The Stretford Stand.
Champions League, the most elite completion in European Football is something that every top club wants to aim for, and of course it’s never easy.
And for Manchester United the stakes are at high as they come to face the biggest teams in Europe after a disappointing gap of just a single year. Champions twice under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester side couldn’t reach the competition following his departure when fellow scot David Moyes was assigned the man in charge.
The last time the Red Devils played in the Champions League, they were knocked out by the reigning Champions, and ended at 1-1 with United skipper Nemanja Vidic heading for the home side. The second leg produced something that most of the people predicting; Bayern writing of United as the full time score at the Allianz Arena was 3-1 in the favor of the Bavarian side – which ended United’s hopes of going forward in the UCL.
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| The last time Man United played in the Champions League was against Bayern Munich where they lost. |
Louis van Gaal had completely changed the style of play with his arrival to the club, and the team looks considerably stronger and more confident than they were before. They have former European winners such as skipper Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Juan Mata and Argentine winger Angel Di Maria. In fact Di Maria was the man of the match in the 2014 Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.
With the boss announcing his wish to add some more experienced star players to his squad, United will be hoping to put on a good show. They finished fourth in the league and their priority of playing Champions League football the following season was accomplished as their campaign was considered a success.
The ambitions of the manager and players should be the same next season. They should aim at finishing high in the European competition, even though many supporters will want their priority to win the Premier League. Van Gaal has won the competition himself previously with Catalan club Barcelona, and has a pack of mixture of excellent experience as well as youth players. A combination of players shouldn’t be any problem for the club to shine in Europe.
United could play the likes of Italian side Lazio or French club Monaco in the qualifier of the group stage, or may be handed an easier route to the group stages. With more players yet to set their foot in Old Trafford, the Dutch boss should at least try to reach for the quarter finals stage of Champions League.
It’s been far too long since the Champions League trophy was in the hands of United, last winning in 2008. Beating league rivals Chelsea in Moscow courtesy of a penalty shoot-out, the current rate of transfers and improvement going on means we could expect the English giants to lift the European crown anytime soon in the coming years. Though for next year, the Red Devils’ fans will be really thrilled to see their side play some great football against some of the best teams of the continent. It could also depend on who would United play in the later stages of the competition to see how far would the Manchester club go on their return.
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| The Red Devils have not won the European cup since the double in 2009. |
But things are not going the right way for English for a number of reasons, with an English side failing to reach the quarter finals this past campaign. This is definitely something that van Gaal should consider and look to improve if he wants his club to progress further. From looking at the current situation, the team can actually do very well and they should be able to maintain their good form for the show to keep going!
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| The current squad of United is capable of challenging big teams in Europe. |
Only time will tell how good the things would be looking for them, but right now they seem to be going on the right track, and with the way the team is going up there would be a nice smile on the Manchester United fans’ faces now.
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