Road To Wembley 2011

[drivemein]

Facts About United’s Opponents… Marseille
-therepublikofmancunia.com-



1. Marseille are the French champions but are currently 5th in Ligue 1 after winning just 7 of their 17 games this season. Still, that only puts them 4 points behind league leaders and our former CL opponents, Lille.

2. Their highest scorer this season is Loic Remy, with 6 league goals. He joined Marseille at the start of the season from Nice. Their second highest scorer is 29-year-old midfielder Lucho Gonzalez from Argentina, with 5 league goals.

3. Gabriel Heinze plays in their defence and will be making his first appearance at Old Trafford since his bitter departure in 2007. He couldn’t get in the team when Patrice Evra joined, so after trying to get a move to Liverpool, United sold him to Real Madrid at a profit. This is his second season at Marseille and the 32-year-old has made over 50 appearances for them.

4. Marseille won the Champions League in 1993 after beating AC Milan 1-0 in the final. The Milan side included Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten, Roberto Donadoni and a 24-year-old Paolo Maldini. Basile Boli was the goalscorer, who had headbutted Stuart Pearce in Euro 92 the year before.

5. Their manager is Didier Deschamps, who played for Chelsea, Juventus and Marseille in his career. Liverpool approached him in the summer just gone to replace Rafa Benitez, but he turned them down. He won the title in his first year in charge at Marseille, their first in 18 years. After being linked with a return to Juve, who he guided to promotion the season before, Deschamps signed a contract that will keep him at the club until 2012.

6. Marseille were in the same group as Chelsea, finishing 3 points behind them. They scored an average of 2 goals per game.

7. United were in the same group as Marseille in the 99-00 season. We beat them 2-1 at home thanks to late goals from Andy Cole and Paul Scholes. At their place we lost 1-0, with William Gallas scoring.

8. Eric Cantona is from Marseille and played for his hometown club between 1988 and 1991, although was sent out on loan twice. During a friendly for Marseille during his first season, he booted the ball in to the ground and ripped off his shirt and threw it to the ground after being substituted. He was banned for a month.

[drivemein]

Boss welcomes French test
-manutd.com-



Sir Alex Ferguson is looking forward to France in February, following United's pairing with Olympique Marseille in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

The Reds will travel to Stade Velodrome on Wednesday 23 February 2011 and then entertain the French champions at Old Trafford on Tuesday 15 March. And while some United fans may be happy to have avoided the Italian giants in the draw, including European Cup holders Internazionale, the United boss believes Marseille will make tricky opponents.

Giving his immediate reaction to MUTV, Sir Alex said: "Everyone thought we might get one of the Milan sides because we’ve faced them quite a few times in the last few years, but we got Marseille in the draw rehearsal and it proved right.

"Marseille are a handful at their own ground, their fantastic atmosphere and incredible support guarantees that. They’ve had a good change in fortunes in the last two or three years, after a dry spell, and think it’ll be a difficult tie."

Although United haven't faced Marseille for more than a decade, there are some familiar faces in the opposition camp.

"[Former Chelsea midfielder] Didier Deschamps is the coach there," said the boss, "and they've got one of our old players in Gabriel Heinze so it’ll be nice to see him."

Sir Alex said of the previous meetings in 1999/2000: "I remember the games well. We won 2-1 at Old Trafford, but lost 1-0 over there when William Gallas scored for them. It wasn’t a good performance from us that night."

As for the rest of the last-16 draw, the manager commented: "Quite a lot of people predicted Arsenal against Barcelona and that’s the most interesting tie.

"Chelsea go to Copenhagen and should get through that one. It’ll be interesting to see Milan and Spurs and also Inter and Bayern Munich – a repeat of last season’s final. So there are some nice ties there and hopefully we can navigate ours."

Sir Alex was speaking exclusively to MUTV.

[wira_ozora]

Originally Posted by Supernan

Yak United ketemu



Skuad Marseille lumayan bagus musim ini, ketemu mantan bek Heinze.

