The Footballers

Any football (soccer) fan knows Manchester, England is home to two of the best teams in the world. Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) hit the field in 1880, just two years after Manchester United was founded. Both teams have been honored with legendary players that will never be forgotten. In September 2021, MCFC unveiled two incredible statues designed as everlasting tributes to recently retired Vincent Kompany and David Silva. With 25 domestic titles and 796 appearances for the team across a combined 12 years, these two players are among the best to ever wear the Sky-Blue shirt.

MCFC is very active in its community outreach, and supporter groups were consulted throughout the commission process. Most sports clubs commission artists to create traditional statuary in cast bronze but MCFC had other plans. When the club came across works created by world-renowned sculptor Andy Scott, they knew it was the style they were looking for. His unique sculpting technique utilizing hot-dip galvanized steel was ideally suited to the city’s industrial heritage and the proud “blue-collar” roots of the club.

Due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, both sculptures had to be created remotely from Scott’s studio in Philadelphia, PA. This meant Scott had to sculpt the players without ever actually meeting them or visiting the stadium. Although this made it an incredibly difficult undertaking, it didn’t affect the final results. Using thousands of welded pieces of galvanized steel, the statues will glisten in the sun and be illuminated with blue lights at night. Attendees of the unveiling were blown away by the artistic style and accurate representation of the players. Both Kompany and Silva were impressed with how Scott captured meaningful poses from impactful moments in their career.

Hot-dip galvanizing is cost effective and requires next to no maintenance, which makes it attractive to the client. Scott has relied on the same galvanizer for the past several years due to excellent service.

"Such is their dedication to the quality of the coatings and handling of the jobs that they visit my studio workshop to get a full understanding of the sculptures’ intricacies and advise on any special requirements such as venting and the logistics of double-dipping, if required. They take utmost care in handling the sometimes awkward forms of the sculptures and the quality of the finish is always superb, requiring zero touch-up or filing prior to shipping and installation. This gives me absolute confidence that the final vital stages of my painstaking sculpting processes will be carried out with diligence, and I can rest easy knowing that my sculptures will look superb once they have done their job.”

Now installed at Etihad Stadium, the permanent statues provide a visible reminder of the role both Kompany and Silva played in contributing to the most decorated era in the Club’s 127-year history.

This project was powered by a CIC Pittsburgh Galvanizing furnace.