Source: Daily_Mail
Roberto Mancini eyeing Europa League glory with Manchester City
Eyes on the prize: City manager ManciniManchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes the Europa League is now 'a great competition.' The Italian feels his team will have to be at their best if they are to win it and end a 35-year trophy drought. City face a crucial week in their quest for silverware, as Mancini leads the team out to Ukraine ahead of their meeting with Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of the last 16. Then on Sunday they have a home tie against Championship side Reading with a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at stake. Anticipation is beginning to rise among City fans, who last saw their team secure a major trophy in 1976 when the League Cup was lifted. Dynamo stepped down from the Champions League after losing to Ajax in the play-offs before the group stage and Mancini said: 'The Europa League is a great competition. Thereare big teams in it. You can get to the quarter-finals and meet an important team. 'There are a lot of well-known sides in the competition. All the teams we can play usually play in the Champions League. It is a little Champions League. All the teams are bigones.' Mancini would love two trophies as well as a place in the Champions League next season but knows it will be tough. He said: 'We will try to reach the final if it is possible, both in the Europa League and the FA Cup. It depends on our players recovering their strength.'Spanish forward David Silva is only too aware of the difficulty facing City at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium. He played and scored there in the 2009 UEFA Cup but Valencia went out on the away goals rule. Same again: City star Silva (right) has already scored against Dynamo Kiev during his time as a Valencia playerSilva recalled: 'It's a difficult place to go to. We got a 1-1 draw so we didn't do too badly. They're a difficult team and at their stadium it's very tough but we're excited about our chances of going through.' Dynamo have not lost in six UEFA home matches since a 2-1 Champions League group stage defeat by FC Barcelona in December 2009. Mancini, however, enjoyed success as a player against the hosts during the 1999-00 season with his Lazio side winning 2-1 in Rome and 1-0 in Kiev. Dynamo, who beat Metalurh Donetsk 2-0 at the weekend, lie second in the table, 12 points adrift of Shaktar Donetsk. FIFA tell Toure he should have had diet pill checked by Man City's doctorsPSG consider making ?4m summer offer for Man City reject Wright-PhillipsSilva warns Manchester City's title rivals: You ain't seen nothing yetMartin Samuel: Kolo Toure gave a slim excuse which carries little weightAll the latest Manchester City news, features and opinion