The golden generation has come to an end ⭐️Dynasty changes, but Manchester City has become one of the greatest teams in European football

May 16th At 23:30 on May 17, Manchester City will face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final. This will be Manchester City's only remaining chance to win this season. The Athletic Manchester City reporter Sam Lee wrote an op-ed article, believing that the FA Cup final may be the best song of Manchester City's "golden generation", and Manchester City has long been among the greatest teams in European football.

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Why is the FA Cup final a masterpiece of Manchester City's golden generation?

"Without a certain player, Manchester City would not have achieved what they are today." This sentence has almost become Guardiola's catchphrase.

Speaking of Bernardo Silva, Guardiola said in April: "I can't imagine the years without him." When evaluating goalkeeper Ederson in October, he emphasized: "I have said countless times in the eight years we worked together. Without his extraordinary performance, those championship trophys are simply unthinkable."

Recently speaking of De Bruyne, Guardiola reiterated: "Without him, all the glory we have created over the years is a fantasy."

Although Guardiola admits that he sometimes expresses it, this time he reveals a fact: Manchester City does have a golden generation, and these players have made extraordinary contributions.

Usually, a legendary army will receive the praise it deserves only when glorious years truly become history and when nostalgia spreads quietly. However, the decline that Manchester City experienced in the mid-range league this season, coupled with the official announcement that De Bruyne is about to leave the team, has made current fans more clearly aware of the legend created by this team.

No doubt, Manchester City has ranked among the greatest teams in European football. Just like Sir Ferguson's "Class 92", Wenger's invincible army, and Mourinho's first-generation Chelsea Iron Army will always be engraved in the history of English football, Guardiola's Manchester City will surely stand on par with them.

100% winning the championship in a single season, four consecutive Premier League titles, domestic triumphal champions, the "real triumphal champions" blessed by the Champions League, and the team's stable dominance over the years... All these fabulous achievements are based on the cornerstone of extraordinary players. Just imagine: Without Ederson's precise save without changing his color, without Bernardo's exquisite technical and tactical wisdom, and without De Bruyne's stable output and fatal threat for ten years, could all this be achieved? And these are just a few pieces in the golden puzzle.

The FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley will be of great significance to Manchester City. For some meritorious players who are about to enter their twilight years of their career, this may be their last chance to win the trophy in a sky blue jersey. When the final whistle sounds, their legendary story may be frozen.

is by no means arguing that Manchester City is slacking off on what they have achieved, but the Wembley final is almost routine for them; no matter what the outcome, people always believe that the future is promising because the team will always make a comeback. And the FA Cup final may be a certain end to the era for the first time.

De Bruyne's departure has been officially confirmed, and his official farewell ceremony will be held after Manchester City's last home game of the season. While all eyes were focused on De Bruyne, there were other figures who knew everything but had not yet said goodbye to the public.

Stones and Gallish have still variables in the future, and Ederson is very likely to leave the team in De Bruyne's footsteps this summer. Bernardo Silva is rumored to be back to Benfica, and it is generally believed that Gundogan will also say goodbye throughout the season. Although the rumors of B seat leaving the team have not yet been settled and Gundogan is likely to stay in the team, it is an indisputable fact that Etihad's personnel structure is about to usher in drastic changes.

From multiple dimensions, this is a weathered year for Manchester City, and the reputation of many meritorious players has been hit hard. Not to mention Bernardo and Gundogan for the time being, even Walker, who seems to have been forgotten for a long time, cannot escape the predicament. Walker, who joined Milan on loan in January, left the team not only because of his own sharp decline in his condition but also because of the public opinion violence he suffered.

wins only 11 of the 31 games in the season. The five-month downturn has left Manchester City in a verbal confrontation. Even though its state has stabilized recently, the dull battle with Southampton last weekend once again triggered public opinion shocks, and calls for a full blood exchange in the lineup have been heard one after another.

There are signs that Manchester City is in urgent need of major changes, and we may not only witness the end of this great team, but also the end of its era of domination. The changes in the football world are often beyond imagination, just like Manchester United is experiencing a low season in the standard sense. In a flash, eleven years have passed and you have fallen to 16th place in the standings.

