Also known as AJAX of Amsterdam, Ajax are often refered to as The Godenzonen, as soon as tickets are available, they will be listed here on Seat Compare.
Manchester City might be dominating the Premier League in the past decade and still likely to continue. Yet, in FA Cup, they are not the dominant side. Since their first title in the early 20th century, The Citizens have only won less than ten title so far. They are certainly aiming to win some more to mark their era. Etihad Stadium with the capacity of 55,017 fans always bring lively atmosphere for each of their games, including in FA Cup.
The Citizens have several names who have made contribution to their success in FA Cup. There are Billy Meredith, Fred Tilson, Jack Dyson, Neil Young, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and David Silva. These figures are standing alongside the six managers who guided the team for the titles, from Mark Tawley, Wilf Wild, Les McDowell, Jon Mercer, Roberto Mancini and surely Pep Guardiola.
Top Achievements
The Citizens’ success in winning the trophy as well as reaching the finals spreads in several eras. They have won six times in 1904, 1934, 1956, 1969, 2011 and 2019, plus become the runners-up on five occasions.
In 1904, Manchester City won 1-0 over Bolton Wanderers, then thirty years later, they thumped Portsmouth 2-1. In 1956, they dismantled Birmingham 3-1 plus Leicester City 1-0. Finally, in the last decade after the acquisition of Abu Dhabi United Group towards the club, The Citizens just clinched the silverwares twice, in 2011 by crushing Stoke 1-0 during Roberto Mancini’s reign and in 2019 by hammering Watford 6-0 during Pep Guardiola’s spell.
However, they have not always been superior in the final. Manchester City were beaten five times in the summit by Bolton in 1926, Everton in 1933, Newcastle United in 1955, Tottenham Hostpurs in 1981 and Wigan Athletic in 2013.
Iconic Moments
The Citizens’ iconic moments also stretches out from the early 20th century to the 2010s. The first time is always special and so it is for Manchester City. They snatched their first trophy in this tournament in 1904. A single goal by Billy Meredith against Bolton was enough to win it. Their next was in 2011, or thirty years after failing in the last final against Spurs, Roberto Mancini led his expensive squad to secure their first major title in 35 years by thumping Stoke City 1-0. The former Barcelona man Yaya Toure netted the only goal of the game. Next iconic moment was in 2019 final. In this fairly easy match, Sergio Aguero and Co ran rampant against Watford and won 6-0. Gabi Jesus and Raheem Sterling netted a brace plus David Silva’s and Kevin de Bruyne’s goal gave them their sixth FA Cup title to complete their total domestic domination in that season.
Meanwhile, their devastating moment was in 1981 final when Manchester City had to go through a replay in a tight affair against the favorite Tottenham in the summit. At first, the game was in a stalemate with a 1-1 tie. Their midfielder, Tommy Hutchison scored at both ends in this fixture. Then in the replay, they suffered a 2-3 loss.
For all The Godenzonen match tickets see our dedicated team page for prices, complete schedule and fixture lists.
