Success and being part of the top clubs in England is mostly new to Manchester City, but there is no limit to their ambition, as Manuel Pellegrini doesn’t just want to win the Premier League title, but actually lead his club to triumph in all four competitions they’re still in.
It’s very difficult but we will try. It’s important to have the mentality at least to try. During the season with injuries and the amount of games we have to play it’s very difficult and that’s why no-one’s done it before. But you must have the mentality to at least try to do it and that’s what we’re trying to do at this moment. We’re not thinking about winning the four competitions, we’re just thinking about Blackburn in the FA Cup and then to try and win against Cardiff on Saturday because until the end of the season we are going to be with five or six teams fighting until the end and it will just be decided by one or two points.
There are two English clubs with trebles: Manchester United in 1999 (league, UCL, FA Cup) and Liverpool in 1984 (league, European Cup, League Cup). Liverpool also have a cup treble from 2001 (FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup). Manchester City, enjoying a quicker road to the upper regions of English and possibly even European football this season, want to join this elite group.
In the league, it’s not going to be a surprise seeing them lift the trophy at the end of the season, even though they’re slightly behind due to some awful away form when this season began. They’ve been pretty much unstoppable at home and except for a 2-1 win over Liverpool, their dominance and flair when hosting big rivals (Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal) have been devastating.
They’ve made it for the first time ever into the Champions League round of 16, where they will play against Barcelona, which makes Pellegrini’s goal all that difficult. They will play in the League Cup final, probably against Manchester United, and they have third round replay against Blackburn (at home) in the FA Cup.
While it’s not impossible, it’s going to be very difficult to see them winning everything this season. However, money and actually being a very solid foundation of players who aren’t just here for a year or two has turned City into an ambitious club that doesn’t make people laugh when someone mentions their desire to win every possible title. They’re not that good yet, but it won’t be a huge surprise to see them get to that level some day.