The 2002–03 season was the last at Maine Road, and included a 3–1 derby victory over rivals Manchester United, ending a run of 13 years without a derby win.City also qualified for European competition for the first time in 25 years. In the 2003 close season the club moved to the new City of Manchester Stadium. The first four seasons at the stadium all resulted in mid-table finishes. Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson became the club's first manager from overseas when appointed in 2007.After a bright start performances faded in the second half of the season, and Eriksson was sacked in June 2008.Eriksson was replaced by Mark Hughes two days later on 4 June 2008.
In August 2008, the club was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high profile players; the club broke the British transfer record by signing Brazilian international Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million. City finished tenth, and also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. During the summer of 2009 the club took transfer spending to an unprecedented level, with an outlay of over £100 million on players Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tévez and Joleon Lescott.
On 19 December 2009 it was announced that Mark Hughes had been replaced as manager by Roberto Mancini. City finished the season in fifth position in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on a place in the Champions League, and compete in the Europa League in season 2010–11. Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Man City completed the transfers of Jérôme Boateng, Yaya Touré, David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov and Mario Balotelli. James Milner signed during the first week of the season. Edin Džeko joined the club during the January 2011 transfer window.
Reserves and Academy.
No comments:
Post a Comment