Yaya Toure recalls the day Man City players and execs knew tide was turning on Man Utd
Manchester City and Manchester United go head-to-head in the FA Cup final on Saturday in a repeat of the 2011 semi-final clash which marked a shift in the two clubs' trajectories
Yaya Toure will never let himself forget how much he loved putting Manchester United in their place.
So much, in fact, that he even has mementos on the walls of his home to remind him of how he helped Manchester City dethrone their neighbours as the kings of English football.
Toure was the driving force behind the shift in power from red to blue in Manchester, after joining them from Barcelona in 2010 for £24m.
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In his debut season, Toure scored the winning goal to help City beat United in the FA Cup semi final, and went on to do the same in the final against Stoke as Roberto Mancini's men lifted the club's first trophy in 35 years.
The bitter rivals and neighbours will clash at Wembley again on Saturday in the first ever all-Manchester FA Cup final.
But Toure remembers how that defeat of United back in 2011 resulted in the start of a sea change between the two clubs.
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He said: "I think we celebrated more then than actually winning the final! Even on the train back we were still celebrating. It was a mark of the change that was happening.
“There was a big celebration - not only the players. The executives were on the train with us, they came into the dressing room to share our happiness.
"They were feeling like, 'this is it now, change is coming now at Manchester City'.
"Everyone around the city started to realise it. I remember when I went to the shops or supermarkets and even United fans would say, 'Oh Yaya, you guys, jeez’. We started to get more respect."
Toure reckons City poaching Carlos Tevez from United the summer before he arrived at the Etihad had left Sir Alex Ferguson running scared of his 'noisy neighbours'.
And when City demolished United 6-1 at Old Trafford in 2011 en-route to winning their first Premier League title, Toure recalls how the humiliation had left Fergie with a face as red as the shirts of his own team.
Toure has a framed team-sheet from that infamous afternoon on display in his house in the Ivory Coast.
He said: "Tevez was one of the biggest players and to take him from a big rival and bring him to you, you can maybe understand why Ferguson was frustrated and p****d off.
"When a manager starts to talk about someone or other clubs, it means he's scared. It means he feels something going on there that is important.
"You don’t talk about someone like that if you don't fear him. But I think what hurt United the most - the club and their fans - was the 6-1 win.
"That was impressive from us. After the FA Cup, we believed we could beat them even at Old Trafford with Ferguson.
"Ferguson is one of the great managers. Old Trafford is the most emblematic stadium around the world.
"It was like a slap in the face of United fans, even the players in front of Ferguson. I remember watching highlights of the game and you could see the camera on Ferguson's face - and it was red.
"He didn't say anything, but you could see it in his eyes. It was incredible. It was in their stadium, against the best manager in the world who had made their team great - and we battered them 6-1.
"What's better than that?"
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