Sir Alex Ferguson knows all about Champions League upsets, seeing his side shockingly eliminated after the group stages last season, and the Manchester United manager will not be taking Tuesday's opponents CFR Cluj any lightly.
United suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League over the weekend, and Ferguson will be desperate to get back on winning terms against relative minnows Cluj.
"We saw CFR in the last game against Braga," Ferguson said. "They've beaten Basel twice in (this season's playoffs), and Basel knocked us out [last year), so we need to give them every respect. I watched the games against Basel and Braga and I would pick out Rafael Bastos.
"CFR are a team who defend quickly and get plenty of bodies behind the ball. Their main strength is the counterattack, as they showed against Braga. Counterattacking is very important in European football these days.
"Their strongest point is they have got three points. They play us tomorrow and then two games against Galatasaray. They need seven more points from five games and they will qualify.
Ferguson defended his decision to train at home, before travelling to Cluj for the game. "We made the decision to train at home because most of the time when you train abroad you can't do anything because everyone is watching," he added. "Training at Carrington this morning (Monday) allowed us to do things around picking the team and tactics.
"Our second half against Spurs on Saturday was probably our best performance of the season, but you have to be concerned with the way we lost the goals. We were well off the pace of the game. I don't think we won a tackle in the first half. We have some work to do in that respect. We must improve."
Cluj coach Ioan Andone said it would be a great occasion for Romanian soccer to host a big club like Manchester United in the continent's premier club competition. "It will be a great match for us and for Romania too," he said. "Both teams won their first match in the group and it would be nice to qualify for the next stage together.
"I met United when I was coach of Dinamo Bucuresti, but that was two different teams, two different scenarios - it was a preliminary round fixture. Now CFR have a few players with experience in the Champions League, and we have the whole of Romania behind us.
"I hope our enthusiasm will make a difference. If we manage to score, we will have a chance. I don't think you can speak about fear against United.
"If we won, it would bring great prestige and six points in the group, which is very important. It would be huge for Cluj and Transylvania too."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.