Pep Guardiola was eloquent in describing the simple joys of football in his pre-match news conference for Manchester City’s 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round win at Peterborough United.
“Football is so addictive, the ball is so attractive," he enthused.
It is endearing to think that professionals can still approach matches and daily training with such childlike excitement and innocence.
Unfortunately, the comments were part of a discussion about Oleksandr Zinchenko’s pending selection against the backdrop of the brutal Russian invasion of his homeland - a story of lost innocence, lost childhoods and unspeakable tragedy.
Guardiola cast football as an escape for his reliable utility man and that was certainly how Zinchenko played on Tuesday night.
He led City out as captain for the night, carrying a Ukrainian flag with Peterborough skipper Frankie Kent, and seemed determined to enjoy himself as much as was possible from the off.
Zinchenko is a measured, neat and tidy footballer with a cultured left foot. It was his lesser-spotted right foot to the fore in the early stages though as he played with a sort of giddiness any of the 2,500 in the away end might have shown given the same opportunity.
Never mind that he was playing at left-back, he fancied a goal. In the fourth minute, he shanked a shot wildly off target via his weaker foot.
Even if a man finds themselves wrapped in the sympathy and solidarity of all four sides of a stadium, they’re not beyond a big pantomime cheer for such an attempt.
Zinchenko duly received his stick but he was not put off. He lined up another wacky and wonderful strike in the ninth minute. It hit the roof and wasn’t too far from clearing the stand behind the goal.
Ukraine’s national team skipper then settled into his usual unfussy work. His 77 passes were more than any other City player, as were his 104 touches, seven tackles, two clearances and nine instances of possession gained (as per Opta).
Zinchenko played an important part in keeping Pep Guardiola’s rotated side ticking over, snuffing out danger and moving a dogged Peterborough around until Riyad Mahrez breached them with an hour gone.
"It's actually been quite emotional, he is such a big character in the dressing room," goalscorer Jack Grealish told ITV afterwards of Zinchenko, who he described as an "underrated player".
"We have had to be there for him, but fair play to him. He captained the side and I think he was brilliant."
There is very little underrated about Fernandinho, both as one of the finest defensive midfielders to grace the Premier League and, in the latter years of his career, an inspirational leader.
His gesture of giving Zinchenko the armband was a really lovely touch. Certainly from a Peterborough point of view, it was the only lovely thing he did all night.
The 36-year-old challenged Steven Benda at a first-half corner, with the Posh goalkeeper thudding to the floor before standing up groggily, minus the wind from his sails.
Fernandinho was then booked for a slapstick grapple with Sammie Szmodics during the second period, gnarly to the last.
That’s another wonderful thing about football. On the field, the villains are never actually real. They’re as pretend and as pantomime as the cheers that greeted Zinchenko’s early shots.
For television viewers in the UK, an extended news bulletin on ITV covering the war in Ukraine immediately followed the football. There the evil is brutally real and lethal.
Zinchenko trying to score the best goal in FA Cup history, Grealish giving a giggling interview comparing Phil Foden to Lionel Messi and Fernandinho annoying every opponent are little moments of escape to cherish.
At a time of unimaginable heartache for City’s man in the armband, it was nice to see Zinchenko and his teammates revel in the simple pleasures of the game.
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