Given Ilkay Gundogan’s now enormous importance for Manchester City, it is hard to imagine that when he signed in England in the summer of 2016 he was regarded as just another midfielder for the club. Coach Pep Guardiola demands game control, and Gündogan should bring this to the pitch with his ball skills. Since his move, the DFB national player has developed from a reliable passer to the first representative of Guardiola’s playing culture. Over the years, Guardiola increasingly used his ball distributor in possession as an offensive player – and Gündogan confirmed the coach’s move with goals.
Gündogan’s development isn’t limited to more goalscoring though: he captains the side and fans have seen him as a club legend since his two goals in last season’s league final. In the first English cup final between the two Manchester teams, City and United, another honorable name was added to him on Saturday: Gündogan is now also a match winner in cup finals.
Gündogan, 32, single-handedly decided the duel between the city rivals, one can say that without much exaggeration. He scored two volleys that seemed so precise, as if Guardiola had thought them up at the drawing board. Once Gündogan hit with the right, once with the left. And he almost managed a third goal, but he was just offside. The stadium management proclaimed him “man of the match” to the applause of the City fans at Wembley Stadium, which was crowded with 83,179 spectators, even though the match had not yet ended at the time. But it was hard to imagine that another professional would come up with even better goals in the rest of the season.
Gundogan scores before Alex Ferguson sits
In the 51st minute of the winning goal to make it 2-1 (1-1) for City, Gündogan heaved a free-kick cross from teammate Kevin De Bruyne into the goal net with a full-span touchdown. So artistically that the ball could no longer be blocked despite a full penalty area. The City captain thus put the end of a game that he had also opened.
Gündogan had already scored the earliest goal in the history of all FA Cup finals after twelve seconds. At that point, club legends Sir Alex Ferguson (United) and Mike Summerbee (City), who carried the trophy together to Wembley, had not even taken their places in the VIP box. Gündogan himself initiated the attack to make it 1-0, which suited his form, which had been brilliant for weeks. He briefly juggled the ball in the center circle and then kicked off with a low pass to Stefan Ortega. The goalkeeper, who is preferred to regular keeper Ederson in national cup competitions, stopped the ball and hit it to center forward Erling Haaland, who put it down De Bruyne’s path. United defender Victor Lindelöf’s ill-fated header jumped off his shoulder at Gundogan’s feet. He kept it – and scored. In the meantime, United captain Bruno Fernandes converted a hand penalty to equalize (33rd minute), the 152nd final of the oldest cup competition is now the first in which both captains scored.
Makes his coach happy: Ilkay Gündogan in the arms of coach Pep Guardiola.
(Photo: Kieran McManus/Shutterstock/Imago)
After the final whistle, almost no City player was kept on his feet. Almost everyone dropped onto the lawn with joy. Only Gündogan was one of the few professionals who remained steadfast – until later the teammates carried him through Wembley, where he suffered his supposedly biggest defeat in 2013. Back then he lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund (he had equalized the penalty in the meantime). Since then, the premier cup with handle seems to have driven him more than any other trophy – and was probably the reason why the cup victory apparently triggered more relief than ecstasy in him. Almost routinely, he accepted the trophy at the award ceremony. Unlike coach Guardiola, who was moved to tears by the success.
Where will he play next season? “Nothing has been decided yet,” says Gündogan
Because of the fifth Premier League championship in six years and the recent cup win, it actually looks as if City is getting closer and closer to city rivals United – as the City fans euphorically announced on a poster at the start of the game: “We are the boys in blue – coming after you…” The reference was a nod to United’s one-off title treble in 1999, consisting of the league title, the FA Cup and the Champions League. Manchester City can replicate such a coup in a week if Inter Milan are also defeated in the final of the premier class at the end of the season.
The successes so far would feel “incredible”, said Gündogan after the FA Cup final. In the second half, his team played “extraordinarily”. Only when asked about his contract in Manchester, which expires at the end of the season, was he less willing to provide information. Nothing has been decided yet, he stressed. We’ll see what happens. The decision probably also depends on whether he can fulfill his dream of winning the cup with a handle.