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Posted by PaulJ on 2009-10-03 @ 10:31:49 +0000

The German Band

United have never before met Wolfsburg, not even in the riotous sixties and seventies when tours of Germany to play friendlies in front of the alcohol-fuelled British Forces were a regular feature of our pre-season. Wolfsburg have emerged from non-league football and won the Bundesliga for the first time last year; their twin strike force, Grafite and Edin Dzeko scoring 71 goals between them. The match promised much in the Manchester rain and I was particularly sorry not to be able to attend; it was by my reckoning the ninety ninth tie played at Old Trafford in the senior European competition and it would have been my eighty third.

Tomasz Kuszczak was in goal for something other than a Carling Cup tie. His distribution is not up to Foster’s and we all know his hesitancy can engender panic among his teammates but he is a good shot-stopper and this night his handling was close to perfect; at least he showed none of the Barthez moments to which Foster seems prone. It was Wayne Rooney’s 50th Champions League appearance but he was not quite of the quality he has exhibited of late. Owen was selected to partner him; it did not work. Indeed, Ferguson’s selection yielded a number of surprises, not least the proposal to play the biggest game of the competition so far without Fletcher; but Anderson played well and Carrick at last appears to have realised the season has started and to be emerging from his Roman nightmare.

Valencia produced some moments; Europe seems to suit him. Evra looks back to his best but for Vidic Rome was only a part of the trauma; on this evidence he has to undergo counselling to put behind him his humiliation at the hands of Torres. He played quite well after a poor start but looks nothing like the supreme defender he was before he lost his cloak of invincibility to the Spanish transvestite. At the crucial point of this match he was lucky to escape censure for a comprehensively Serbian foul on the Bosnian Dzeko; it would not quite classify as a war crime but he had already earned himself his second completely unnecessary yellow card of the competition for wrestling the Brazilian Grafite to the floor. In the first goalmouth action he headed the ball in the area straight to Christian Gentner; Kuszczak had to save smartly.

The Serb was not, however, the only United player who played as if the kick off time was eight-o-clock. Marcel Schaefer, their left back, was allowed to attack at will and put in a low cross which skimmed across the face of the United goal, and Rio had allowed Grafite, the man with lead in his pencil, to draw him this way and that and supply Gentner with a far post chance only for the German to shoot backwards.

The German champions were happy to leave themselves open and with Giggs quiet, Valencia invisible, Rooney able to do nothing right and Owen outmuscled their policy looked a sound one. When a quarter of an hour was up they had had 54% possession and the only shot. When Rooney curled a free kick wide of the post with the goalkeeper scrambling, twenty minutes had gone and it was our first attempt. Fate was about to deal us a better hand. Owen limped off with a groin strain and Berbatov came on in his place.
I think that his first direct contribution was to be offside for Carrick’s fine through ball but at least he had provided an alternative target for a forward pass.

Valencia suddenly appeared and began to work Schaefer, eliciting a handball in the area which was worth a penalty. Giggs floated in a free kick which Grafite headed clear and at last United produced a class attack, Carrick nicking the ball, Berbatov feeding Rooney and the Scouser running through the defence in thrilling style, just squeezed out.

Against artisan, dull Stoke, the Bulgarian enigma had lacked ideas, become peripheral and scored the vital goal. Here against class opposition he was for twenty five minutes pivotal in almost everything United did but preferred to set up his teammates. When Valencia chased down a loose ball the backheel return he got from Dimitar was a dream; the shot rolled badly wide of the far post. He then collected a great ball from Carrick only to be given wrongly offside when Rooney put it in the net. When an Anderson pass released Evra on the left, Berbatov found the space in a crowded area to get off a shot and then was quick enough to gather the rebound and feed Carrick who should have scored from ten yards; Swiss international goalkeeper Diego Benaglio saved with a leg. When Anderson put him through he was clattered as he shot and half the ground roared in celebration of the penalty; he was offside. He worked a lovely one-two with Valencia and fed Rooney who missed.

Dzeko’s header from a corner was not far over the United bar but the final move of the half ended in Carrick’s diving header for Valencia’s cross. Wolfsburg’s adventure had given us a better game than is usual and the night was rich with the promise of goals.

United began the second half almost as casually as they had the first but with Giggs and Carrick improving the game was being played much further forward and the visitors were playing more on the break. Gentner tried a lob, Berbatov was beaten by Ricardo Costa to a corner kick; his shot could have gone anywhere, and did. With the midfield now functioning more smoothly United put together a twelve man move which ended with Anderson shooting wide when he might have threaded one through for Rooney, who was beginning to show signs of frustration. With the half some ten minutes old O’Shea produced a lovely reverse ball, Carrick touched it on cleverly and Anderson’s powerful shot was splendidly saved by the Swiss custodian; Giggs slipped the ball back into the danger area and though it was cleared things were looking good.

