Ex-Manchester City forward who beat Guardiola’s Barcelona that had Lionel Messi and Ibrahimovic set to face Cityzens; shares feelings ahead of reunion
Former Manchester City forward Vladimir Weiss has opened up on the prospect of facing his former side in the UEFA Champions League. The winger, who now plays for and captains Slovak side Slovan Bratislava, said that the opportunity to play against City in the UCL is a 'dream come true'.
Weiss came up through the youth ranks at Manchester City and made five senior appearances for the club between 2008 and 2010.
His best moment for the club came against Barcelona in the 2009/10 Joan Gamper Trophy, a traditional pre-season game hosted by the Catalan giants. While Bulgarian forward Martin Petrov scored the winner for City, a 19-year-old Weiss was named the Man of the Match for his lively attacking play.
Current City coach Pep Guardiola, who managed Barca back then, brought superstars Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic onto the pitch at half-time. Yet, Weiss was the talk of the town after the game for his splendid display.
Despite breaking onto the scene in such dramatic fashion, Weiss never made it big in City's first team. He went on to play in Scotland (Rangers), Spain (Espanyol), Italy (Pescara), Greece (Olympiacos) and Qatar (Al-Duhail and Al-Gharafa) before moving to his home country in 2019.
Speaking ahead of Slovan's UCL game against City, Weiss said (via Mirror):
"I enjoyed my time in Manchester and I still have some friends in the city. Of course, the club has changed beyond all recognition since I was there - but I will always remember when we beat Barcelona in the Nou Camp. They won the Champions League the previous season and it was expected that we would just turn up and lose the game."
"It was only a friendly but it was quite a big occasion for Barca. They had Messi and Ibra - and I also remember Yaya Toure played that night... To now play City in the Champions League is, for me personally, a dream come true," Weiss concluded.
"I always have respect for all teams" - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola praises Slovan Bratislava's 'courage' ahead of UCL clash
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised his side's upcoming Champions League opponents Slovan Bratislava's 'courage'. The Spaniard claimed that he has respect for all teams in Europe's premier club competition, making sure not to under-estimate the unfancied Slovak side.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, the 53-year-old said (via mancity.com):
"This is a team that I would say plays with courage. I saw the game against Glasgow Celtic and they were not scared to play. Not scared to link with their striker when they want to try it."
"In the Champions League it doesn’t matter, I always have incredible respect for all the teams, especially when you play away. Hopefully we can be an aggressive team again and take a result," Guardiola added.
Manchester City take on Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak side's first ever UCL home game on October 1.