As Manchester City prepare to welcome the return of a terrace hero and icon on Sunday, Pablo Zabaleta says he wants his former club to win the Premier League title, but will be out to wreck their bid to become football’s new ‘Invincibles’.
The Argentine full-back left the Etihad outfit for West Ham in the summer after nine memorable years.
But while Pep Guardiola’s men currently top the table with scintillating displays and a record 19-match winning run, Zabaleta has been part of a Hammers team that has performed way below expectations and seen Slaven Bilic replaced as boss by David Moyes.
A 4-0 midweek loss at fellow strugglers Everton has left them in the bottom three and desperate for a victory boost against a City side that has yet to be beaten and tipped to emulate Arsenal’s 2004 feat of not losing a league game all season.
“It will be a tough game and they are on a winning run, but we need three points more than anyone else at the moment,” says Zabaleta.
“Even if I know all of them and have big feeling for the club, for the players, for the fans, I am a West Ham player now and of course I want West Ham to perform well and get something from this game.
“It’s going to be weird going back to play against City after being there so many years and having so many great memories.
“It is going to be a bit of a strange feeling, but good to be back in front of the City fans. This is part of football, it happens.”
So does going from challenging for titles to battling relegation.
“Football is like this. It’s about good moments, bad moments, and of course you can’t expect to be like it was at City, it is more difficult,” adds Zabaleta, who helped Abu Dhabi-owned City lift two championships, two League Cups and an FA Cup after becoming the last player to join the club before it was bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2008.
The returning Pablo Zabaleta is sure to get a warm reception at the Etihad Stadium.
“After 14 games we have not been good enough and we didn’t expect to be in this situation in December.
“On paper we have good players, but we have had players injured, not much consistency and not performed as we can. We have not always had a regular strong first XI, but had to change formation, tactics and of course we have had to change the manager.
“It is a shame what’s happened, but there’s still a long way to go and we have to stay positive.
“Now we are going to play against City and they are the best team in the Premier League at the moment.
“They are playing really well and you can see them enjoying themselves. They have won games late at the end recently and it shows they keep fighting and trying to score and to get the win. I am very pleased for all of them.
“Of course I wish City can win the league too. At the moment they have been very good so far, individually and as a team, they have been great. When I get a chance, I watch them, like in the Champions League.”
While following City’s results, Zabaleta has also been keeping in touch with his former team-mates and particularly compatriots Nicolas Otamendi and Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero.
“I speak to them, we are in a WhatsApp group and we are in contact,” he reveals.
Zabaleta was among many who saluted Aguero’s class when he broke Eric Brook’s 177-goal mark as City’s all-time leading scorer with a crucial strike in last month’s 4-2 Champions League win at Napoli. “City legend” he tweeted.
City legend 👏👏👏 https://t.co/p4RnmJLsxx
— Pablo Zabaleta (@pablo_zabaleta) November 1, 2017
The pair go back a long way, to a July day in 2003 when Aguero made his professional bow for Independiente at the age of 15 years and 35 days, surpassing Diego Maradona as the youngest player to debut in the Argentine Primera Division.
Zabaleta, now 32, was in the San Lorenzo team that gained a 1-0 win and witnessed the entrance of a special talent.
So much so that he had no doubt recommending Aguero when City moved to sign him from Atletico Madrid in 2011 for a then-record £38 million fee.
“It’s amazing what he’s done for the club, one of the greatest players in Manchester City’s history for sure,” said Zabaleta of Aguero, with whom he has also starred for Argentina. “So many goals, he broke the club record, it’s fantastic.
“His first appearance I played against him. He was with Independiente and I was at San Lorenzo. There’s a picture on the internet of us in the game and maybe people won’t recognise me because I had hair and he was so young.
“We played a few more times after that in Spain when he was with Atletico Madrid and I was with Espanyol. And now we will see on Sunday what happens.
“The first moment he came to City I knew how good he could be. The people who were scouting him at that time, they asked me about him. I said he was going to be one of the greatest players for sure. He was doing great at Atletico Madrid and sometimes you can see the potential.
“What I saw in him was that he had everything. He had the ability, was strong, he had the hunger, and the ambition and focus to always score goals.
“When he came to City I was 100 per cent sure he was going to have success. Now after the past six, seven years we have seen all that he has done for the club.
“With the players he has around him now, he can score and do even more. City are a club that will always try to sign big players, try to win the big trophies and Kun is still part of that team for the next few years so of course he can have more success.”
While striving for success, City have also turned on the style with their attack-minded efforts sparking comparisons with Barcelona as they devastate opponents and delight followers the world over.
“In the Premier League we have not seen a team in the last few years playing football like Man City are doing now,” says Zabaleta.
“Not only for the club’s supporters, but also for anyone who loves watching football, everyone is enjoying the way they are playing.
“This is what Pep wanted when he came last season, but everything takes time. He had to adapt to the league, players had to adapt to a new style of play and now we can see it happening.
“I am sure Pep is pleased with what he is seeing and the team playing the way he wants.”
Now Zabaleta is hoping West Ham can follow suit to improve their own fortunes. “We have to believe we can get out of trouble,” adds the defender. “We have to fight.”
