It's a damn long way from innocence to Champions League final

If you are a faithful City supporter with at least two or three decades of fever-pitch experience, then you have bittersweet feelings regarding May. Yes, it will go in history as a month of City's first Champions League final ever, maybe even the first title itself. Also, 13 May 2012 brought us one of the most dramatic Premier League endings, with Sergio Aguero's last-second winner bringing euphoria and the trophy to Etihad Stadium.

However, two and a half decades and billions of pounds ago, May used to bring back nothing but horror and dreadful moments for good people of Manchester who have chosen Citizens as their club rather than Man Utd.

Albeit they were very competitive with their city rivals from Old Trafford during the '70s and early '80s, the '90s brought an awful decline for them. The Gallagher brothers, members of the famous brit-pop band "Oasis, " were regular on Main Road during those years, demonstrating alongside thousands of City fans that loyalty has nothing to do with the club's contemporary results.

Noel Gallagher in the stands (©Action images)

But they were exasperated on that 5 May. Yes, exactly this day; only 25 years ago, Manchester City were relegated to the second tier after a true anticlimax in a tie against Liverpool.

Near the stoppage time, two teams were tied at two, with Allan Ball's outfit (the guy with a hat facing Guardiola up there above the headline) needing to win to stay in the league. In that pre-Internet era, with not many mobile phones in personal use, it was not so easy to check things like nowadays. So when one guy at Main Road's west stand yelled that draw is enough to keep them in Premier League - somehow, everyone believed him. It sounded good enough, at least. The rumour - disinformation or wishful thinking, more precisely - had come to City's dugout and eventually to players themselves who immediately stopped chasing the third goal and focused on stealing time.

To the disbelief of the Reds, but who were they to spoil it for them.

Once they were aware it's a hoax, and the relegation is just around the corner for them, it was too late. The final whistle sent fans, players and the entire club into despair.

And, believe it or not, it was just a first step to the bottom, which they faced as soon as 1998 when they dropped to a Division 2, or the third tier of the English football pyramid.

Their finest player and fans' most celebrated icon until this day was Giorgi Kinkladze, a little known attacking midfielder from the former USSR. Huh, what a sign of times. One would say De Bruyne is a bit of improvement, isn't it?

Giorgi Kinkladze kisses the City crest (©Action images)

So what exactly happened that changed City's destiny so dramatically on the verge of the new millennium. Well, yes, those new owners - firstly it was Shinawatra, then those sheikhs - poured incredible sums of money into the club. And yes, it wouldn't be possible to have those second to none players like Mahrez or Aguero or the above mentioned De Bruyne without petrodollars, but there's a huge "BUT" at the end of that sentence - it's reckless and entirely inaccurate to consider Manchester City as one of those 'El Gasico' teams, as their PSG tie was labelled for in some media.

The club, founded in 1880, with many silverware in their trophy room years before all those billions came along, prove that City have a tradition, pedigree and - what's the most important - the loyal army of fans.

Especially those 20,000 - 30,000 who had to witness the disastrous relegation sink in 1996. If someone could have just approached them that awful 5 May, hugged them and told them not to worry. Yes, their City is going to Division 1, thanks to false fan's info; but they will secure the Champions League final on 4 May. The only 'catch' is they have to wait from 1996 until 2021.

Only they know how long was the way from that innocent sorrow to this glamorous glory.

Or, as the Gallagher brothers would say in that song of theirs...

But don't look back in anger

I heard you say.

By: BOJAN BABIĆ