Neil Leigh charts the inside story of how John Stones delivered a 2023 UEFA Champions League final masterclass…
If one was to distil the very essence of what John Stones brought to Manchester City over the course of a stellar decade, look no further than 90 magical minutes in Istanbul one unforgettable night in June 2023.
Having already won the 2022/23 Premier League title and 2023 FA Cup, a Champions League final date with destiny against Internazionale at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium represented the most defining game in City’s history.
With both a Treble and a place in footballing immortality on the line – Stones, deployed in a bold new midfield role for the very first time – delivered a masterclass display for the ages.
Pitted against a formidable Italian opposition in the shape of a crack Inter side who had just secured the Serie A title and under the most extreme pressure imaginable, the England international’s big game temperament, natural football intelligence and supreme technique combined in perfect harmony.
It served as the graphic illustration of just why he will go down in City legend and further cemented the reason he is so loved and adored by legions of Blues everywhere.
The bold stats illustrate that Pep Guardiola’s side overcame Inter 1-0 thanks to Rodri’s unforgettable second half strike.
But the true nature of a towering achievement runs much, much deeper that that – with Stones at the heart of a compelling City story.
Tracing the arc both of that final and incredible season as a whole, there were many disparate parts that coalesced to a captivating whole in what was truly a campaign for the ages.
Erling Haaland’s barrage of goals across a record-breaking debut season, Kevin De Bruyne’s pulsating vision, craft and guile, the dynamism and industry of the redoubtable Bernardo Silva and the power and panache of midfield maestro Rodri.
The list of key performers and their individual impact and quality is as wide and variable as can possibly be.
But at the heart of the alchemy was the shimmering vision of Stones – a bewitching combination of elegance, grace, panache and power proving both a treat for the eyes and helping Guardiola’s City truly become an unstoppable force.
Among the many revolutionary tactical innovations ushered in by Guardiola across his incredible City reign, the Catalan’s decision to deploy Stones as a hybrid midfielder that Treble season arguably served as his most inspired and profound call.
Guardiola had long admired and recognised Stones as possessing all the raw ingredients necessary to become an elite footballer of the highest standing.
Pep had been quick to bring Stones to the club from Everton after assuming the City managerial reigns in the summer of 2016.
He had quickly identified Stones’ amalgamation of refined footballing intelligence, natural technical quality, focused mindset and a yearning to adapt and learn as being the perfect ingredients in a young, hungry footballer.
That said, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
There were the inevitable bumps in the road as Stones got to grips both with the unique demands of playing under Pep alongside the fierce scrutiny that comes with representing Manchester City.
But his natural quality and immense mental strength meant he was ideally equipped to overcome those obstacles with the 2022/23 season in general and Istanbul in particular providing a fitting stage for the full flowering of that vast reservoir of abundant talent.
In a side packed to the ginnels with players of supreme tactical and technical brilliance, Stones stood tall with his ability to effortless switch from the heart of defence into a fluid midfield deployment ushering in a radical and potent new weapon in City’s armoury.
A magnificent performance in an unforgettable 4-0 semi-final second leg win against holders Real Madrid had already entered City folklore even before the European showpiece.
Then came his finest hour and a bit at the edge of Europe where Stones was tasked with operating as an effective number eight for the first time in his career.
What followed was a display of quite magisterial proportions.
Officially Rodri was named player of the match by the UEFA delegates.
However, for the vast majority both present in Istanbul and watching from afar it was Stones who ultimately stole the show as he helped nullify the Italians’ midfield prowess whist also providing an extra layer of creativity and refinement to City’s play.
For the man himself, the events of that night were proof positive that, for a lucky few, dreams sometimes do come true.
“I have to say I loved the [hybrid] role from the start,” Stones recalls.
“Playing there really helped you appreciate other people’s roles – you see other people’s positions from a different perspective
“You realise when I might give a pass to a midfielder – but being on the receiving end of that you know if it’s the wrong pass or the wrong position in which to give it.
“I think it’s such a unique position that you have to be spatially aware, I had to learn and adapt in terms of knowing when I can take the ball.
“Body shape and timing is so specific in that midfield role. The manager simplified it for me, so it was about me trying to implement what he had taught me.
“Often my movement was not to get the ball but just to create space for other guys.
“And in the Champions League final I just revelled in the position I played as a number eight. Though I’d not played it before, I absolutely loved it.
“I got on the ball so much that night and I just didn’t want what had happened in Porto in 2021 when we lost to Chelsea in the Champions League final to happen there.
“Going into the game itself there were no nerves. I was cold – there was no real emotion.
