2 Oct UCL - Manchester Utd v Roma

zocoss SG

2007/08 UEFA Champions League: Matchday #2:
Tuesday, 02 October 2007

Vs

Manchester Utd v Roma
Espn - Ch 23 - 2:45am - (Live) - (Wed Morning)

Manchester United: Kuszczak, O'Shea, Evra, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Bardsley, Pique, Hargreaves, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Eagles, Rooney, Saha, Tevez, Anderson, Dong, Heaton.

Curci, Pipolo , Zotti, Bertagnoli, Doni, Panucci, Cicinho, Juan, Philippe Mexes, Andreolli, Antunes, Ferrari, Tonetto, Kuffour, Cassetti, Pizarro, Aquilani, Taddei, Giuly, De Rossi, Perrotta, Adrian Pit, Barusso, Mancini, Brighi, Della Penna, Vucinic, Totti, Esposito, Zarineh.

Pitot SG

who dare to predict 1-0?

i dont think roma will be quiet on the pitch...

zocoss SG

Kuszczak will make his first Champions League start for Manchester United

Kuszczak set for Roma role

Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that Polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak will make his first UEFA Champions League start for Manchester United FC on Tuesday after Edwin van der Sar injured a toe in Saturday's defeat of Birmingham City FC.

The 36-year-old Dutchman did not come out for the second half after falling awkwardly when collecting the ball during the first. His replacement did not disappoint, making one superb reaction stop in particular to help United towards yet another 1-0 victory. Sir Alex said: "Edwin's damaged his toe - to what extent I don't know but we'll send him for a scan. He'll be out for Tuesday, that's for certain. It's a worry when you lose a man of his experience but Tomasz Kuszczak is very able and I'm pleased we've got someone as good as that."

forum_dude SG

i rthink roma2-manutd0

sand king SG

draw Laughing

omgukilledkenny SG

I hope it'll be a high scoring game. Smile

PS: Roma lost 4-1 to Inter yesterday. Razz

Nadare SG

roma wont go down that bad again i suppose

sand king SG

Laughing

just hope the players dont get too over confident and become co*cky

omgukilledkenny SG

Defenders miss United training

Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic were absent from training as Manchester United prepared for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Roma.

The defensive pair picked up knocks during Saturday's Premier League win at Birmingham and while there was no guidance from United as to whether their participation against the Italians was in doubt, it would be a major surprise if either missed out at Old Trafford.

Owen Hargreaves was training, leaving the former Bayern Munich star in line to make his European debut for the Red Devils.

Edwin van der Sar (toe) is definitely ruled out, so Tomasz Kuczszak will deputise.

United (from): Kuczszak, Heaton, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Simpson, Pique, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, O'Shea, Anderson, Nani, Giggs, Rooney, Saha, Tevez.

omgukilledkenny SG

Totti Apologises To Manchester Utd Fan

Roma star Francesco Totti has sent a personal video message to Carly Lyes, 23, a Manchester United supporter who was hit on the head by Italian police and had her camera taken during Uniteds Champions League quarter-final first-leg in Rome's Stadio Olimpico last season.

The two teams meet again on Tuesday night in their Group F match.

On the video, Totti and Roma team-mate Damiano Tommasi said: We would like to apologise for the treatment you received in Rome last season and hope it has not damaged the opinion that you and your fellow supporters have of Rome.

We would also like to invite you to the Olympic Stadium for the game later this year and treat you as our guest.

Carly Lyes is one of four United fans who have taken legal action against the Italian police over the treatment they received.

Police attacked United supporters who had already been pelted with missiles by some Roma supporters.

She told The Sun: I was presented with a new camera at Old Trafford last week and on it was a video message from the two players.

Its a nice touch and lets hope it signals a more peaceful atmosphere when we play Roma twice in the next few weeks. Sadly, I have still not had an apology from the Italian police.

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Hargreaves: No Roma repeat

Owen Hargreaves says any thoughts of repeating last season's 7-1 thrashing of AS Roma should be instantly disregarded.

The 26-year-old could finally make his return from a thigh strain as the Serie A side head to Manchester on Tuesday, intent on reeking revenge for the defeat in April. Hargreaves, however, simply wants three points, whatever the scoreline.

"There will be no repeat of the 7-1," he said. "Those results happen perhaps once every four years in the entire competition. It's not going to happen again. As long as we get the three points, I'll be happy."

Hargreaves watched the game on television with his then team-mates at Bayern Munich, as they would have played the winners of the game if they beat AC Milan the following night.

