Yahoo Sports Ake: I forgot just how tough it was to win the Treble!
Nathan Ake says watching the documentary of the Treble season is a reminder that even Manchester City’s greatest season had its difficult periods.
City won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in an unforgettable 2022/23 campaign before becoming the first English Club to hold five trophies when we went on to add the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Understandably, the players, just like fans, look back at it as a remarkable season after such a historic achievement.
City Studios had unique behind-the-scenes access for the documentary series Together and the Dutch defender says they sometimes forget that there were tough moments that they had to come back from.
“We do that ourselves, when we talk about it and think it was great, the Treble season,” Ake said on the latest episode of the Official Man City Podcast.
“And then we watched the documentary and you thought: ‘I forgot about this bit, that moment when we were losing games like the Southampton game, there was a few in a row when we were losing and not playing well.
“It wasn’t a crisis but we were thinking: ‘boys we have to step up because it’s not going well’.
“Sometimes you forget that, you think only about the good moments. But these moments were pivotal in that season as well and it’s good to remind yourselves of that.”
After adding a fourth title in Ake’s fourth season at the Club, expectations are always high that we will add more silverware.
But narrow wins over the bottom two sides Wolves and Southampton followed by successive Premier League defeats shows how tough it is to pick up victories.
“It’s been so tough this season, you see with Southampton and Wolverhampton, people think you’re just going to win easy but every game is tough in this league,” he said.
“Every team plays out from the back and does well on the ball so it’s so difficult.”
For Ake it’s been extra frustrating to miss much of the early weeks of the campaign through injuries.
He says that being on the sidelines is one of the worst feelings in sport, although it’s great to come back even if his body suffers immediately after a return.
“For me, you just want to be able to play and do your thing so when you get injured it’s the worst, honestly,” he said.
“What you can do is make the most of it, take the positives, do things with the family that you normally couldn’t do. I think that helps you cope with it a little bit better.
“But it’s the most frustrating thing ever.
“[Coming back, the team] get you through it but you’re not at the best level fitness-wise.
“The feeling is not the same as when you play every week, you have to get used to it again.
“Especially afterwards, dealing with the body, you get more doms [delayed on-set muscle soreness] when you haven’t played for a while so it affects you a bit.
“You’re trying to recover as fast as possible so it’s a bit of a hit. But it’s also the best feeling ever to be back and to be playing again.”
The latest episode of the Official Man City Podcast will be available to watch for CITY+ subscribers from 18:00 (UK) on Thursday, 14 November.