The ups and downs of Manchester City this season confirm that there is no eternal king in the football world. As football director Begiristan handed over the scepter to Viana after the Club World Cup, the club's future is also concealed by some uncertainty.

Manchester City has certainly done everything possible to ensure a smooth transition to power transfer. Begiristan played a leading role in selecting successors, Viana has shown influence in the winter transfer window and has officially assisted in the work full time since March.

Guardiola also completed a two-year contract renewal. Just imagine if Guardiola chooses to leave this summer, Manchester City's dominance will appear fragile. Fortunately, the club did not let this assumption come true, and Guardiola continued to take charge of the coaching staff, which is almost equivalent to the guarantee of success at the competitive level.

This is not the first time that Manchester City is facing a change of core players. If the team sticks to the meritorious team when Guardiola took over in 2016, it will be impossible for the team to achieve four consecutive Premier League championships from 2021 to 2024.

Guardiola admitted in 2019: "Without Fernandinho, all our achievements are castles in the air."

When talking about Rodri twelve months ago, he also emphasized: "With him, we can't move forward.". "This proves that the club has rich experience in replacing players who were once regarded as irreplaceable.

Gundogan inherited David Silva's metronome role, Ruben Dias recreated the Kompany-like leadership style, and the pain caused by Aguero's departure gradually calmed down over time.

When talking about Aguero in 2021, Guardiola's eyes were filled with tears: "We cannot replace him." His influence and club status are unique. "But now, Haaland has shouldered the burden of scoring.

A year ago, Guardiola commented on Haaland: "His goal is not the Golden Ball Award, but the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup. And he did it. Without him, none of this could have been possible. ”

This statement is confirmed again: Although some people believe that Manchester City's pass control system is smoother and more stable before or during the injury period of Haaland, his core role in the 2023 triple championship journey is unquestionable. In the future - perhaps in the final this weekend - his goal will still be the key to the team's victory.

Gevadior, who is only 23 years old, is shining brightly, and this defensive star who has long been included in the army is steadily moving towards his core position. Just as Gundogan was already in the position, there is no need to deliberately find David Silva's successor, Gevadior's strategic value in Manchester City's reconstruction blueprint cannot be ignored.

However, this summer's transfer window seems elegant The key externally comes from the departure of many legendary stars, and some players who joined Gvadior and Haaland at the same time have not fulfilled their expectations. Calvin Phillips has left the team, and Nunes has more opportunities to play than the former, just because he has found an unexpected living space at the full-back position. Although Alvarez was amazed, he has turned to another place, and the vacancy left by him has not been filled yet.

What is even more worrying is the uncertainty: Doku shows exciting talent, but no one can assert whether he can reach the Sterling-style breakthrough height; the same is true for Savigno, who just joined last summer. The 22-year-old Doku and 21-year-old Savigno, their technical characteristics and age structure are perfectly in line with the club's signing ideas. But they will have to carry the banner of attacking the wing in the new season, and their current performance is not enough to fully support this expectation.

This is why Manchester City's lineup change seems particularly bumpy. Chasing Kane in 2021, finding a central defender in 2020, and the left-back position is a long-term shortcoming. It is true that there is a need for reinforcement in every summer window, but since the introduction of B seats, Ederson and Walker to build a golden team in 2017, the club has never needed a large number of new players so urgently.

Manchester City obviously intends to continue the strategy of precise recruitment: interest in young talents such as Gibbs White of Nottingham Forest, Wilz of Leverkusen, and Reindes of AC Milan have surfaced, but in the end It is still unknown how many people can be successfully introduced. If more than two people can achieve a heavy signing, it will strongly show that the club has laid the groundwork for the new era.

However, all kinds of ideas about the future can be put on hold, because the moment is imminent. This Saturday's FA Cup final battle will be an opportunity to regain glory, which is not only a stage for the existing lineup to prove its value, but also an excellent occasion to draw a perfect rest for the legendary career.

Even if the meritorious de Bruyne, Ederson, Bernardo, Gundogan and other meritorious deeds may have won the last trophy with the team, their legendary status is still unshakable. And what other farewell is more moving than holding the silver cup high to the sky in the bright sunshine of Wembley?