Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 8y

Pablo Zabaleta didn't expect Man City's Champions League success

Pablo Zabaleta admitted he didn't expect to be playing in a Champions League semifinal when he first signed for Manchester City in 2008.

The Argentina defender made his 300th appearance for City on Saturday in the 4-0 victory over Stoke City -- eight-and-a-half years after he joined from Espanyol.

His £6.5 million deal was completed weeks before the club was bought by billionaire Sheikh Mansour and Zabaleta has seen a huge transformation in the club since he first signed.

That rise will reach new heights on Tuesday when City play the first leg of their first-ever Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid at the Etihad, and the 31-year-old said it wasn't even a consideration when he first signed for the club.

He told reporters: "I never thought we would be talking about the semifinals of the Champions League when I first came but it was amazing how I saw the club change.

"The way we have improved as a club and a team and worked so hard for so many years as a group of players, trying to make the club bigger and better every season. I think we are in a moment where we are enjoying ourselves.

"I played for Argentina before I came here and as a player you expect to one day be involved in a good team and play in big competitions, so when the Sheikh arrived and all the big signings started arriving, I thought this is a great chance to earn a place in this team.

"I just worked hard to secure a place because I think when you are in a big club with big ambitions you just have to work and be consistent, because the competition is big and the club have the power and the money to buy players in different positions.

"I am so proud to still be part of the club and it will be so special, after so many years winning domestic competitions, to be in a Champions League final, and obviously winning it would be something amazing."

Zabaleta believes it will be important to win the first leg and have an advantage to take to the Bernabeu for next week's second leg.

But he warned that 10-times winners Real Madrid are full of quality and experience.

"It will be one of the biggest nights for this club in the history of Manchester City -- fans, players we have been waiting for this moment for so many years and now the chance is there," he added.

"We are going to face a great team, the club that has won this competition more than anyone else, but we have belief, we have confidence that we can do a great game. It is two legs but Tuesday is crucial to try and get a good result.

"In a semi final anything can happen. We have to try and keep a clean sheet, we have to try to score at least one or two goals. That will be the key for the two legs, not to concede goals playing here."

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