The world of football will cast its eye on the Champions League semifinals in a couple of days time. Few that belonged to the Bayern hierarchy have already ruled the result in favour of the Germans despite the most consistent side in recent times standing in their way. The Catalans, or to a great extent even the neutrals, will hope to see El Clasico all over again at the Wembley.Another section of fans are already celebrating their ascendancy. Meteoric may not be the word used by journalists covering the Champions League to measure Cardiff City’s promotion to the Premier League,  but then it also depends on who you are really. For a prominent town in Wales, for a section that’s seen the side slugging it out in the not-so-glamorous world of the championship, this promotion to the Premier League after half a century has got to be meteoric.Rugby is still the heartbeat and the majority, at least in India, can be pardoned for not knowing anything more than Gareth Bale and Ryan Giggs when it comes to contemporary life on the football pitch for Wales. They can be excused for not realising the heartbreak that Cardiff went through over the past three seasons when they had wonderful opportunities to join the elite in England. Missing out on promotion through second tier play-offs can be frustrating. Add to that, a League Cup loss to Liverpool not too long ago, an FA cup defeat to Portsmouth in 2008 where the current Arsenal backbone Aaron Ramsey played a part — you could almost sense frustrations mounting.A draw against Charlton Athletic gave them the solitary point this week. That was enough for Malky Mackay’s men to be a part of the Premier League. Coincidentally, on the very same day 53 years back they defeated Aston Villa to earn the right to play in the old first division.Touted as relegation candidates when the young Scottish manager took charge in 2011 with an almost non-existent squad, the last couple of seasons have been sensational. This was nothing short of a fairy tale for Craig Bellamy, who re-united with the club that he supported as a boy.Things didn’t appear particularly bright at the start of the season for Cardiff City. The fans welcomed Vincent Tan, a Malaysian businessman who decided to pump in money a couple of seasons back. His commitment to the club was emphasised by the fact that he sanctioned nine signings that helped the young manager in charge. But then, the fans weren’t always in sync with the owner. They were alienated, thanks to the Malaysian’s decision to change the traditional blue shirts to red, a colour he felt would bring luck and more money from the Asian markets to the Welsh outfit. A string of results was therefore important for the paying public to concentrate only on football. Nine losses out of 43 games, five fewer than second-placed Hull City, was what Mackay had managed to produce, post the sacking of Dave Jones.Tan is talking of pumping in 25 million pounds to aid the manager cope with the rigours of the Premier League. Spending, or rather some wise spending like Swansea City, is necessary if they have to stay afloat or dream about playing in Europe. After all, Cardiff have now made sure the presence of two Welsh clubs for the first time in British football’s 125-year history, thereby giving their part of the world reasons to celebrate.The writer is sports editor and senior presenter with Neo Sports.  Follow him on Twitter @RK_sports

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