Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany has offered his thoughts on the Capital One Cup final at Wembley, stressing how important the game is in continuing the club’s growth.
City have been below-par this term but have a chance of silverware against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
It’s a competition that the Blues were victorious in back in Manuel Pellegrini’s debut season with the club and it then spurred them on to a Premier League title win.
Kompany outlined how big the game is for a club hungry for any form of silverware.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said:
This game against Liverpool is so big for us. We aren’t in a position yet where we can just count this as just another final because we haven’t won enough. Any opportunity for success that comes our way has to be grasped. We have to be hungry.
I look at this game as an opportunity to take Manchester City one step closer to the biggest names in English football.
Kompany is hungrier than ever to get his hands on silverware this season after a disappointing title success in 2014/15. The Belgian explained how ending last season empty-handed has added further motivation for the current campaign.
Winning nothing last season hurt a lot – and that’s a good thing. You want it to hurt. If it hurts, you know you are doing something good. If it doesn’t hurt, then something is rotten. The first time we qualified for the Champions League was an unbelievable satisfaction. Then we won the FA Cup, then came the Premier League. For the blue side of Manchester, these were the biggest events in 40 years. The supporters suffered so much pain and I know from talking to them that those tough times made what has happened in recent years even better.
This season, Kompany has been plagued by injuries – leaving a gaping hole in the Blues backline. He is back now, though, and was exceptional in defence in the win of Dynamo Kiev. The 29-year old believes setbacks are part of life and they have only made him stronger, both mentally and physically.
I am philosophical. Setbacks are a part of life and I like to think that my nature means I can rise to any challenge.I never go into an injury period thinking ‘this is a time for me to relax.’ I always look at is as an opportunity to do some work away from the training pitch.My belief is that you always have to try to turn a negative into a positive. That’s how I deal with every disappointment.
