http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mark ... in-dallas/Why United versus City is causing sleepless nights in Dallas By Mark Ogden Football Last updated: January 27th, 2010
An email has just dropped in my inbox from a friend of mine who lives in Dallas, but supports Manchester City.
‘It’s 3am in Dallas and I can’t sleep. What happens tonight?’
This is no exiled blue from Moss Side, Collyhurst or Stockport. No, he is one of those American City supporters who chief executive Garry Cook was aiming to reach out to when he held court in New York’s Mad Hatter Saloon last Thursday, proclaiming his ambition to see City emerge as the ‘biggest and best’ club in the world.
He is a Texan Blue, a long-suffering supporter who has seen City play at Port Vale, Barnsley and Macclesfield during the dark days, so tonight’s Carling Cup semi-final second-leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford is the reward for all those years of logging on to mcfc.co.uk to check out City’s latest disappointment.
City are one step from Wembley and they can get there by trampling all over United in their own backyard. That is why insomnia has spread to Dallas.
And there you have, in a nutshell, the reason why tonight’s game has gone beyond a parochial neighbourhood dispute for bragging rights.
It is why United are owned by Americans and why City are now in the hands of Arabian royalty. Welcome to Manchester? Welcome to the world, more like.
Never before has a Carling Cup tie generated such widespread coverage and made so many headlines.
This game has made back page news in Buenos Aires thanks to pre-match observations voiced by Gary Neville, about Carlos Tevez, in the Times of Malta.
It will be screened in more than 100 countries across the globe tonight and, at 2pm in Dallas, at least one fan will be screaming at the TV screen as loudly as Liam Gallagher in his west London townhouse.
They will be setting early morning alarm calls in Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney and the result will be anticipated by millions.
Sheikh Mansour’s blueprint revolves around ensuring that City become as big a player as United in the football universe. For tonight at least, City and United will be at the very heart of it.