It was four and a half years ago but Giles Barnes remembers the match vividly: a high-profile English Premier League clash that brought him toe-to-toe with some of the world’s best players.
Barnes was playing for West Bromwich Albion against Manchester City that November day back in 2010 and was wowed by the performance of midfielder Yaya Toure. “When he’s on his game he’s unstoppable,” the Dynamo forward told HoustonDynamo.com. “In that game he was insane.”
Barnes was playing at right wing-back and recalls having to cope with Toure’s powerful acceleration as the Ivory Coast star charged at the West Brom defense to create mayhem during the 2-0 win for City. “He’s so good when he’s on it, but they’re littered with players like that,” he said.
Now he’s set to test his mettle against City’s outstanding lineup once again when the club visit BBVA Compass Stadium on May 28 for the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup (7:30 p.m. CT; TICKETS).
It’s a prestige occasion that sees Barnes and his teammates set to take on some of the most famous names in soccer. As well as Toure, City’s squad features the likes of Sergio Agüero, the Argentina star who leads the Premier League with 25 goals in 32 appearances this season, Joe Hart, the England goalkeeper, energetic midfielder James Milner and Spanish playmaker David Silva, who was part of the squad that won the 2010 World Cup.
“They’ve brought world class players to the club,” Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle told HoustonDynamo.com. “They’re in the bracket of the elite clubs, the category 'A' clubs… they want to win the Champions League, that’s the standard they’ve set.”
He also has memories of going up against City — as a manager. He masterminded his underdog Burnley side to a 3-3 road draw in the Premier League in 2009. Coyle expects next week’s event to be a great experience for his side, especially the young players, and a stiff test.
“When you’re playing against a world class side that Man City are, you’d better make sure you’re on your mettle,” he said, citing their intricate passing and counter-attacking ability as particular challenges the Dynamo will have to overcome if they are to lift the Charities Cup.
City conclude their season against Southampton on Sunday — two days after the Dynamo face the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS action in California — then head to North America to face Toronto FC and the Dynamo.
City won nine games in a row in November and December. However, poor form in the latter half of the season saw them lose their Premier League crown to new champions Chelsea, while they were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in March. But City have won their past five matches, most recently 4-2 on the road to Swansea City last Sunday, to seal a second-place finish in what many consider to be the planet’s leading league.
Founded in 1880, City were one of England’s top clubs in the 1960s and 1970s. But they had not won the league championship since 1968 until they secured the title in astonishing fashion in 2011-12. A stoppage-time winner from Agüero in a 3-2 victory over QPR stole the championship from Manchester United’s grasp in what was the most dramatic final day in Premier League history.
After decades of inconsistency, the nadir being a fall into the third tier in the late 90's while rivals United were conquering all before them, a move to a new 48,000 capacity stadium in 2003 set the foundation for the club to establish itself once again as mainstays at the top level of English soccer.
What turbocharged the club, saw them shed their underdog status and turned them into a European powerhouse was the 2008 takeover by the Abu Dhabi United group, who also own MLS newcomers New York City FC. They have invested hugely in players and infrastructure, making City perennial title contenders.
Former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini took the reins in 2009 and led City to a fifth-placed finish in 2010, their best since the formation of the Premier League in 1992. A 35-year wait for a major trophy was ended in 2011 with victory over 2013’s Charities Cup opponents, Stoke City, in the FA Cup Final.
Mancini was succeeded by Manuel Pellegrini, a Chilean, in 2013. The 61-year-old’s long and distinguished career includes spells at Spanish clubs Real Madrid, Villarreal and Malaga, whom he led into the Champions League for the first time in their history.
In 2014, City won the Capital One Cup and Premier League title. And soon they’re headed for Houston to take part in the annual fundraising showpiece. Now that Barnes is a striker, he’ll be hoping to reverse the roles from 2010 and be the one putting the City defense on its heels. “I think it’s going to be a good spectacle for everyone involved,” he said.
Tom Dart is a contributing writer to HoustonDynamo.com and HoustonDashSoccer.com. Former editor and reporter for The Times of London and reporter for SI.com, Dart currently freelances for The Guardian.
