Looking back on Anelka’s City career | OneFootball

Nicolas Anelka’s arrival at City in 2002 felt like the key signpost of a new era for the Club.

Men's Team

The Keegan Years

With promotion back to the Premier League sealed by Kevin Keegan’s great entertainers and an emotional final season at Maine Road on the horizon, the French international provided some genuine stardust to the City side.

Not that we had struggled for goals the previous term, with Keegan’s side netting 124 in 52 total matches largely thanks to Shaun Goater and Darren Huckerby, who claimed 32 and 26 respectively.

There was attacking talent throughout the squad too, with the guile and experience of the likes of Ali Benarbia and Eyal Berkovic as well as the youthful enthusiasm of Shaun Wright-Phillips.

However, after a difficult period in the late 1990s that saw us drop to the third tier, it had been a while since a star of Anelka’s reputation chose City during the peak years of his career.

Men's Team

Nicolas Anelka: The Real deal

The forward was still only 23 years old when he signed but had already represented Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Liverpool, as well as the French national side.

Having seemingly lost a little of the momentum that made him one of the most promising teenagers in the game, City was the destination in order to rebuild.

And he did just that, scoring 45 times in 103 appearances across two-and-a-half seasons for a side that was finding its footing back in the top-flight.

A direct runner whose eagerness to get in behind defences could see him offside often, Anelka was a classic striker in the mould of the greats who obsessed over scoring.

He netted 14 times in his first campaign, before an incredible 24 in 43 appearances in 2003/04 as we moved to what is now known as the Etihad.

Seven goals in 19 followed in the first half of 2004/05 before the striker who had been known for moving on set sail again, this time for Turkish side Fenerbahce.

While it was difficult to say farewell, the Frenchman had provided some truly special memories in his stint.

Not least was his strike in the final ever Manchester derby at Maine Road.

It was his hard work that won the ball back from United’s Rio Ferdinand before he slid in Goater who saw his shot saved.

Men's Team

2001/02: The Entertainers of Division One

However, Fabian Barthez’s stop only fell to our prolific No.39, who lifted it over Ferdinand diving at his feet.

Goater took centre stage from there, but it was Anelka who had got the ball rolling.

Also that season came a goal that briefly had us on level terms at Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal and the two goals, including a crunching left-footed effort from a bouncing pass, that earned us our first Premier League win at Anfield.

He then netted City’s first goal at the new stadium, when we faced Barcelona in a prestigious friendly to cut the ribbon.

The marksman was then joined at City by another Premier League great in Robbie Fowler, with many suggesting the pair could combine to lethal effect.

While Fowler’s fitness meant he took longer to get going, Anelka’s standards only elevated in the coming term.

His first competitive goal of 2003/04 came with the fifth in a 5-0 home win over Welsh side Total Network Solutions to kickstart our UEFA Cup adventure.

The very first hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium was also scored by the Frenchman, as he led the second-half turnaround to beat Aston Villa.

The first two came from the spot before a clinical finish from the edge of the box.

Yet more memorable afternoons followed that year, including two in a thrilling 6-2 defeat of Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers.

16 goals came in the Premier League, almost 30% of City’s overall strikes as we battled to avoid relegation.

And into his final half a season in sky blue, Anelka netted another penalty – this time against Chelsea.

It earned us a 1-0 in what proved to be the only defeat for Jose Mourinho’s eventual champions that season.

And so, in January he moved on – as he so often did. 18 months at Fenerbahce was followed by a spell at Bolton, then a pivotal role in another great Chelsea side before a brief tour to round up his career in Shanghai, Turin, West Bromwich and Mumbai.

As David Clayton recalled when describing meeting Anelka for his first interview as a City player, a superstar with the style to match and a polite, affable character but a wanderer’s spirit.