Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that he has the squad necessary to win the Champions League in the coming years.
The Citizens have won every domestic tournament on offer at least once since 2011 but Europe's elite competition has proven a tougher nut to crack, with City never progressing beyond the last-16 stage.
Pellegrini's charges were eliminated by eventual winners Barcelona last term for the second successive season, and the Chilean, who took Villarreal to the semi-finals in 2006, is convinced that his Sky Blues side have the potential to go all the way.
"We have played Barcelona in the last two years and if we had played Barcelona at Villarreal or Malaga then maybe we wouldn't have gone so far," he told reporters.
"This is a very young team compared with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus. We are younger than the teams who normally win the Champions League over the last 10 years.
"Our team has only arrived in the last few years and we are improving every season. That will continue and I am absolutely sure that we will arrive to be an important team that wins the Champions League."
They sit third in Group D after losing 2-1 to last season's beaten finalists Juventus at the Etihad last week, with their next test coming at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday.
City failed to escape the group stages in both of Roberto Mancini's attempts.
Shane Callaghan
