Blues club legend Allison's words echo through time to current squad

On April 29, 1970, City's players lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup trophy into the dark, wet Austrian sky.

- JOSHUA SMITH

This was the first European trophy in the club's history.

Joe Mercer's Blues had shown strength, quality, and determination to win a bruising encounter against Polish outfit Gornik Zabrze. The team of the late 1960s, including Colin Bell, Francis Lee, Tony Book, and Mike Summerbee, are still considered legends to this day, even if they never quite hit the world-beating heights of Pep Guardiola's side.

The current crop of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League winners last season might 'be the greatest City team - and they - have the historic Treble and now Club World Cup to prove it - but the 7 class of '70 were the first Blues side to win a European trophy.

Their journey to victory started with disappointment and a desire for redemption.

City bagged the Division One title in 1968 and entered the European , Cup for the first time, however, their - journey didn't go as expected when f they were matched with Fenerbahce in round one. Assistant Malcolm Allison boldly claimed City would 'go on and terrify Europe, but that wasn't how things turned out.

A 0-0 at Maine Road was followed by a 2-1 defeat in Istanbul against Fenerbahce. The Blues wouldn't see Champions League action again until 2011.

Despite this upset, City bounced back stronger, clinching the FA Cup after defeating Leicester City 1-0 at Wembley the same season. This victory led to their entry into the now-defunct European Cup Winners' Cup, where they found success.