How can you not be romantic about football?

Why do we watch sport? Why do we spend hours glued to a TV screen, watching people we may never meet, go about their business in places we may never visit? Is it to simply pass our time which would otherwise be wasted? To escape from our relatively uneventful lives for a couple of hours? To feel the adrenaline pump through our veins? Whatever may be the reason, sport is the only constant in a world of variables; you may not have a job the next day, but you are assured of a Premier League match on the weekend.

A year and a few weeks ago, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini declared that the blue half of Manchester had given up the title race, with a dozen games to go. The bold statement had the desired effect as United, under Sir Alex – who is usually the master of mind games – let their guard down. Almost exactly a year ago, on 22 April, 2012, Manchester United drew Everton 4-4 at home; Manchester City felt a glimmer of hope course through them. A 1-0 victory over United ensured that Mancini’s men went into the final day of the season leading the points table, albeit on goal-difference.

United travelled to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland, while City entertained QPR at the Etihad. The stage was set, the intensity was unprecedented, the drama was coiled to strike, and the show did not fail to deliver. Proceedings began in favour of City as QPR skipper Joey Barton saw red and Zabaleta gave City the lead. Meanwhile, at the Stadium of Light, United were on their way to three points, courtesy a Wayne Rooney strike in the 20th minute. QPR may have been down, but they were by no means out. 2 goals in the space of a 16 minutes from Cisse and Mackie saw the visitors take the lead. An uncomfortable silence resonated across the Etihad; a glimmer of hope presented itself at the Stadium of Light.

City may have been down and out, but they were by no means beaten. As City began to rally their forces and attack the QPR goal, I felt like the late Paul Bearer, clutching my 7-inch HTC tablet like The Undertaker’s urn, in a desperate attempt to change fate and avoid the unavoidable. A flowing move saw Edin Dzeko waltz his way into the QPR penalty area and head the ball into the back of the net. 2-2 in the 92nd minute; surely it was too late for City to snatch it.

The clock struck 94 minutes as ‘Agueroooooooooooo’ resounded across my living room, across the Etihad, across Manchester and across the world; the moment saw many a United fan’s jaw drop to the floor and crack into a millions pieces of agony. I felt my heart break as I watched Sergio Aguero pull off his shirt in celebration. The blue half of Manchester had done to the red half what the latter had done to countless opponents: come from behind to pinch it in stoppage time. The Premier League trophy, which was on its way down an elevator at the Stadium of Light, had to be sent back by the time it reached the ground floor; so close, yet so far. It couldn’t have been scripted any better for a City fan; to break United hearts in ‘Fergie time’, echoed a symphony of happiness for the Citizens.

The ‘Blue Moon’ had risen over Manchester, as the ‘Noisy Neighbours’ stole the Mancunian thunder from right under the noses of their domineering cross-town rivals. A stunned silence prevailed at the Stadium of Light; a chorus of ‘We are the Champions’ sounded at the Etihad; a cry of, “Your move, Fergie” echoed across the world of football.

The great Scot hired the services of the in-form Robin van Persie from Arsenal and Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund, to avoid another potential goal-difference title loss. The season got off to a promising start with van Persie introducing himself in spectacular fashion to the Old Trafford crowd, netting in his first home game against Fulham. The Dutchman’s blistering form continued as he netted his first United hat-trick in that nerve-racking comeback against Southampton. United marched into a commanding position at the top of the league with narrow wins over Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

In the 91st minute of his first Manchester derby, courtesy a deflection from a cowering Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie guided the ball past Joe Hart into the Manchester City net, ensuring a dramatic 3-2 win; the beginning of the end for the ‘Noisy Neighbours’. Over the course of the next few weeks, United marched into a commanding position at the top of the table. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however, as a scandalous refereeing decision saw United exit the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid, thereby shattering the Treble dream. An unnecessary loss away at Chelsea saw United knocked out of the FA Cup; the Double too was beyond reach.

Echoes of the 1-6 defeat to City at Old Trafford the previous season saw United come out of the tunnel for the Manchester derby with one thing in mind: revenge. In the build-up to the crucial derby, Roberto Mancini, in an effort to get on United’s nerves, announced that the points table was not a fair reflection of the events that had transpired through the season. Sir Alex decided not to retaliate verbally, but did so by fielding a strong side. An enthralling contest saw City beat United 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to a goal from the man who had caused them so much pain on the last day of the previous season: Sergio Aguero. A lung-bursting 30-yard dash followed by a sensational finish cut United’s lead at the top of the table to 12 points with 7 games to go.

City might have just seen another glimmer of hope as United stumbled to a 2-2 draw against a determined West Ham, but Sir Alex and his men gave no quarter in the victory over Aston Villa. An early tap-in from Robin van Persie gave United much-needed inspiration and confidence. What followed was a display of pure dominance and class by the Champions-elect: a sumptuous ball from Wayne Rooney over the Villa defence, a solid volley from van Persie over the Villa keeper, a roar from the Old Trafford crowd as the ball disturbed the back of the net – the goal of the season.

Ryan Giggs once again rolled back the years as he sprinted through the Villa defence and set-up van Persie for the Dutchman’s second hat-trick in United colours. Wayne Rooney looked more than comfortable in his midfield role alongside Michael Carrick. The sceptics were turned, the critics were criticized, the ‘Noisy Neighbours’ were silent and Piers Morgan’s ‘#vanpursestrings’ tweets began.

“3-0 up, Champions, but Ferguson’s still screaming furiously at his players. THAT’S the difference. #winner”

- Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan), on Twitter.

As the match rolled on, the party began in the stands; a chorus of, “Champione! Champione! Champione!” echoed across Old Trafford. As the final whistle sounded, a roar of approval was heard all the way at the Etihad; ‘Manchester is Red’ banners unfurled across the city.

I wiped a tear from my eye as I watched Sir Alex charge down the stairs and hug each and every player on the field. Redemption achieved, revenge served and justice delivered. Sitting on the very couch I sat on when Aguero scored in the 94th minute, clutching the very same 7-inch HTC tablet, I let out a sigh of relief. I traversed the fine line between relief and ecstasy and soon found myself neck-deep in the latter; a shriek of joy escaped my lips and disturbed my otherwise noisy neighbours from their peaceful slumber. It couldn’t have been scripted better for United fans; imagining van Persie receiving a guard of honour at the Emirates stadium is a luxury we can afford now. What I saw upon opening my Twitter app was the icing on top of a very sweet cake:

“Congratulations to Manchester United on winning the Barclays Premier League title for 2012-13″

- Manchester City FC (@MCFC), on Twitter.

I smiled. How can you not be romantic about football?