Milan eventually knocked Bayern and United out. A tired, injury-ravaged Reds side were overpowered by a Milan team putting its entire efforts into the Champions League, while Sir Alex's men fought on two other fronts - the league and FA Cup. As a result, there's a clear determination to go a step further this year. But Hargreaves, a past winner with Bayern in 2001, says that's too far in the future.

"We're obviously one of the key teams in the Champions League but we can't think about winning it right now," he said. "We are in the same position as everyone else. It is only September, so the final is a long way off. The aim is to reach our peak later in the season. Hopefully we will get into the latter stages and then get the breaks any team needs to progress beyond that."

Dead_Man_Inc SG

Rooney ready for Roma revenge

Wayne Rooney knows precisely how determined AS Roma will be to exact revenge on United after the Reds' 7-1 victory back in April because he has put himself in their shoes.

After thrashing the Italians in the Champions League quarter final second leg last season, the Giallorossi return to Old Trafford in Tuesday's Group F clash hell-bent on setting the record straight.

Asked what he would do if he had been in a team that had been beaten 7-1 and then had a chance to redeem themselves so soon after the event, Rooney smiled and said: If it was me, Id be sitting here rubbing my hands. Id have been delighted as soon as the draw was made. I wouldnt be able to wait for the game and Id see it as an opportunity to put things right.

Im sure that Roma will be fired up for this game. We need to be aware of that, but what we have to do is concentrate on our job and play the way we know we can.

Rooney also says that the Reds must put the 7-1 scoreline out of their minds and concentrate on playing at full tilt against Luciano Spallettis men.

"It was a great result for us, but I think we all know it wont happen again, he said. We know it will be a difficult game. We have to do our job and try and win the game.

The 21-year-old striker is looking for his first goal this season, and Tuesday night would be an ideal time for him to get off the mark.

It was a disappointing start to the season for me because I got the metatarsal injury, he added. But Ive played three games now and hopefully I can start scoring again and help the team keep winning games.

Rooney has been deployed as the main striker in United's attack this season, with Carlos Tevez dropping deeper. When asked to do a similar job last season, he went on a scoring run of 11 goals in 14 matches during March and April. He will be hoping to do that again, and says his partnership with Tevez has plenty of potential.

"I enjoy playing alongside Carlos," he said. "Hes a good player and he's starting to play really well.

"Playing with Carlos makes it a slightly different role for me. I have to play on the shoulder of the defender and let Carlos be the link between the midfield and the forwards. Of course, Im happy to do that role, and I think it could bring more to my game. I did it quite a lot last season. I got a few goals from doing that so Ive got no problems at all doing that."

gigabyte14 SG

i still think roma have a weakness for manure

so 1-0

Dead_Man_Inc SG

giga, 1-0 again ar? Laughing

omgukilledkenny SG

More police for Old Trafford clash

The number of police officers on duty at Manchester United's clash Roma has been increased following trouble between the clubs last season.

Match commander superintendent John Graves said: "We have learned from last season's encounters and there were some aspects of the policing operation we needed to bolster and extend.

"We are covering at the airport and there is an operation in the city centre to keep tabs there.

"I'm confident I have enough resources available to me."

Graves believes the atmosphere will be not be the same as in the build-up to the two games in April.

He added: "The atmosphere is considerably different - there's not so much at stake.

"Both sides could lose and still qualify, last season it was an all-or-nothing encounter and many more supporters travelled."

Police spotters will be at Manchester Airport and in the stadium, and undercover officers will mingle with fans.

Italian police will also travel to Manchester to help with the operation.

gigabyte14 SG

i see manure's playing, not that good

somemore the defenders.....

EH WAIT WAIT WAIT

roma win 2-1

sad for my manure, but don't think they can beat roma this time Mad

zocoss SG

Claim: Panucci

Roma are hellbent on getting even for that 7-1 drubbing, warns Fergie

You do not need to be a devotee of the Godfather trilogy to know that revenge has more than played its part in Italian cultural history. Tonight against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the players of Roma will push forward their chests, jut out their chins and endeavour to make up in some way at least for one of the greatest humiliations in decades of Italian sport.

Italian football teams just do not concede seven goals in a game. Their national team only let in two during their entire 2006 World Cup Finals success. So April's 7-1 capitulation to United in the Champions League quarter-final second leg remains buried deep in Roma's psyche.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: 'I think there's a big motivation for them. I've seen some of the Italian papers and it's all about revenge. 'That's understandable after the defeat last year. They will want to turn that scoreline around.' Proud Romans such as Francesco Totti and Daniele de Rossi were among the first to disembark from their aircraft in Manchester yesterday.

