LONDON: At the end of a week dominated by Alex Ferguson’s shock retirement as Manchester United manager, Manchester City will seek to drag the spotlight back to the blue half of the city by beating Wigan Athletic in today’s FA Cup final.
Victory over Wigan will give City a third major title in three seasons and salve some of the pain inflicted by United’s uncontested romp to this season’s Premier League title.
Yaya Toure’s claim that the Scot’s departure could spark a power shift in the city.
“It will make a big difference,” said Toure at City’s pre-final media day.
“He is a great guy, a great manager, and I hope he stays in football. He has done something unbelievable for that club.”
The Ivorian added, with a wry smile: “For us, I think it is going to be very important. It is looking like Manchester City will start to dominate the Premier League. I hope.”
City will spend the close season plotting how to sabotage David Moyes’ first season in the Old Trafford dug-out, but midfielder James Milner says there will be no time for thoughts of their local rivals when his side take to the field at Wembley Stadium.
“We concentrate on our business over here and it’s obviously big news, but all we are concentrating on is the FA Cup final.”
While today’s game represents an opportunity for City to salvage a disappointing season, for Wigan it falls at an unfortunate juncture in their bid to avoid relegation.
Manager Roberto Martinez refuses to view the cup final as a distraction, however, and with Wigan appearing in the tournament finale he has urged his players to seize a rare opportunity to make history. AFP
