Oh Dear. I recently mused about how Man City would deal with adversity when it came, and we are starting to get our answers. First, after a 2-2 draw after being up 2-0 at the half against Fulham FC last week, Man City coach Roberto Mancini proclaimed the club needs more players – keep in mind they have spent over $300 million pounds acquiring new talent. They somehow managed to navigate that gaffe by winning their next Premier League match 2-0.
But the real test was today – their second Champions League match against traditional powerhouse Bayern Munich. To be sure, they weren’t expected to win the match, but a draw was fully expected. What took place was mind-boggling. Playing an attack-minded 4-4-2, unfortunately a recipe for disaster in Europe, they were completely throttled in the first half. This included a goal by Bayern with the last play of the half by Mario Gomez. The second half was more even, but what was most curious were the substitutions made. Mancini brought on 2 defensive midfielders and a left-back with his 3 subs, and odd move that had me and the commentators scratching our heads. This left Man City in a 4-5-1 that was really more of a 4-4-1-1. It should be noted that this move proved useful in stymieing Bayern’s attack but it has to be asked: why not just start with that lineup? Anyways, coupling the final score of this game (2-0) with Napoli’s 2-0 win against Villareal, Man City are on the outside looking in for qualifying to the next stage.
And then the real fireworks came out. Roberto Mancini has claimed that talisman Carlos Tevez refused to play in this crucial match when called on as a substitute. This is baffling, shocking and completely unacceptable. Tevez asked for a transfer at the beginning of this season for no real reason, and he was denied. To make an NFL analogy, think of what Albert Haynesworth did last season with the Redskins. Tevez hasn’t started a big match for the club this season and Man City has acquired an enormously better player than Tevez, Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero. So instead of being a professional and accepting his paltry $200,000 pounds per week salary, he has decided to go this route. The route Tevez has decided to take is even more dumb when you consider Man City are in contention for 4 titles this season – he would have had plenty of opportunities to get his playing time. Couple this with Mario Balotelli’s weekly meltdown, he is currently suspended from Champions League play, and the club is actually short on strikers who are sane and able to play.
So what does this all mean? In a sense, this has been seen as inevitable because the team is viewed as a group of mercenaries, and that’s really how they have acted. This is where teams are made or broken. Will Mancini be able to bounce back from this shock revelation? Will the club become closer or just fall apart, as many pundits and fans have predicted and want to happen? Will they be able to continue competing for the Premier League title? Can they even get out of the first round of the Champions League? Mancini claims that Tevez will never play for the club again, and this will be a true test of his authority and power in the club. It’s not easy to pay someone $200,000 pounds a week to sit and watch soccer from the sidelines, but Mancini has drawn a line in the sand and is counting on his club to back him up. I also have concerns that Mancini’s unexpected attacking football tactics will give way to his more tried and true conservative catenaccio style. Ultimately I believe talent will overcome and Man City can manage to get out of the first round of the Champions League and contend for all quadruple, but I am probably in the minority. And rightly so.