But there had been differing messages from the various members of Luciano Spalletti's squad. Totti the captain and talisman has been promoting peace in recent days, sending a personal mess age to those United fans caught up in the trouble that marred last season's first leg at the Stadio Olimpico. That contrasts with defender Christian Panucci, ruled out last night because of a back injury, who accused United's players of whipping up anti-Italian feelings in the wake of that game.

Ferguson responded: 'I can't believe a player of Panucci's experience was affected by that. He has played for Real Madrid and AC Milan and has played for Italy 60 or so times. I can't believe that was a reason for our win last season. 'Players like him and Totti are very experienced but I suppose it's a good story, isn't it?'

Given the events of last season both off the field in Rome and on it at Old Trafford the hype and interest around tonight's game exceeds what is normal for the second match of the group stages. For instance, there will be extra police on duty. United see the threat from wounded Italian players as real.

Asked how he would feel if he was returning to the scene of such a sporting disaster, United's Wayne Rooney was categoric. He said: 'I'd be delighted as soon as I saw the draw if I was them. 'I'd be pleased to have an opportunity to try to make it right so soon after. If it was me I'd be rubbing my hands and wouldn't be able to wait for the game. 'I'm sure they'll be fired up for this match more than any other after last season's result, so we'll have to be aware of that and just concentrate.'

Roma's players have discussed the impact of last season's events and it would appear the damage is still being repaired. Panucci yesterday described the night as the 'worst of my career', while Roma's Brazil keeper Doni in goal at Old Trafford in April said: 'That night changed our relationship with our fans.

'They still have not fully forgiven us. I have spoken with some of them recently and that much is clear. The 7-1 scoreline is imprinted in the minds of our supporters and that is why they are demanding we return this week and bring home a positive score for them. 'We have come to Manchester without fear but we are fully aware of our responsibility. If we win this week it would, for me, be one of the greatest nights and one of the greatest causes for celebration in my career.'

In order to get the result they crave, Roma will have to hustle United into conceding a goal, something the English champions' first team have not done for more than 350 minutes. Not since Manchester City's Geovanni breached the United defence in the first half of August 19's derby have United conceded in anything but the Carling Cup.

Tonight, United's Poland goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak will deputise for the injured Edwin van der Sar while defenders Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown are expected to shake off minor knocks picked up against Birmingham on Saturday. In midfield, Owen Hargreaves may finally return from injury to play in the holding role he was bought to fill in Europe.

But it will be in attacking areas where United may have to improve if they are to build tonight on the 1-0 victory they secured at Sporting Lisbon a fortnight ago. United were once more moderate going forward in Saturday's 1-0 win at St Andrew's and it is clear Ferguson has not yet found the best way to use his collection of gifted offensive players.

Ferguson sought to reassure yesterday, saying: 'The important thing is we know that Wayne can penetrate and that Cristiano Ronaldo can penetrate, while Carlos Tevez in a different way can do that job. 'I'm happy. I don't think it's a problem at all. Good players, with the ability they have, should gel.'

Ferguson will hope he is right. Roma for obvious reasons will pray otherwise.

omgukilledkenny SG

Yes Twisted Evil

The reason Roma conceded so much the last time was because they went all out attack after conceding the first goal.

Hope this time they do it again, then we get them on the counter.

gigabyte14 SG

i'm buying roma win, sorry la manure Laughing

i went according to www.asianbookie.com, their predictions very accurate 1

omgukilledkenny SG

Ronaldo: Roma players begged for mercy

A 7-1 defeat was the Italian clubs heaviest in European competition and, while no one associated with Roma will need reminding of that, Ronaldo was content to recount the extent of their misery yesterday a revelation that is unlikely to sit well with a team nursing their pride before this evenings group F encounter.

The United winger claimed that, at 6-0 down, one of the opposition had pleaded with him to show mercy, but, although the Portugal winger declined to reveal the identity of that player, to judge from the comments this week of Christian Panucci, who accused some of the United team of abusing their superiority during the match, it could well have been the Roma full back.

I often get some comments from opposition players that bring a smile to my face, Ronaldo, who scored twice in the romp, said. It happened during the last match against Roma when we were already winning 6-0. Dont do any more dribbles, you are already winning by six, said one of them, almost begging.