Yeeaah...prediksi gw tepat,,United bkl ktmu OM!Lwn milan,roma, inter uda prnh.Copen hagen n Lyon jg dh prnh.Kl dlht dr sjrhna club2 Inggris emg ga prnh lncr kl maen di Prncis.Tp mdh2an United bs mng 2-0 di kndg OM.

[VaDLi]

Originally Posted by Supernan

Yak United ketemu



Skuad Marseille lumayan bagus musim ini, ketemu mantan bek Heinze.

ya semoga bisa menaklukan di kandang Marseille dan tentunya melumat di Old Trafford

[Blacklist7]

Originally Posted by Blacklist7

So Far... beberapa kemungkinan terbesar Revenge / Traitor vs Ex Club...

tebakan saya ne... semoga aja meleset hehehehe
klo ga meleset pasti seru ne...

Totenham mungkin akan melawan :
Lyon / Marseille, atau
Valencia / Roma

Man United mungkin akan melawan:
Inter / Milan / Roma, atau
Lyon / Marseille
atau Kobenhaven (kita unggul diatas kertas)

Barcelona mungkin akan melawan :
vs Arsenal (Fabregas vs Barca), atau
vs Milan (Ronaldinho vs Barca)
vs Lyon (Giuly vs Barca)

Munchen mungkin akan melawan:
vs Inter (dendam Final Madrid)
vs Milan / Roma

Chelsea mungkin akan melawan :
vs Milan (Ancelotti vs Milan), atau
vs Inter

Real Madrid mungkin akan melawan :
vs Inter (sweet revenge bgt, Mou vs Inter), atau
vs Roma

S. Donetsk mungkin akan melawan :
Kobenhaven
Valencia

ada beberapa yg sesuai tebakan... hehehehehe.. Allah memang adil... cuma 50% aja bener... sisanya ga sesuai

[rondwisan]

another French ..., bring on ...

menarik disimak nih .... Arsenal vs Barcelona ...

[zudomiriku]

Four Most Intriguing Matches of The Champions League



With the knockout stages of the Champions League looming next month, it is time to take a look at the four most intriguing matches of the first round.

While all the traditional powerhouses are in contention, usually they do well enough to avoid seeing other favorites until the round of eight; however, every year there are a few matches that are more scintillating than Chelsea vs. Copenhagen.

Finals Rematch


Last time Inter Milan and Bayern Munich met, it was a 2-0 triumph by the Italian side with the Germans losing a chance at European glory.

Last time they were also missing a certain French winger who has the ability to change matches with his darting runs and superb dribbling. With Arjen Robben healthy again, the Bavarians hope that they will eliminate their rivals who lack a certain special manager this time around.

Marseille vs. Manchester United


Last year, it was Olympique Lyon knocking out powerhouse Real Madrid in Round 1, but will Marseille make it another underdog French victory?

They face perennial powers Manchester United, a team that routinely makes it to the semi finals or better and are looking to be reaching top form for the second half of the season.

Still, United seem to be lacking the same finishing power as they have in past seasons and Marseille have played with a boldness that could see them send the Red Devils crashing out earlier than expected.

Old Guard vs. New


Tottenham Hotspur has taken a rather long and winding road to finally reach the Champions League, while AC Milan are fixtures in the competition.

Recent years have seen Milan decline bit by bit since the days of Ancelotti coaching Pirlo and Kaka with a precision that left many a side eviscerated on the grounds of Europe.

Tottenham on the other hand have fought tooth and nail for a chance to play in the Champions League and are definitely a team on the upswing with a certain wing-back being the target of many a club around the continent.

Will the old masters have one more shot at glory, or will the upstarts continue their rise?

Battling On Every Level


Since the constant transfer rumors are not enough, Cesc must now play against the club he was raised and groomed by and by many accounts, the club he desperately wants to be at most.

Barcelona are once again riding high and are considered the favorite to their third cup in the past decade and solidify their hegemony over the footballing world.

While Cesc may want to be with his compatriots one day, he is still the consummate professional and will orchestrate Arsenal just as he was taught in Barcelona's famed cantina and perhaps lead an upset over the title favorites.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/579089-four-most-intruiging-matches-of-the-champions-league#page/1