Even on a relatively poor night, the greatest club footballer of all time was impossible to tameIt is the sign of a truly great player: even when you beat him, stifle him, beat him back for an hour, he still somehow ends up winning the day. There was a degree of amusement before this Champions League quarter-final first leg at Chris Smalling’s suggestion he was looking forward to facing Lionel Messi; that the greatest club footballer in the history of the game should “bring it on”. Oh, Chris. Don’t. Please. No. Chris. Stop it.But really, what else was Smalling supposed to say? How is he supposed to approach this? Messi does not operate to the usual rules, he is not...
From the majesty of Atkinson’s cup specialists to the might of Cruyff’s dream team, six epic battles between these Euro giantsSir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson brought glory and trophies to Manchester United on an industrial scale, yet they never had an Old Trafford European night such as this. Ron Atkinson’s cup specialists overcame a 2-0 first-leg deficit to overwhelm a Barcelona side that included Diego Maradona and Bernd Schuster. United’s three goals, two from Bryan Robson and one from Frank Stapleton, were scored from a combined distance of around six yards, an apt reflection of a night on which they stormed the Barcelona goal like it was a medieval fortress. Barcelona, used to a slower pace domestically, simply...
As Tottenham move in while Real Madrid and Barcelona show off their plans, Manchester United’s home – all but untouched under the current owners – looks increasingly tattyThere is a scene in Fawlty Towers when one of the customers is checking out of the hotel and wants to tell Basil how much he has enjoyed his stay. So much, in fact, that he passes on what he thinks is a dead cert for the afternoon race at Exeter and puts a few coins into the tip box on his way to the door. At which point Sybil appears and Basil turns to his wife with a slightly startled expression on his face. “Satisfied customer,” he explains. “We should have him...
The Champions League quarter-final is latest in a line of often spine-tingling English derbies in Europe’s top competitionA new chapter in the colourful history of English teams meeting each other in the Champions League is set to open on Tuesday, when the first European game at Tottenham’s shiny new stadium is bound to generate an atmosphere all of its own.In such circumstances anything can happen, and all-England European nights already have a reputation for taking on a life of their own, sharing a similarity to derbies in which form and league placing are temporarily set aside. Related: Quadruple is on for Manchester City as the impossible becomes a reality | Paul Wilson Related: Football’s final furlong: our writers predict how...
Ole Gunnar Solskjær could do with help at Manchester United and Gary Neville is a club legend with business experienceIn the week Ole Gunnar Solskjær was confirmed as Manchester United’s permanent manager, I’ve been in New York to complete my executive master for international players, which is run by Uefa. It’s been an important commitment for the past two years and I’ve really enjoyed learning about the business side of sports organisations and seeing how they do things differently to football.One of the biggest aspects I’ve noticed is the importance of sporting directors in US sports – for example all the teams in the NFL and NBA have been using that model for several years and it is now becoming...