Sergio Aguero: The history of the FA Cup meant it was always a special competition to play in

Stake’s global representative, Sergio Aguero, reveals his memories of playing in the FA Cup, why it was a special competition for him to win, how Pep Guardiola will keep his players motivated against Peterborough in their fifth round tie, and what this side could achieve this season.

The FA Cup has an amazing history and I am proud to have won the competition

The FA Cup was always one of my favourite competitions to play in because of its history and because of the many famous players and teams to have won it. When I was living in Spain and here in Argentina, everyone knew about the competition and its history.

We came so close to winning the FA Cup in 2013 but were beaten by Wigan in the final. It was hard for us because we had a very good team, Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta all started that game. But we were all very new to the club and it was only the start of our journey. I think we did okay in the end!

We were back at Wembley for my second FA Cup final in 2019 and that day went much better for us when we beat Watford. We were so happy to win it and to be a part of FA Cup history was a very proud moment for me. The tradition of the FA Cup is one of my favourite things about the competition, it was fun to meet Prince William to get my medal after the game and the celebrations with the fans afterwards was so special.

Everyone says that the FA Cup is magical and it is true, it was always really fun to play in and you felt proud to represent your team in the competition. The day we played in the FA Cup was

always special because there was so much excitement in the team and the fans were always extra happy to see us play well.

Playing teams in lower divisions in the FA Cup is harder than you think, so Pep will have the City players focused ahead of the Peterborough match

Not many people know how hard it is to play in the FA Cup. In England, you play a lot of matches and a lot of competitions, but as a player, it’s really exciting because you have the chance to try and win lots of different competitions, and winning finals is something that you are always proud of as a footballer, which means every game is important.

To get to the final you have to play against lots of different teams and some new ones that you might not have ever played against before. Playing against new teams and new players and at new stadiums is always hard because you don’t know 100% what you’re going to be playing against. We watch the teams in the Premier League and Champions League a lot and we all have friends and international teammates that play for them, but when you draw a team in the FA Cup that you don’t regularly get to play against or know too much about, it’s always a difficult experience.

When we played against a new team or a side in a different division, we were always expected to win, but it’s not as easy as that. Every manager always made sure the preparation for an FA Cup game was exactly the same. The training was the same, we worked hard on our jobs for the match and we went into the game knowing what we had to do, it made no difference if it was the final or first round.

This is exactly what Pep Guardiola will be doing with the team this week. Pep is a winner and he hates to lose, you don’t win the number of trophies he has without this attitude. He will be making sure the Manchester City players are ready for the game against Peterborough in the same way as if it was any other match.

There’s added pressure on Manchester City to win in the FA Cup and Peterborough will look to familiar tactics to beat them

When you are the team in a higher league and you have to travel to a team in a league below you it is difficult because the crowd are always so excited that their team might cause an upset and get to beat a Premier League team! When you get to the ground you are quickly aware that everyone really wants you to lose – the fans let you know when you arrive. It’s not just the

home crowd that are extra excited to see you lose, but it is everyone watching at home also, we know this and try not to think about it and focus on our job for the day.

We played against Wigan, again, in 2018 in the Cup at their stadium and it was one of the hardest matches. They defended so well and frustrated us, we had all of the possession and so many chances, but they scored late and knocked us out, that’s how it is in knockout football. If Peterborough think that they can win then they should watch that game and do the same as Wigan did.

Peterborough will be tough for Manchester City because the team has just travelled to Portugal in the Champions League, had a tough game against Tottenham, then they’ll play away in the Premier League threes days before the match and then they have to play Manchester United after the FA Cup game, but the team has so many good players in every position and everyone is used to this way of playing now.

Manchester City are hungry to win every competition

At Manchester City, we wanted to win everything, every match and every trophy, and that will always be the case at the club now. I think Manchester City are in a great place to win the Premier League again, they also have a good chance in the FA Cup and in the Champions League too, but this might be competitive, but I think it is possible that they win all three. Winning a treble like this would be a huge achievement and they have a team and manager that can do it this season.