In his quieter moments, Yaya Toure still watches that goal. The goal that changed everything in this city. Sliding doors, changing of the guard – whatever you want to call Manchester City’s victory in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final, the status quo around here shifted.
City had never been to the new Wembley before encountering Manchester United that day. Three years of new ownership had yet to yield a trophy. United had won three of the last four titles and were on their way to another, City losing five of the last six meetings in the Premier League and knocked out of the Carling Cup semi-finals by their bitter rivals a year earlier.
The blue half descended on London expecting more of the same. But Michael Carrick’s loose first touch gave Toure a sniff. He marched on, tucking through Edwin van der Sar’s legs, a crowning moment of his debut campaign in England. The Ivorian must account for a healthy portion of the 1.4million views that those highlights have chalked on YouTube.
‘I think those few seconds against United were like a resume of my career at City,’ Toure said. ‘We celebrated more then than actually winning the final against Stoke!
Yaya Toure scored the goal that changed everything for Man City in the Manchester derby as he knocks out their rivals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final in a sliding doors moment in the city
Toure would also go on to score in the FA Cup final against Stoke, but it was the victory against their rivals which led to them achieving greater success in the seasons that were to follow
City have since won seven of the last 12 Premier League titles, with Pep Guardiola’s side also seeking a famous win over their rivals in the final of the FA Cup this weekend
‘It was a mark of the change that was happening. There was a big celebration. The executives were on the train with us, they came into the dressing room to share our happiness. They were feeling like: “This is it now, change is coming now at Man City.”
‘Everyone around the city started to realise it. I remember when I went to the supermarket and even United fans would say: “Oh Yaya, you guys, jeez.” Before then, United fans were asking “So what did you do, City? Losers,” that kind of thing. After that game we started to get more respect.’
Sir Alex Ferguson had famously branded City the ‘noisy neighbours’ and, when asked if United would ever go into a derby as underdogs, simply said: ‘Not in my lifetime.’ Even the greats are occasionally wrong and the dial has spun so sharply that the idea of City going into Saturday’s final as anything but favourites would sound inconceivable.
Landing Toure from Barcelona proved the catalyst, the seeds of a move planted by his brother and City defender Kolo. His leathered left-footed winner against Stoke secured a first piece of silverware in 35 years and from there, they and he were off. No midfielder could match him for five seasons; few will ever get close.
‘I just felt like it was a duty really,’ he said. ‘We knew we had to win one. In the first half of the semi they were battering us. That [Dimitar] Berbatov chance they missed a yard from goal, it was open. Joe Hart’s saves.
‘I remember getting into the dressing room at half-time and saying, “Look, we’re too passive.” If you want to dream about being in finals we have to put up a great fight and be ourselves. We were respecting United too much.
‘Inside, we were quiet for two or three minutes, I have to be honest with you. Patrick Vieira delivered a great speech. He was completely clear, saying “Yes, we’re competing against one the top teams but we don’t have to be shy.” We knew we had to change the mentality and go for it. Because after that it’s going to be so noisy, the city.’
What Toure neglected to mention was his role around the clanging boots and coat pegs. He told Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong to hold the fort and that he would win this himself. And win it he did.
Yaya Toure (pictured in 2014) still watches his 2011 winner against United in his quieter moments
Man City went on to beat Manchester United 6-1 in the Premier League the season after
Sir Alex Ferguson (second left) who had branded Man City as their ‘noisy neighbours’ would go on to see his side beaten to the title by their rivals in 2012 as the guard changed in Manchester
‘Carrick was such a good player, so smart and able to take a lot of risks, similar to [Sergio] Busquets,’ Toure added. ‘When I jumped on him I knew he didn’t see me coming.’
An in-game ambush led to a far larger one over later years, something that Ferguson was feeling creep up on them. There had been the acrimony around Carlos Tevez’s switching allegiances in 2009, the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ billboard, tales of which are still regaled today. Toure revealed that they were the talk of his Barca teammates at the time.
‘United were so comfortable – they’d win week in, week out, they were winning the league easily and on top of us were all these other teams like Chelsea, Arsenal,’ Toure said. ‘At the beginning it was very tough. It’s only now, as I look back, that I realise how tough.
‘The players understood why I was coming and could see the hard work I put in. I wanted to set the bar high. Garry Cook and Brian Marwood had the trust of the people above to spend and get the best players so they could change things.
Manchester United will be keen to stop City in their pursuit of a famous Treble this season
Toure spent eight seasons at Man City before leaving after Guardiola’s second year at the club
‘I was at Barcelona and saw the Tevez thing on Sky, it was big. To take him from a big rival, you can maybe understand why Ferguson was frustrated and p***** [off]. When a manager starts to talk about someone or other clubs it means he’s scared. It means he feels something going on there that is important. You don’t talk about someone like that if you don’t fear him.’
That fear truly crystalised six months after the semi-final at Old Trafford, the season of the Sergio Aguero moment. United 1-6 City, an afternoon still sung about now. Mario Balotelli and his bathroom fireworks the night before, the “Why Always Me?” t-shirt, the merciless shellacking after the Jonny Evans red card. City fans still maintain that it should have been 10.
‘You could see the camera on Ferguson’s face and it was red,’ Toure said. ‘He didn’t say anything. You could see it in his eyes. He was like, “Oh.” Incredible. It was like a slap in the face of United fans.
‘In their stadium, the most emblematic around the world, against the best manager in the world who had made their team great and we battered them 6-1. What’s better than that?’
