Ruben Dias believes the key to Manchester City ’s success is that Pep Guardiola and the Etihad hierarchy have assembled an unrivalled team of leaders.
The Portuguese defender is part of a five-man ‘captaincy group’ at the club and was seen giving his team-mates a rousing talk at Wembley ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
And the 26-year-old centre-half says the number of leaders in their ranks is what helps make City ‘special’. Dias explained: “It’s an important part of my role as it is everyone else’s in my team.
"We’ve got five captains but all of us are kind of captains on our own and we can step up when the time is right. It’s a special characteristic our team has.
"The main word goes out to the club because they were able to get together a group of players who were all leaders in the past, we’ve brought all those leaders together.
"That’s why when these moments come we know when it’s time to step up and time to have strength within ourselves. You have many voices in the dressing room. That’s a special attribute our team has.”
And Dias believes another special attribute of this treble-chasing City side is that no-one has shirked their responsibilities since their charge to the Premier League-FA Cup double went into overdrive four months ago.
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He went on: “I’ve been saying this for a long time - when we got to February when the decisions come up, it’s the sweet spot. You can see the character of a team when you arrive at these stages, you can see whether a team wants to move forward or starts hiding.
“Since that moment we’ve been showing up every time and tomorrow will be no different. It’s another time for all of us to step up to the occasion.”
But while Dias oozed confidence on the eve of the showdown in Istanbul, he was adamant there would not be a hint of complacency in City’s performance.
He said: “I guess the biggest mistake we can make is to forget that this is a final. People can say whatever they want but in our minds there are no favourites - the final will always be a final no matter what you’ve done to reach it.
“It’s the final of the Champions League, we couldn’t expect an easy job, it wouldn’t be the final if there was an easy job in front of you. We know the strengths of Inter - it’s the whole team - and the moment we don’t give them enough importance, we’re already making a mistake.”
And Dias sounds convinced the pressurised occasion will bring the best out of himself and City.
“We love the pressure, we love it,” he declared. “The pressure will make you run faster, jump higher, and be more focused. We need to embrace it. We enjoy the moment and we know what it means to our club, the fans, our families and we will never forget to enjoy it.”
