Unquestioning eyes can easily be deceived by a carefully manicured fact on a player or a team and these pieces of trivia can gain credence and gather momentum as they’re retweeted, shared and pasted across social media, blogs and newspaper stories.
However, there’s one statistic concerning Fernandinho which goes some way towards conveying the importance the Brazilian midfielder has taken on in his first six months at City.
Win percentage with Fernandinho: 81%.
Of course, the Brazilian was watching from the sidelines when City last met Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in November - a match which ended in a 1-0 defeat for his teammates.
With the 28-year old now back to full fitness and expected to start at Wembley after his brief lay-off, more optimistic City supporters will believe that Capital One Cup glory is 90 minutes away.
Not that the Brazilian international is taking anything for granted.
“In England, each game is difficult,” he warned.
“The performance of the team always has to be very good to win – this is the main difference between football in England and where I’ve played previously.
“We can’t drop off – the opposition is always very motivated.”
...Fernandinho...
“I have no doubt that Sunday will be like this against Sunderland and we must be at our best to make sure we get to lift the trophy.
”We have a chance to win the Capital One Cup and we will try to do it – we always want to win every competition we are in and this is a very important tournament.
“It would be a good start for me here in England in my first season, to win the first competition available.”
Since joining the club, Fernandinho has become a firm fans’ favourite, thanks to his intelligent reading of the game, his seamless ability to keep the ball in rotation and his telepathic relationship with Yaya Toure.
This excellent form saw him voted as the Etihad Player of the Month for December and earned him a recall to the Brazil squad – his first call-up in nearly two years for the final friendly before the 23-man Seleção is released for World Cup 2014.
Never one to take all of the credit upon himself, Fernandinho has a whole list of people he chooses to thank for the positive plaudits he’s been receiving.
“The people in Manchester have welcomed me very well, the people from the club, from the city – for me it is a pleasure to live here,” he smiled.
“I arrived here and saw another culture, I am still learning about a lot of things and, for me, it’s been a very good experience.
“My teammates help me a lot. For me, it’s fantastic to be at City, the atmosphere is really good.
...Fernandinho...
“Christmastime was very difficult as there were so many games but it was also a very good experience for me, I’ve never played before in this period, in this month and I hope that fans agree that I showed a good level of performance.
“The manager helps - he talks with every player, when he wants to explain something to you, what you need to do on the pitch, he comes to talk to you one-on-one.
“When you have a good relationship with the manager it helps your performance - it is very important, too.”
