Manchester City is an English football club located in Manchester, the UK. The club was founded in 1880 as St. Marks (West Gordon). In 1887 the club became Ardwick Football Club and moved to Hyde Road. In 1894 it got its present name – Manchester  City.

History

1899 - 1876
The victory in the Second Division in 1899 brought the first titles and honors to the club. They won its first title having beaten Bolton Wanderers in 1904 and entered the FA Cup. In 1923 the club moved to Maine Road in Moss Side, Manchester. 

The club claimed their rights for the First Division in 1937. Next time it was in 1968. It was the ‘golden time’ for the club. Under the supervision of the manager Joe Mercer, the team were runners-up several times. The squad at that time was very impressive with such players in the team as Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee and Francis Lee. The most important moment for the club at the international stage was winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970 in Vienna.

The club was fighting for honors during the whole 1970s and in 1974 the team reached the finals of the League Cup. The final trophy that the club won in its most successful period was taken in 1976 at the League Cup final.

1980-present time
Then there were many years of decline. Malcolm Allison became the manager of the club again but lost great sums of money on unsuccessful signings. In 1981 the club got to the FA Cup finals but were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur. Twice the club appeared in the lower division but managed to end on the fifth place in the First Division under the guidance of Peter Reid. When Reid left the club, the fortune went away, too.

The founders of the Premier League, Manchester City were relegated to English football's third tier. The new manager of the club David Bernstein introduced a fiscal discipline in the club, which stimulated the rise of Manchester City for some time. From the second attempt City managed to return to the First Division but it was not able to keep its position and in 2001 the club was relegated again. At the end of the season Kevin Keegan was appointed the new manager of the club. He led the team to the victory in the First Division in 2001-02. This season was remarkable for the club’s record in terms of received points and scored goals for one season.    

In the 2002-03 season Manchester City played at Maine Road for the last time. The club beat Manchester United with the score 3:1 and thus finished the succession of 13 years in a row without a victory. The club was also qualified for the European Competition (for the first time in the last 25 years).  

In 2003 the club moved to the new stadium – the City of Manchester Stadium. The following four seasons the club was somewhere in the middle of the table. In 2007 Sven-Göran Eriksson became the first foreign manager of the club. After the good opening of the season, the club lost its power again. In June 2008 Eriksson was fired. His position was given to Mark Hughes. 

The previous season was marked by the most important event for the club -  Manchester City was purchased by Abu Dhabi United Group. This takeover was followed by a record signing – City signed Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 mln. Manchester City ended the season on the tenth place and got into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. In the summer of 2009 the club spent more than £100 mln on signing other famous players like Carlos Tévez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Touré, Gareth Barry and Joleon Lescott.

Crest and colors

The colors of the home kit are sky blue and white. Originally, the colors were maroon or red and black.  The colors of the away form are red and black. It came from Malcolm Allison who thought that the adoption of the AC Milan colors would bring luck.

The present crest of the club was approved in 1997. The crest reveals the arms of the city of Manchester with the shield in front of a golden eagle. At the bottom of the crest there’s the  motto ‘Superbia in Proelia’ (Pride in Battle). There are three starts above the eagle and the shield.

Stadium

Hyde Road was the first stadium of the club where the team were playing from 1880 till 1887. In 1920 the fire destroyed the main Stand and the club moved to Maine Road (fans called it “Wembley of the North”).

At present Manchester City's home stadium is Eastlands (the City of Manchester Stadium). The stadium can accommodate more than 47,000 people. This stadium has been the club’s home since 2002 when Manchester City left Maine Road after having played there for 80 years.

Titles

• Football League First Division (Winners (2): 1936–37, 1967–68; Runners-up (3): 1903–04, 1920–21, 1976–77)
• Football League Second Division / Football League First Division (Winners (7): 1898–99, 1902–03, 1909–10, 1927–28, 1946–47, 1965–66, 2001–02; Runners-up (4): 1895–96, 1950–51, 1936–37, 1999–2000)
• Football League Second Division (Play-off winners: 1998–99)
• FA Cup (Winners (4): 1904, 1934, 1956, 1969; Runners-up (4): 1926, 1933, 1955, 1981)
• League Cup (Winners (2): 1970, 1976; Runners-up (1): 1974)
• Charity Shield (Winners (3): 1937, 1968, 1972; Runners-up (4): 1934, 1956, 1969, 1973)
• Full Members Cup (Runners-up (1): 1986)
• European Cup Winners' Cup (Winners (1): 1970)

Current squad

1.    Shay Given (goal-keeper)
2.    Micah Richards (defender)
3.    Wayne Bridge (defender) 
4.    Nedum Onuoha (defender)
5.    Pablo Zabaleta (defender)
6.    Michael Johnson (midfielder)
7.    Stephen Ireland (midfielder)
8.    Shaun Wright-Phillips (midfielder)
9.    Robinho (forward)
10.    Stuart Taylor (goal-keeper)
11.    Roque Santa Cruz (forward)
12.    Javier Garrido (defender)
13.    Sylvinho (defender)
14.    Martin Petrov (midfielder)
15.    Gareth Barr y (midfielder)
16.    Joleon Lescott (defender)
17.    Emmanuel Adebayor (forward)
18.    Benjani Mwaruwari (forward)
19.    Kolo Touré (captain) (defender)
20.    Carlos Tévez (forward)
21.    Vincent Kompany (midfielder)
22.    Nigel de Jong (midfielder)
23.    Craig Bellamy (forward)
24.    Vladimír Weiss (midfielder)

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