Manchester City defender, Ruben Dias has admitted that the team are loving “the pressure” of chasing a historic treble.
Tonight (10 June) sees Man City meet Inter Milan at Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey in this season’s UEFA Champions League Final, with Dias believing that his team can handle to pressure as they chase a historic treble.
City have already won Premier League and FA Cup titles and are now looking to emulate their local rivals – Manchester United by achieving the treble, which the Red Devils achieved in 1999 and no English team has matched since.
“We love the pressure. Since a long time, the pressure has been on and we love it,” explained Dias as he iterated that his team are mentally prepared, despite midfielder – Kevin De Bruyne warning that mental fitness could be key to their treble prospects.
Dias proceeded to expand on how the pressure has benefitted his team in recent weeks as he added: “The pressure in the right measure makes you run faster, jump higher and be more focused.
“In the end that’s what these games need. You have to embrace it and never forget to be yourself.
“Mostly we enjoy it. We know what it means to be involved and to our families and our fans but we never forget to enjoy it.”
Leadership is also a key part of the team with Dias confident that each of his teammates will step up, as he described that quality as “an important part” of everyone’s roles within the team.
The Portuguese international went on to describe the leadership quality as a crucial part of the team’s unity, as he continued: “We have a group of five captains but in the end, we are all captains and we can all 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 everyone in their own context were all leaders.
“We have brought those leaders together. That’s why when these moments come we know when it is time to step up and we know when it is time to find strength within ourselves.
“We have many voices in the dressing room, not just one, not just five and that is a special attribute our team has.”