MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 17: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City celebrates the 4-0 victory, ... [+]
Kevin De Bruyne does not remember much of his first Champions League final. At the hour mark, Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger body-checked the Belgian, who had to leave the field with a concussion and a fractured nose and eye socket. He departed in tears and does not remember the way to the hospital. The match he had so looked forward to ended in tragedy with Chelsea prevailing through a goal by Kai Havertz. On Saturday against Inter Milan and his compatriot Romelu Lukaku, however, he gets a new chance at winning Europe’s most coveted prize.
“You don’t get to the final of the Champions League if you are not top,” said De Bruyne. ”They did win two prizes in Italy and toward the end of the season they won just about every game they've played. They have their fixed system, their typical style and what they do on the field, they do very well. So I don't have the feeling that anyone with us thinks it will be an easy game. It's a final and so it starts fifty-fifty in terms of chances."
But in his eighth season, following a stellar domestic campaign based on maturity, excellence, a synergy with Erling Haaland as well as a good understanding with coach Pep Guardiola, this feels like City and De Bruyne’s moment. De Bruyne though has insisted that his career won’t be defined by the 90 minutes in Istanbul.
The Belgian has just won the Premier
Under Pep Guardiola, City and De Bruyne have become a relentless juggernaut, breezing past opponents and perfecting the game, reducing the idea of victory almost to a formality, but for all the riches at the club’s disposal they have not conquered Europe yet, the ultimate goal of the Emirati owners. In the last four, City destroyed European kings Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate with the Belgian midfielder scoring a crucial goal at the Bernabeu.
Above all, De Bruyne has provided the most assists in all competitions this season in Europe - 33. That has allowed him to develop an outstanding relationship with Haaland, who arrived last summer in England. With 50+ goals, the Norwegian striker has been a phenomenal addition to both the Premier League and his club.
The Belgian then is a pivotal part of City's success. Guardiola first became impressed by the midfielder when he featured for Wolfsburg in Germany, struck by the player’s reading of the game. In the Spaniard’s view, De Bruyne screened the field like no one else, a sign of his intelligence. The Belgian is the architect of the team, who delivers a sense of urgency when required. With Guardiola, he shares a view of how football should be played and the last few seasons have almost become a victory procession for the club that stands accused of gaming the system. That will not matter to De Bruyne come Saturday evening. It all be about playing the game of his life and crowning his outstanding career.