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Ol' Big Ears.
The UEFA Champions League trophy was the ultimate aim for Shiek Mansour when ADUG purchased Manchester City, and none of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini were able to fulfil that dream.
Pep Guardiola was brought in to end City's wait, and now that the Citizens have the most valuable squad in football, expectations are naturally high.
Also Read: 10 most expensive squads in football - 2017
Here are the major reasons why this year is Manchester City's year.
#1 The trend is upwards
Amidst all of the furore surrounding Pep Guardiola's first ever trophyless season as a manager last year, what was lost was that Manchester City revisited their Round-of-16 hoodoo in European competitions going out to a Kylian Mbappe-inspired AS Monaco.
This is a club that made their Champions League debut in 2011 - it's only fair that they will take a little time to find their feet in the high-pressure environment of the latter stages of Europe. City reached the semi-finals in 2015/16, and should realistically aim for the semi-finals at least of Europe's Premier competition.
Losing to Monaco 6-6 on away goals was an aberration, with many of the players guilty of mistakes in that match no longer at the club. City are consistent in their ability to get through to the knockout stages, and with a relatively favourable group stage, we ought to see them repeat the feat.
#2 Pep Guardiola finally has proper squad depth
Pep Guardiola's spending on fullbacks this transfer window has been the subject of much derision and mirth amongst rival football fans. It does the Spaniard a major disservice - Guardiola's style of play has evolved to such an extent that fullbacks are arguably one of his most crucial positions, with the ability to play an inverted fullback system a requirement.
Gone are the likes of Zabaleta, Kolarov, Clichy and Sagna. City have brought in real quality, and more importantly quality that can be suited to what Guardiola requires. The fact that Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus' exponential improvement goes unnoticed will work in City's favour, as a long and arduous Premier League season should offer them plenty of chances to gain experience.
Kevin de Bruyne, Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling and David Silva offer plenty of options going forward, not to mention that Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz are arguably the most exciting youngsters coming through in football. City have the squad to deal with the fatigue of a long season, and the requisite quality to go far in the UEFA Champions League.
#3 The Jesus factor
The £27 million Manchester City parted with for Gabriel Jesus increasingly looks like the best piece of business in the last couple of seasons, with the Brazilian striker scoring for fun in the start to the Premier League this season. We witnessed Kylian Mbappe take the UEFA Champions League by storm last season, and a similar story could happen this year, with Jesus the protagonist.
Jesus isn't known to defences outside of England and Brazil, and the Manchester City striker's penchant for the unpredictable could see him thrive against the best of La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.
In Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, Pep Guardiola has a couple of superstar forwards that he can rotate with ease or even play together, thus ensuring that late season fatigue/injuries that often is the bane of English clubs in the Champions League does not affect them.
#4 Attacking football vs defensive balance
Manchester City's 5-0 rout of Liverpool in the Premier League would not have come as much of a surprise to their fans - City have found a system that tends to thrive against big teams, with the Sky Blues handing out sound thrashings to the likes of Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur in pre-season.
John Stones' improvement this season has gone quietly unnoticed, and alongside Vincent Kompany, City have a solid core in defence, while two extremely attacking fullbacks in Mendy and Walker. This isn't the same team that leaked goals last season - City look far more dominant with the ball.
Guardiola copped plenty of criticism for his gung-ho nature in last season's exit against AS Monaco, but the Spanish manager will surely ensure that a similar scenario doesn't occur. His reliance on technical players such as Gundogan in the centre of the park ought to ensure that the Sky Blues never lose control at the heart of midfield, something Real Madrid managed with the Kroos-Modric-Casemiro trio the last couple of seasons.
#5 Lack of pressure upstairs
One of the worst things plaguing Pep Guardiola during his reign at Bayern Munich and even the latter stages of his time at Barcelona was the significant turmoil upstairs. Despite reaching the semi-final in each of his seasons in Munich, Guardiola was under relentless pressure in the German media, who never let the fact that Jupp Heynckes won the trophy before he arrived be forgotten.
In sharp contrast, Manchester City's owners have been relatively patient, affording plenty of leeway to most of the managers they have employed. Now that Guardiola has been backed in the transfer market, the Spaniard can focus on ensuring that he returns to the European pinnacle, safe in the knowledge that whether it takes him another 2-3 years, he will be be given the time.
Thus Guardiola, the master of details, can tweak and tinker to his pursuit of perfection, and we might finally see him end Manchester City's wait for the UEFA Champions League this season.
