"The Mindset Changed Over the Years" - Former Man City Star Reveals Major Turning Point in Rivalry With Manchester United

In the thirteen years since the Abu Dhabi takeover at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City's local rivalry with cross-town rivals United has steadily changed course.

City, who'd previously been in the shadow of their local rivals for decades, started to paint the town blue after seeing United experience roaring success while they were toiling in the lower leagues of English football. 

For a short period prior to Sir Alex Ferguson's departure from Old Trafford, the two sides battled it out for top spot in the Premier League on a regular basis - cementing the local derby as a whole new beast. 

And for former Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany, who thrived off of pressure in those rivalry games that were, for many, the most important fixtures on the calendar.

"For me, it (the Manchester derby) was everything - I lived for big games." said the 35-year-old in an interview on former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel. 

"As a child, I sometimes didn't play well in the smaller games, but I didn't miss a big game. Those games, I knew I was going to be ready, I just focused on my preparation, but the mindset changed over the years when I started playing against (Manchester) United."

And while the success that the two sides have enjoyed has become lopsided in the past decade, the former Belgium international reminisced about the daunting task of playing in his first ever Manchester derby. 

Kompany added: "The very first time I played it was (Carlos) Tevez, (Wayne) Rooney and (Cristiano) Ronaldo up front. I might as well of gone to Trafford Centre!"

However, the four-time Premier League winner went on to admit that the tide began to turn in Manchester after one key win for the Sky Blues over United under Sir Alex Ferguson.

"You could feel over time it was starting to change. We win the FA Cup semi-final (in 2011), and that for us was the tipping point - the belief that we felt it was a fair contest," said Kompany.

City's recent strangle-hold on which club reigns supreme in Manchester was on full display in their dominant 2-0 victory at Old Trafford in early November, as Pep Guardiola's side took their neighbours to school for 90 minutes in what was one of the most one-sided Manchester derbies ever to have been played.