Champions League Draw: Group C – Reactions
Last night, the Champions league draws took place, bringing forward some interesting ties in the group stages. Following their qualification into the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspurs hat-trick hero, Peter Crouch called out Real Madrid and Inter Milan to face them in the Europe’s top competition. That is exactly what they got as they were drawn against Inter Milan in the group stages.
For Manchester United, however, the draw couldn’t be more favourable. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted by the tie, especially when he would be meeting his friend Walter Smith.
The Red Devils drew with Scottish Champions Rangers FC, Spanish giants Valencia and Turkish Champions Bursapor in the Group C, avoiding the likes of Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona in the process. For Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, it would be a long awaited reunion with his former club. When Ferguson himself was a player, he played for the Ranger between 1967 and 1969. The Scottish was also born in the same City as the club and would therefore be looking for a reunion with his former club. The current manager of the club, Walter Smith has been a close friend of Sir Alex, as both of them have worked together at United as well as with the Scottish national side.
Sir Alex, who was born in Glasgow, played for the Rangers between 1967 and 1969 and has worked alongside their manager, Walter Smith, both at United and with the Scottish national side. Both the manager now look forward to facing each other in the Champions league draw and both would be looking to proceed through to the next round.
So what were the reactions when the draws were officially announced? Manchester United manager claimed that he wouldn’t complain about the draw and labeled it to be a favourable one. The manager added then in such situations, one is to look to the travelling side of things and the greatest travelling distance for United would be their trip to Turkey to meet Bursaspor, who are the Turkish Champions. The other teams are reasonably near, so it was a good draw for the Red Devils. Sir Alex added that his close friend, Walter Smith, who is the manager of Scottish Champions Glasgow Rangers, had already been on the phone with him for tickets at Old Trafford. Sir Alex confirmed that both the managers look forward to facing each other.
For the Spanish side, Valencia, goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez represented his side’s reaction. The shot stopper claimed that his side would have to face two Champions, in the form of Rangers and Bursaspor, which would be a difficult task. Moreover, they would then have to face a club in the form of Manchester United, which is undoubtedly one of the top clubs in Europe. Sanchez claimed that there would be four different venues for the draw and thus expects excellent environments at each of them. The goalkeeper added that the host of each game would be the undoubted favourites and that the key to winning the fixtures would be to be home strenght.
Scottish Champions, manager Walter Smith claimed that it would be a great way to kick off the Champions league but stated that they couldn’t get a tougher group. Smith stated that, “any footballer worth his salt would want to go and play at Old Trafford, so it's a game that we will look forward to.” The manager praised United’s pedigree and claimed that United is the team that usually reaches the late stages of the competition. Walter Smith thus concluded the statement claiming that he knew much about the Red Devils and would therefore be looking forward to take up the challenge.
Ertuğrul Sağlam, the coach for Turkish Champions Bursaspor stated that although they were in a strong group, he still wouldn’t call it a lost cause. The boss added that English heavy weights Manchester United always look to lifting the trophy and so does Valencia. Saglam claimed that the Rangers are one of the most well known clubs in Scottish football and have played with them on numerous occasions in this competition. The manager stated that his side would face some of the best players in Europe but Bursaspor have accomplished the unthinkable last season. The manager thus claimed that his side has the power, the potential and the squad to advance into the next round.
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