A Derby Day to remember!
February 11th 2008 02:08
If you've been living under a rock in Alaska for a month or so, I should probably mention that this was an extra special derby too, as it marked the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster. Special commemorative plans were made, including the teams wearing sponsorless shirts, both managers laying wreaths for the dead before kick off, and the obligatory minute's silence. And it was the 'controversial' minute's silence that took all the headlines in the lead up to the game. City's official supporters club had even asked for the silence to be replaced with a minute's applause to drown out the 'one or two idiots' that would undoubtedly spoil the moment for everyone else.
Is this how low we think football fans have become? I mean, I understand the animosity between the two sets of fans and I even understand the history of City chanting about the disaster, but surely on a day such as this people would be respectful enough to keep quiet and remember the men that died? To be absolutely honest, I wasn't sure.
However, when the time came the Manchester City fans proved everyone wrong and respectfully participated in the minute's silence with impeccable behaviour. I was actually quite shocked to find myself bursting with pride at the spectacle, which to be fair was visibly appreciated by the United fans. For one minute the two historic Manchester clubs came together in a way I never thought possible.
There will be some cynics out there who will say, 'Why should we praise the fans for simply acting in a decent, compassionate way?' And, I suppose, it's a fair point. But when England couldn't even manage the same show of respect mere days before, I think City deserve at least a little pat on the back.
City haven't got the best record against United so some may find it surprising that we blue half of Manchester welcome these fixtures with all the excitement our red counterparts do. Of course, City are known for their optimism and even in the face of overwhelming odds, we still think that should Ferdinand get an early knock, Ronaldo throw a hissy fit and get sent off, Tevez play a shocker and Vidic look lethargic from International duty, then maybe, just maybe, we can nick something. This despite the fact that our away record is abysmal and we haven't won at Old Trafford in about twelve thousand years.
Allow me to go all Jimmy Hill for a second and dredge up the tired old cliche, 'The form guide goes out of the window on Derby Day!' Well... it does. City, coming off its worse spell of the season, played with the discipline and organisation that defined their early season hot streak. They allowed United possession, kept things very tight and narrow, and hit on the break. United however looked sluggish and, dare I say, unmotivated on the one day when motivation was everywhere, practically tangible.
City went on to deservedly win the game, 2-1, to complete the first league double over United for about eight and a half million years. It was a double win for the City fans too, who also dished out a large slice of humble pie to all those who condemned them as mindless idiots.
Now, I'm not a religious man. I don't subscribe to the teachings of Jesus Christ, Allah or Buddha, but if Karma wasn't at play today... well, paint my face red and call me Fergie!
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City have won derbies in the past, but we've always been well under the cosh for large parts of the game, and whilst we gave up a lot of possession, the urgency was completely missing from United's play on Sunday. Yeah, I definitely think City just about nudged it.
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