“I didn’t want to overthink things or get too involved.
“The attitude was: ‘I’m going to give everything and leave everything out there.’
“Everything just fell into place that night.
“I just knew it was ours for some reason
“In that moment you are not thinking about the pressure or anything like that.
“You are just solely focused on what is in front of you.
“But when I look back now there was some sort of feeling around the place or around me that I just knew we were going to win.
“Something about that game brought out that kid inside you that just wants to win.
“In fact, going back to the Treble season as a whole I believe it was already written for us.
“Going into the FA Cup final against Manchester United the week before, I wasn’t thinking about the Champions League final, it was all about what comes next.
“Once the game came and obviously Gundo scored so early it was there.
“It wasn’t a smooth game, but you just felt it and it set us up for the Champions League final perfectly.”
Amongst the millions of onlookers watching the Istanbul showpiece unfold across the globe that night was Vincent Kompany.
The legendary former City skipper and central defender had been there at the outset from when Stones first joined City in the summer of 2016.
Over three subsequent seasons at the Etihad, he dovetailed perfectly alongside the young Englishman, with Vinny’s experience and know-how helping Stones integrate into life at City under Pep.
After leaving City in 2019, Kompany has gone on to establish a magnificent managerial career at Anderlecht, Burnley and now Bayern Munich with Vinny having led the German giants to back-to-back Bundesliga titles.
Kompany was always one of the shrewdest and most perceptive readers of the game.
So, for him, seeing Stones thrive on the biggest stage of all in a role outside his defensive comfort zone merely confirmed what he had known all along about the man affectionately tagged as the Barnsley Beckenbauer.
“To see John step into the role of a midfielder [so well] I was not surprised because I think he played in midfield for a time at Everton so we knew he could do it,” the brilliant Belgian reflected.
“But to do that in a Champions League final playing in a [new] position when he has always been a centre back for such a long time… I don’t know how you can do it.
“I guess some players are able to do it, but I don’t think there are many.
“It was not just positionally something special but also just an all-round fantastic performance,
“Did it surprise me that he played to that standard in a game of that nature?
“No, because I know John’s qualities. But first you have to think of it and Pep obviously felt comfortable putting him there.
“And then, secondly, you have to be able to execute it.
“And, like I said, I think for John to play at such a high level in that Champions League final is something special.
“I don’t think we realise how much of a specialist you have to be or how good a footballer you need to be to be able to do that kind of adaptation in that kind of game.”
Outside of the professional sphere, few observers are better qualified to pass judgement on both Stones the footballer and man than Henry Winter.
A multi-award winning former chief football correspondent of both the Times and Daily Telegraph and one of the most admired and respected journalists to have covered the English game for the past four decades, Winter has carefully charted Stones’ career every step of the way from his earliest days at Barnsley then Everton and more latterly City.
Winter was amongst those present in Istanbul that night to witness City history unfold.
And he believes Stones’ stunning performance in the Turkish citadel took its place in the pantheon of truly totemic Champions League final displays.
“John Stones’ impact that night was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a Premier League player, an English player… in fact pretty much any player in a Champions League final,” Winter declares.
“I’ve probably covered about 25 of them at least so I’ve seen a fair few!
“And John was just outstanding in Istanbul that night under the most extreme pressure.
“But he is a player for the big occasion. And look, we know how Pep improves players, we’ve seen it with so many players.
“So, he’s a celebration of coaching from Pep obviously, along with all the coaches at City, all the coaches at Barnsley and Everton as well.
“But I think it’s actually testament to John and his personality and his ability to seize the big occasion.
“He realizes how big they are, but he’s not fazed by it, which is the perfect combination.
“But coming back to that game, that was up against a really difficult opponent. So for Stones to perform that way in a new role, against opponents of that quality is the greatest possible testament to his ability.
“To try and sum it up, he gave his greatest performance at a time when City needed someone to give their biggest performance in the biggest game in the Club’s history.
“It was class personified.”
Another to have been transfixed by the aptitude and attitude of Stones right from the get-go was another former legendary City skipper, Fernandinho.
Just as with Vincent Kompany, the former Brazilian midfielder enforcer was established as a pivotal part of the City dressing room when Stones walked in as relatively raw 22-year-old almost 10 long years ago.
Looking back a decade, Ferna reveals how he and his then City colleagues were instantly taken with the softly spoken but fiercely determined new recruit to the ranks.
And as one of the finest midfield operators in recent City history, Ferna believes Stones’ extraordinary exploits by the banks of the Bosporus only served to underscore the rare and precious qualities the Englishman possessed.
