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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Liam Wood

'I'm still mates with Oasis to this day' - Cult hero Georgi Kinkladze is the Man City superstar Pep Guardiola would have adored

Britpop culture, pixelated computer games, minimalist fashion; the '90s had everything and more.

Manchester United dominated the Premier League scene and their trophy-laden reign was the amalgamation of an unparalleled production line, elite management and pinpoint recruitment. Sound familiar? Pep Guardiola has at least granted Manchester City their own comparable era and that looks set to continue for a little while yet.

It will forever be savoured in these parts as there is a close-by reminder at how football can work in cycles; without wanting to fixate on that 'had-to-have' look which appears to be back in favour.

READ MORE: World record and rejecting Man Utd - meet City's 340-goal scoring sensation

While silverware was an annual theme across the road, City relied on two things to fly their flag during those tough early years in the Premier League era - Oasis and Georgi Kinkladze - and it will appease those who lap up nostalgia to note that their friendship has lasted to the current day when they can, finally, revel at City dominance.

How they would have longed to be tied to such success back in the good old days.

During an in-depth chat with FourFourTwo magazine last year, Kinkladze said: "Oasis always had my respect as they were die-hard City supporters and wouldn't miss a match unless they were on tour. After performing at Maine Road once, they invited City players backstage and that's how our friendship started.

"We're still mates to this day. I remember going to an Oasis gig in Moscow and the security guard was a City fan.

"He clocked me straightaway and took me over to Noel Gallagher. Their concert was supposed to start at 3pm, but we spent two hours talking to each other, reminiscing. At 5pm, the organisers began banging on the door, trying to get him to finally go on stage! Whenever I'm back in Manchester, I always meet him."

As you can imagine, the love is very much reciprocated. Well, following one early question mark as Noel is thought to have suggested - when he first saw Kinkladze play - that the Georgia maverick would either win a European Cup for City or see them relegated to the bottom division.

Kinkladze struck up a friendship with Oasis dating back to his Maine Road playing days. (Des Willie/Redferns)

Incidentally, his prediction was closer to the latter as City dropped to the third tier, while Kinkladze did his utmost to (almost single-handedly) light up Maine Road with THAT dazzling solo effort against Southampton providing the reflective evidence. In the eyes of City fans, this was Lionel Messi 'pre-incarnated' rather than reincarnated.

Despite in-camp frustrations from teammates over his work-rate and things he might not have been willing to give them, Kinkladze was ahead of his time. It is no slight on City they were unable to mould a successful side around him no matter what Alan Ball - the manager who signed him from Dinamo Tbilisi - tried.

Indeed, it was indicative of that period. As the Premier League revolution gathered pace, dazzling playmakers such as Kinkladze were allowed to prosper in their own right as both tactical, and perception, advancements were made, but it was ultimately too late for him to be the catalyst that propelled City onto another level.

Georgi Kinkladze runs at Nicky Butt during a derby meeting with Manchester United. (Popperfoto via Getty Images)

That was for nearly 30 years later and that iconic 'Agueerrrrooo' moment in the 2011/2012 campaign. Kindladze left Maine Road in 1998 following chastening trips to (unnamed) Football League backwaters and, a quarter century on from that date, there is one question that remains on everyone's lips; How would he fare under Guardiola?

Kinkladze was last interviewed by Manchester Evening News four years ago. At that time, he was naturally pressed on the current crop and whether or not he would command regular game-time.

With tongue firmly in cheek, he declared: "Easily! Seriously, it's not up to me to answer this question.

"But I would love to play with Guardiola. The way they play, with the players now City have, I would love to play. It is amazing to watch and would be so easy to play with them. The one-twos and link play would be amazing."

It has been something of a go-to prompt when adored Kinkladze finds himself back in the UK after travelling from his home in Tbilisi. His initial response to that familiar hook is often served up with a joke.

He was asked by FourFourTwo how much he might be worth in the current market. "A billion-and-a-half," he boldly declared before the angle, once again, went back to his would-be position in the Guardiola masterplan. "It's hard to say, but I'd definitely play.

"Pep Guardiola is among the three best coaches of all-time, so I don't think I'd have too much problem adapting to the team's philosophy. If I played how I did with the old City, imagine what I could have done under Guardiola in an all-star team?"

Kinkladze was made for City and City were - eventually - made for Kinkladze. Needless to say, there was a glass or two raised in the Georgia capital when his beloved Blues reigned supreme thanks to Sergio Aguero.

True to the loveable character which Blues took to their hearts, watching City win their first Premier League title in 2012 did not spark a 'what could have been' moment, it was simply celebrated by somehow who knows that he will always have a second home in M14 - some 3,000 miles from his birthplace.

Sergio Aguero won the Premier League title with a dramatic last-gasp goal in 2012. (Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

"It was the best moment for me after the memories I have. For the fans it was the best and I am like a fan now."

He continued: "Never in my life have I or will I regret that [not leaving City earlier]. I might not have won anything with City, but I saw and felt what I meant to the fans and couldn't have betrayed that trust. I'm not the kind of guy who abandons a sinking ship.

"Twenty-five years have passed since, but the supporters there still remember me. Every now and then a Georgia flag is waved there as a homage, and I couldn't have wished for more respect and appreciation. For an English fan, who you are is as important as your skill on the pitch.

"When you're in peak form, they cheer for you. But when you return years later, with your career long over, and you see they still give you a standing ovation, that's a feeling I struggle to put into words.

"I wish I could have won at least one trophy with City. But that doesn't mean I'd have left for trophies and would do exactly the same again."

You often hear the term flawed genius in sporting terms. Kinkladze, though, was more than that. He was not flawed and it would be better to describe him as an unfulfilled genius - yet even that terminology does not seem to do him justice given the many iconic moments he conjured up.

Georgi Kinkladze is welcomed a hero on one return trip to the Etihad Stadium. (Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

His jaw-dropping ability, jinking runs and magical touch painted a romantic picture at Maine Road for three seasons that were, otherwise, gloomy to put it mildly. Kinkladze and his effervescent presence offered hope when there was none, while his ambitions have since been played out by Guardiola and his sensational current crop.

Kinkladze would, no doubt, thrive in the modern Premier League and several players of his ilk were prohibited from showcasing their full potential on these shores at that time, such is the way gifted players like him were placed into outdated systems among equally-tired mindsets.

But the others just do not compare. Kinkladze was City's and City was Kinkladze's.

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