YAYA TOURE turned in two La Liga titles and the Champions League when he quit the world's best team for the biggest spenders.
At Wembley, wearing the laser blue shirt of Manchester City, he began the biggest silverware hunt in football history. That's what his winning goal means to City, the start of something extra-special for this £300million super-team.
A king-sized trophy is finally on the sideboard and Sheikh Mansour and his money men want more.
Stoke were just bystanders, brushed aside as Toure and the boys focus on a brave new world that includes Barcelona next season.
This is a new era for City, a fully-fledged member of European football's powerhouses after a whirlwind week.
Toure and his team proved they can live with the pressure by lifting the FA Cup.
And the former Barcelona midfielder was at the centre of it all, thriving in his tailor-made position behind the front two.
The transition took time, converted from midfield enforcer under Pep Guardiola to genuine goal threat by Roberto Mancini.
His strike against Manchester United got City to the final, a top-class finish beyond the reach of Edwin van der Sar.
And, yesterday, he accepted the adulation of his team-mates after sinking Stoke with the only goal.
He was buried under the bodies of his team-mates, spreadeagled on the surface as the celebrations began.
Mario Balotelli plonked himself on the very top with that cheeky grin, the icing on the cake after his ice-cool performance.
Balotelli was battered, booted all over the place by Tony Pulis' tough-guy team.
Robert Huth elbowed the City striker across the windpipe and was later booked for a pointless trip on Micah Richards.
That's the way Stoke went about their first FA Cup final, full of blood and thunder and short on self-esteem.
Last week, they were stringing passes together in a 3-1 win over Arsenal but this time they were suffocated every time they touched the ball.
City have arrived, qualifying for the Champions League and winning the world's oldest cup competition for the first time since 1969.
This is the street-smart City, a team full of self-awareness under their demanding manager Mancini.
No one can pretend it has been pretty all the way but if this is a taste of things to come, then bring it on.
They were the only team on the turf who wanted a football match, a side doing justice to the occasion. City were ambassadors for the global game, stroking the ball across the surface as they set about breaking Stoke hearts.
This is what the final demands, a team full of confidence determined to win the Cup for a captive audience.
Credit to City, they never slacked off, even when Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen turned in one of the best performances of his career.
He was twisting through the air throughout, pawing away first-half efforts from Toure, Balotelli, Carlos Tevez and Vincent Kompany.
City never stopped, encouraged by fans who turn their back on the team at every opportunity.
That's the 'Poznan', the remarkable call to arms borrowed from one of football's outposts during their Europa League run.
Second-rate competitions are a thing of the past now they have finished fourth, taking their smothering game into the Champions League.
City slickers... goal-scorer Yaya Toure is congratulated by Adam Johnson It's boom time for City and they will bust a gut for more glory next season.
Everything is in place - stadium, funding and a largely decent set of supporters - to take on the best teams on the continent.
In Joe Hart, they have a keeper of genuine class and one who broke a club record for the number of clean sheets kept in a season against Spurs last Monday. He added another at Wembley, denying Kenwyne Jones with a brilliant save when the Stoke striker was through on goal.
Hart has earned his money, an intimidating presence behind one of the best defences in the top flight.
Kompany was outstanding again, surely captaincy material when Tevez quits City at the end of the season.
Players like Kompany are spoiling their supporters, wiping away the last 50 years and starting from scratch.
The swinging Sixties is all they have ever had to shout about but life is sweet again for City.
And they already have another Wembley date in their diary, the Community Shield against Manchester United on August 7.
That's what happens to teams on an upward trajectory, they make visits to the home of football a habit.
Those sort of occasions are a lifetime away for Pulis and his team after they failed to build on their 5-0 win over Bolton in the semi-final.
Nothing should have fazed them but the gamble on Matthew Etherington was just that, a busted flush after returning from injury.
They wasted dead-balls, their best chance of breaking down City, and failed to get to grips with the towering figure of Kompany or Joleon Lescott.
Finally they folded, failing to spot the run of Toure as the £200,000-a-week midfielder made his way into the penalty area.
