Wednesday 4 May 2016 19:34, UK
Fernandinho believes lessons learned from past failures will help Manchester City overcome Real Madrid and reach a historic Champions League final.
Manuel Pellegrini's side face a daunting task against ten-times winners, Real, who are boosted by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, at the Bernabeu in the second leg of their semi-final.
City battled to a goalless draw in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium and are just 90 minutes away from a first Champions League final in the club's history.
A final date with Atletico Madrid in Milan's San Siro Stadium on May 28 is the reward for the victors on Wednesday and Fernandinho admits that would be a dream come true for City's players.
"I'm sure this is a title that would leave its mark in the life of every player and every Manchester City fan," said Fernandinho.
"In the last 16 and the quarter-finals we beat two good teams to reach the semi-finals and now we're very close to achieving a historic moment for all the players and for the club as well.
"It would mean a lot. I've been playing in the Champions League for many years, first at Shakhtar Donetsk and now here at City.
"It's the first time I've reached a semi-final. The expectations are very high, that we can do a good job and win this title.
"So we will go in with all our strength, with a lot of concentration and everything we have to win this title."
This has been a breakthrough season for City in Europe after previously failing to advance past the competition's last-16 stage in any of their four previous seasons.
City have overcome adversity to come this far this season, dealing with injuries to key players along the way, and will again be without influential playmaker David Silva for Wednesday's second leg.
Fernandinho believes past disappointments have helped City become mentally tougher and develop the type of mind-set needed to come out on top against Europe's elite.
"I think we've learned from our mistakes in the past and we've overcome a lot of difficulties during the competition too, like injuries," added Fernandinho.
"We've been missing important players all through the competition, but the squad has shown itself to be very strong.
"Real Madrid are one of the main teams in Europe. They're the team that's won the Champions League the most times and are known throughout the whole world.
"They have a lot of quality players and a great history in the Champions League, and because of all these things they're a very tough team to face.
"Of course the pressure is high, because all teams want to reach the final, but the hope is great that you can overcome the difficulties.
"We've had some disappointments, we've had some happiness, so you learn from those and take something from everything.
"When you've done something wrong, you try not to make the same mistake again, and whatever you've done well you try to do again, so you can reach your objective which is to qualify for the final."
