Sport
Man City youngster scores on debut six years after speaking to Pep Guardiola as a ball boy
The stuff of dreams.
Danny Jones -
14th December 2023 
Manchester City youngster Micah Hamilton scored on his senior debut in the Blues final Champions League game on Wednesday night and did so six years on from the last time he was spotted out on the pitch — as a ball boy.
City rounded out their flawless run into the knockout stages by notching a sixth straight win in the group stages against Red Star Belgrade, keeping a perfect record intact as manager Pep Guardiola decided to play the kids after qualification was already well and truly secured.
Amongst that young side was rising starlet, Micah Hamilton, who has been with the club since the age of seven, steadily working his way through the academy ranks and earning his first-ever appearance for the first team this week, having been named in the starting 11 alongside several other young talents.
However, the producers on TNT Sports learned that it wasn’t the first time he’d been out on the grass or even that close to the Catalan coach, as an old clip showed Pep giving the then 13-year-old Hamilton instructions to be quicker getting the ball to the players back when he’d just arrived at the club.
Cut to 2023 and now he’s one of them and still getting instructions from the Spaniard, only this time as part of his squad.
It felt like one of the special come full circle moments for the young attacking midfielder who could have only dreamed of appearing in the UCL, let alone his debut coming in Europe and then scoring in it.
Now 20, the Manchester-born and bred academy product even had the honour of opening the scoring in the 19th minute, burying a powerful and fine finish into the roof of the opposition net.
As if the moment was sweet and heartwarming enough to see, Pep apparently had no idea he was the bright-eyed young ball boy and his reaction the moment he found out says it all:
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Congratulating his player by simply adding, “What a goal, what a game!”, Guardiola went on to say t
Speaking to club media after the game, the local lad admitted the moment “still hasn’t sunk in” but that he was obviously “delighted” and could only thank the approximately 1,200 travelling fans who made it out to Serbia to support the young team.
We can only imagine the reaction he’ll get from the home crowd when he inevitably makes his first—sorry, second appearance at the Eithad.
You can watch the highlights from Manchester City’s win over Crvena Zvezda, including Micah Hamilton’s stunning goal, down below:
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Featured Images — Manchester City/Micah Hamilton (via Instagram)