With his next kick, he earned his bonus.
REMAINING GAMES - MAN CITY: Tue v Stoke (h). Sun v Bolton (a). STOKE: Tue v Man City (a). Sun v Wigan (h).
Manchester City player ratings
Joe Hart - WONDERED when the action was going to start but was switched on to thwart Kenwyne Jones in a one-on-one. Always assured. Mark (out of 10) 7
Micah Richards - GAVE Jon Walters hell on the right-hand side. The defender could earn a call-up to Fabio Capello's senior England squad on this evidence. 7
Vincent Kompany - LUCKY to escape a valid shout for handball in the penalty area from a Jones ricochet. Yet he still led the defensive line in exemplary fashion. 7
Joleon Lescott - LOOKED to be the only weak link in City's watertight defence at times. He still managed to keep one step ahead of Kenwyne Jones, though. 6
Aleksandar Kolarov - DISPLAYED inconsistency that fuelled negative speculation about his role next season. Found space but never exploited it. 5
Nigel de Jong - OWNED the midfield. Had a running battle with both Rory Delap and Marc Wilson but ran out the winner hands-down on every occasion. 8
Gareth Barry - HAD no problem marshalling the midfield but was wasted in an overly defensive set-up. Roberto Mancini sacrificed him in the 70th minute. 6
David Silva - GIFTED two of the game's best chances and was woeful on both occasions. In the first half, he volleyed into the ground and over an open goal. 6
Yaya Toure - TOOK out a whole afternoon's worth of frustration when he put his full weight behind the strike that won the match. Stoke never coped with his power. 8
Mario Balotelli - HAD a very quiet game as he struggled to penetrate from wide positions. But the striker played a vital part in contributing to Toure's winner. 7
Carlos Tevez - WALKED off to a standing ovation minutes before the end and the captain deserved it. Not even a dodgy hamstring could slow him down. 7
SUBS:
Adam Johnson: Was a nuisance for the tired legs in the Stoke defence. 6
Patrick Vieira: Given a short run at the end when substituted for David Silva. 6
Pablo Zabaleta: Helped protect lead. 6
Stoke player ratings
Thomas Sorensen - PULLED off a save destined for his career highlight reel in the first half to deny Mario Balotelli. Could do nothing to prevent winner. 6
Andy Wilkinson - WAS a source of frustration for Carlos Tevez to begin with but faded and did little to prevent City producing wave after wave of attacks. 6
Robert Huth - GOT away with murder when ref Martin Atkinson missed elbow on Mario Balotelli and clattered Micah Richards soon after. Lucky to last game. 4
Ryan Shawcross - CUT out an Aleksandar Kolarov cross that would have opened the scoring early on and frustrated Balotelli but was overrun at the end. 6
Marc Wilson - ALLOWED Tevez and Kolarov too much space at times and was spared embarrassment by City's final ball until the end. Ran out of gas. 5
Jermaine Pennant - ALWAYS seemed to be man on the ground when the ref's whistle was blown. Wasteful at set- pieces but still behind Stoke's most positive moves. 7
Glenn Whelan - ACTED as playmaker and linked up well with Pennant on occasions but was over-run by City's dominant midfield. Taken off late on. 6
Rory Delap - NOT even his catapult throw- ins could make Stoke a potent attacking threat on the night. Substituted 10 minutes from the end. 5
Matty Etherington - CREATED Stoke's best chance when he found Kenwyne Jones but was unusually subdued. Replaced by Dean Whitehead just after the hour. 6
Jonathan Walters - COULD not make any credible impact on the game. Walters showed bags of energy but regularly ran into traffic before final third. 4
Kenwyne Jones - PICKED wrong time to go off the boil. Scored five goals in six games before the final but rarely mustered a chance at Wembley. 5
SUBS:
Dean Whitehead: Unable to make an impact as Stoke went more physical. 5
John Carew: Barely got a sniff. 5
Danny Pugh: Damage limitation only. 6
NIni
