Pablo Zabaleta back at the Etihad Stadium: Return of a City legend

When Pablo Zabaleta said his farewells at the Etihad Stadium after his final appearance for Manchester City in May, the club honoured him with a gift of a lifetime season ticket at the club.

He will not be taking up his seat on Sunday. Instead, Zabaleta will be in the West Ham team looking to end his former club’s 12-game Premier League winning streak.

The 32-year-old right-back can be certain of a warm welcome. But why exactly is the Argentine so adored by the City supporters?
Here, we pick out five reasons why Zabaleta’s impact was so great and identify the traits that made him a Manchester City legend…

Longevity

Zabaleta did not quite make the 10-year mark that traditionally leads to the award of a testimonial at a club, but he witnessed more changes in his nine-year stay at City than most players would see in two careers. The side he joined in August 2008 was a very different one from the team that would go on to conquer the Premier League.
City had finished ninth the previous season and he made his debut for Mark Hughes’ side in a 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea. Micah Richards, Richard Dunne and Michael Ball made up the back four. Jo and Robinho were the forwards. There were three more managers and many more team-mates after that but the ever-consistent Zabaleta remained a constant.

Trophies

Asked to pick a highlight of his time at City, Zabaleta’s first answer was a revealing one in that it was not the moment that Sergio Aguero crashed the ball into the net to win the Premier League title. „I would say the first time we beat United at Wembley in the semi-final of the FA Cup in 2011,“ he said. It set City on the way to ending their 35-year wait for a major trophy.
Two Premier League winners’ medals followed and two League Cup triumphs too – the 2016 Wembley win over Liverpool proving his final piece of silverware in City blue. But it is his role in that iconic 3-2 win over QPR that can never be forgotten – he even scored the opening goal that day. „The fans had waited so long and we did it in a City way,“ he said.

Quality

Zabaleta’s goal in that game highlights the fact that he did more than just hang around. He was a major factor in the club’s success and for some time the best right-back in the country. In the 2012/13 season, he was named in the PFA Premier League team of the year, while also picking up the Manchester City player of the year award in a squad full of star names.
His overlapping – and underlapping – runs were a feature of City’s play, with his generosity notable. His was often the dummy run to buy space for others. „Probably one of my best seasons was when I was overlapping all the time and making runs,“ he recalled recently. In the 2013/14 season, he provided six assists – twice as many as any defender elsewhere.

Tackling

Of course, Zabaleta’s primary responsibility was to defend and he did that better than just about anyone in the Premier League with his tenacity in the tackle one of his strongest qualities. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard once cited Zabaleta as his toughest opponent because of his relentlessness – never giving the winger an inch.
Since his arrival in England, Zabaleta has made no fewer than 836 tackles – more than any other defender during that time. It is a tally he continues to add to for West Ham as well. So far this season Zabaleta has already made 44 tackles – the most by any Premier League defender. The pace is not what it once was but the determination is as strong as ever.

Attitude

That determination, of course, has always been part of Zabaleta’s appeal. He was a leader for City and an example to others on and off the field. His mentality helped to foster a new culture at the club. „Always [at] the big clubs, it depends on the quality of the human beings,“ said Pep Guardiola when paying tribute to the player amid the farewells.

Zabaleta’s quality – as a player and a person – was never in question. He can be sure of another ovation when he returns to the Etihad Stadium with West Ham for Super Sunday.
Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.