If Fernandinho lifts the Champions League on Saturday night, he’ll forever be remembered as a legendary Manchester City captain, up there with the likes of Tony Book, Vincent Kompany, Mike Doyle and Richard Dunne.
But arguably the most intriguing skipper in the club’s history was John Crossan, the cult figure handpicked by Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison to take City out of the shadows left by Best, Law and Charlton across Manchester, and help make them the internationally-famous club they are today.
Though younger Blues fans might not know about the midfielder from Derry, he enjoyed one of the most remarkable careers of the 1960s; playing for Northern Ireland with George Best and Pat Jennings, reaching the European Cup semi-finals and facing great names of the era, from Stanley Matthews to Franz Beckenbauer.