“From the beginning, when he signed for City, we realised immediately how intelligent John was,” the former City skipper recalled.
“To play under a new manager, with new team-mates, adapting to a different style of play and at a club like City with that pressure, he settled really quickly.
“He was young and it was a different kind of football, and he was able to process everything that was asked of him.
“Over the years, he became one of the best players in the country and a very important one for the national team too.
“It was really nice to see how he grew up both as a player and a person.
“He was able to do some very difficult things because playing as a holding midfielder then dropping to be a central defender is not for everyone.
“He was one of few in the world that would be capable of doing that.
“And when he did that in the 2023 Champions League final, that was the cherry on the cake.
“I always say that John and Ederson were City’s best players that night.
“John’s sense to understand when the right moment was to go forward and when to stay back, this is so difficult and he created a lot of problems for Inter.
“He was one of the best players that night for sure.”
As for Kompany, his admiration for Stones the player and man goes far beyond his Champions League exploits that night in Istanbul, extraordinary though they were taken in isolation.
Given Kompany’s own magnificent playing career, few are better placed to comment on the quality, bravery and iron-clad mindset that are necessary to help nurture and produce a truly great defender for the ages.
In Stones however, Kompany says he immediately recognised a unique individual and one who was unquestionably made of the Right Stuff – to coin the parlance attributed to the icons of the 1960s American space race.
“I’d say John has been one of the most unique defenders I think in this era,” is Kompany’s towering assessment.
“There are very few players in world football who can do what John does and still be good defenders.
“He wasn’t just a top defender for Man City for a period of time – he was in his own unique way probably one of the best in the world.
“And he’s also just a great guy – you want him to have success as he’s such a good person.
“I loved playing with John and was with him when he was transitioning from being just a fantastic ball-playing defender to what I call a real defender.
“I felt I was able to be really compatible with him as I was more destructive, and he was just perfect on the ball.
“He did things that I think no other defender was capable of.
“If you put him in the line of defenders that were good on the ball, at breaking lines and that were really, really top players on the ball then I think he was the best in the world at doing that.
“By the time I left City he was everything and that was something special to witness.”
For Winter meanwhile, Stones’ exploits both for City and on the international stage helped elevate him to a rarefied standing in the English football firmament.
Not least in drawing comparisons with England’s iconic 1966 World Cup winning captain, the late, great Bobby Moore.
“When you saw him play like he did that night in Istanbul, you just see so many echoes of Bobby Moore,” Winter points out.
“John’s tall anyway, but he seemed to stand even taller that evening in every sense of the word.
“Then there is that elegance, that composure, that grace he possesses as well.
“He’s one of those who if there was snow on the ground, there would be no footprints.
“John’s got that effortless quality, Nijinsky had that too – where he just glides across the pitch.
“He is a true thoroughbred and when fans go: ‘Oh he’s a Rolls-Royce’, you know exactly what they mean because he’s so smooth and assured in everything that he does.
“There’s no noise coming out from under the bonnet with John when he plays like that.
“Bobby Moore’s the greatest English player this country has ever produced but John’s quicker, reads the game as well and Bobby Moore obviously could play in midfield too so there are echoes there as well.
“Bobby Moore is on the pantheon but the the greatest compliment I can pay John is that Bobby, if was looking down or if he would have seen that performance in Istanbul, he would have said: ‘Now that’s how to play as a defender stepping into midfield.’
“John was that good.
“What’s more than that is every time you talked to John, his pride in playing for Manchester City always shone through.
“He’s just a good guy. Not changed much, and you have to credit his parents as well, because they’re all just thoroughly good people.
“And he always represented the club so well.
“When you see him, when you look at him, when he talks after interviews, whenever I’ve interviewed him, you think he really cares about the shirt.
“Manchester City will miss him.”
Fittingly, however the final word goes to Stones himself.
There will be more than a few tears shed when he bids a final farewell to City in Sunday’s Premier League finale at home to Aston Villa.
However, he says he will leave having experienced everything and more he could ever had dreamed off when he set out on his footballing journey.
“Asking me as a kid in the garden – ‘You’re going to play [for City], fans are going to sing your name, you’re going to have an incredible relationship with them, you’re going to parade a Champions League trophy with them, singing your name, stopping you in the street’…it’s what you dream about,” John said.
“I’ve got chills, it’s something you can’t [describe]. I’m forever grateful for how they’ve treated me at the Club and I love them for everything I’ve said and more.
“In terms of Istanbul, I just loved that role, the freedom I had. And to have the impact I had in the final is something I’m so, so proud of.”