing short of one.
Fenway Sports Group might not be the most popular ownership group amongst Liverpool fans in England, but they do know how to run a football club. Might be luck, might be pure coincidence, might be genius level of planning. Regardless, FSG will be the figure heads that delivered Liverpool’s Premier league trophy, after a barren 30 year spell. It hasn’t been complete capitulation for Liverpool in that time period however. They still amassed a host of European cups but never the Holy Grail. It might have been a long wait, but it was definitely worth the wait, because that was always the endgame, success for Liverpool, the Premier League. It was why Klopp was adamant in his first year at the club that he would win the league in 3,4 years, and that he did but it wasn’t just the Klopp appointment that turned their fortunes around. Like City, Liverpool boast of one of the best scouting networks in the game. They don’t have the biggest transfer budgets, their net spend compared to other massive European clubs is nothing short of a joke, but it makes no difference to the machinery that has been set up by Liverpool. The credit has to go to Liverpool’s soon to be, ex Sporting Director, Michael Edwards, who is set to leave the club, with his assistant, Julian Ward to take over the job. Their model hasn’t been a fan favorite but it’s worked.
Although there was never any intention for both clubs to simultaneously build up to get to where they are now, it has still set up arguably one of the greatest rivalries in the English game. As far back as English Rivalries go, at no time where there ever two English teams with so much gulf in quality, compared to the rest of the teams in Europe, bar a few. City might not have won a Champions League trophy, yet, which could all change by the end of the season, but no matter what you think of them and Pep Guardiola, bar a few questionable decisions Pep has made in Europe, all be it debatable about whether they’ve been right or wrong, City have at no point, looked like passengers in Europe.
This season, the title race which anticipated four teams, has now been cut down to two. City and Liverpool are going toe to toe again for the title and have left every single team behind them in a distance.
Despite both teams coming into the season with question marks, the January signing of Luiz Diaz, emergence of Harvey Elliot and Konstantinos Tsimikas having his breakthrough season, coinciding with Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Rodri having the season of their lives, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Kevin De Bruyne making light work of what seemingly was going to be City’s Achilles heel in the center forward position, after City’s failed pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer and Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez having themselves marquee seasons going under the wraps, it has definitely closed a few mouths and has shown once again why Pep and Klopp, are heads and shoulders, above the rest. Even Jack Grealish has joined in the fun and has recently strung a very good run of games, despite his poor start to his life at City.
Regardless of what team you support, you can only admire the quality of football these two show on a consistent basis and is only testament to the genius of both clubs and their managers.
Teams that have tried to challenge both teams at the top of the table have gone out with a whimper. Manchester United in the 2020/2021 season were the only ones that put some sort of challenge at the title but even with their unbeaten away run all season, they still ended 12 points behind city and despite Liverpool’s chaotic season which found them 8th in January, they still ended up 5 points behind United in 3rd.
This season, both United and Chelsea were meant to challenge after trying to strengthen in the summer but for United, it’s not a season to write home about. Chelsea on the other hand, did have spells at the top of the table early on but City and Liverpool, sometimes even in their worst, are not teams that “spells of form” can outdo, hence their placement in third, so far behind City and Liverpool but also comfortable enough to guarantee a third placed finish.
It won’t always be like this though. Pep has spent 6 years in City, his longest spell as manager of any club till date and Klopp at the end of his contract would’ve spent 9 years in charge which is the longest run as manager of Liverpool only second to Bob Paisley. At least for the chasing pack, there’s a glimmer of hope, because both Pep and Klopp have confirmed they would see out their contracts and are highly unlikely to renew. Would City and Liverpool get clones of Pep and Klopp? That’s very unlikely and that means there’s hope for the other teams but City and Liverpool aren’t the teams you’d associate bad planning or decision making with.
The succession plan for Pep Guardiola is already in the works, with the City board already signaling the drafts of their next candidates in place. They have however undisclosed who those managers would be but the City board already have a plan, and that’s not good news for other teams.
Pep Lijnders, Klopp’s assistant, has been rumored to be the underground successor of Klopp at Liverpool. Arguably every football fan in the world knows Steven Gerrard will one day be at helms at Anfield but no one knows when. Klopp’s contract runs out in 2024. Steven Gerrard by then would’ve been screened enough to know if he’d be Klopp’s successor, depending on how well he does at Aston Villa.
Regardless of how the chapter ends for these two managers, they have set a foundation for these two clubs going forward. A spell? An era? No matter what it is, this time period is going to be written boldly in the history books. Will the competition between these two teams remain, long after Pep and Klopp are gone? It remains to be seen but what we know right now is, we’re living in a Liverpool and City world, and their fans are loving it.