From the clearance, however, the Germans slowly worked the ball up the left despite harassment from United players. Fourteen passes later, the referee having ignored Carrick’s gratuitous trip on Zvjezdan Misimovic, Makoto Hasebe chipped a ball to the far post where six foot five Dzeko, marginally offside, outjumped three foot six Evra and buried an excellent header inside the far post; 55 minutes 0-1.

The risk of disaster was decreased by the promptness of the response. Anderson, who had gone down in Van Persie style a couple of times (contact, but not that much contact) was well and truly scythed down by Josue on the edge of the area. He stood in front of the goalkeeper pulling a face worthy of the Haka and Gigg’s free kick, 20 yards out from the inside right position, took a huge deflection off the shoulder of Gentner and went in fast and low, wrongfooting Benaglio, who stood no chance of stopping the Welsh Wizard’s 150th United goal, Brazilian voodoo or not; 59 minutes 1-1.

This triggered the Ryan Giggs show. His free kick was headed clear, his perfectly judged low cross from the left had a salivating Berbatov on hand for the tap-in until Costa interposed himself and nicked it over for a corner, his corner found Rooney, whose brilliant curler shaved the top of the crossbar and with 70 minutes gone he stole the ball off a hesitant green shirt and was on hand in the area several swift and beautiful passes later to rifle it home, only to be given offside when in fact it had come to him via a Wolfsburg leg.

Inevitably, he was involved in the match winner. He won successive throws on the left and took the man away for Evra to throw to Rooney, whose turn and chip was the perfect delivery for Berbatov at the near post. Berbatov should have scored but was all tangled legs for someone whose fans compare him to Eric. At least he had the presence of mind to roll it back for Giggs who, running away from goal, took two touches before finding Carrick at the edge of the area. Carrick had gestured for it, screamed for it, got it and now he curled it into the net. It was as good as his goal at Wigan last year; 78 minutes, 2-1.

The Germans never gave up and the last few minutes lasted longer than they ought to have done. Somehow the game had not quite developed into a dramatic opera from the promising overture of a first half but it left us three points clear on top of the group and needing four points from the Muscovites if we want to qualify early.

Paul James

Posted by Barry on 2009-10-01 @ 4:33:37 +0000

Manchester United came from behind at Old Trafford to beat an impressive Wolfsburg side and take command of Group B in the Champions League.
The Germans played their part in a lively game and went ahead when Edin Dzeko headed in Makoto Hasebe's cross.
But United hit back immediately, Ryan Giggs scoring his 150th goal for the club as his free-kick was deflected in.
Wayne Rooney fired narrowly over before Michael Carrick kept his cool to curl in the winner from the edge of the box.
It was what United deserved for a powerful display against very capable opponents, with victory sending them three points clear at the top of their group.

But they did not have it all their own way and had to match Wolfsburg's powerful physical threat before their superior quality could show.
In the build-up to the game, the Bundesliga champions had vowed to attack, coach Armin Veh promising they would not wait until they fell behind to impose their style on the game.
And he was true to his word as the visitors almost got off to a flier, Nemanja Vidic's lazy header seized upon by Grafite and Christian Gentner firing at keeper Tomasz Kuszczak when he should have done better.
Zvjezdan Misimovic was pulling the strings for Wolfsburg, Grafite was proving more than a match for both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand and the Germans looked dangerous.

Dzeko fired wide from long range after another defensive lapse, but soon after there was a turning point at the other end as Michael Owen - in front of the watching England manager Fabio Capello - limped off after 20 minutes with a groin injury.
His replacement, Dimitar Berbatov, had a dramatic impact on proceedings, immediately enlivening United with his clever touches and visionary passing.
One audacious backheel sent Luis Valencia through, but the Ecuadorian dragged badly wide of the far post, before Berbatov sublimely slipped in Carrick only for Diego Benaglio to save his shot with his outstretched right foot.
It was all United and they continued their assault on the Wolfsburg goal after the break as Rooney teed up Anderson, the Brazilian's curling shot brilliantly parried away by Benaglio.

Dzeko's thumping header put Wolfsburg in front after the break
To their credit Wolfsburg never stopped attacking, and with 56 minutes on the clock they stunned Old Trafford by taking the lead as Hasebe clipped in a cross for the towering Dzeko to thump in a header.
Far from panicking, United continued to press and it took them only three minutes to equalise, albeit in fortuitous circumstances.
Anderson was brought down 20 yards out and Giggs' free-kick took a wicked deflection off Gentner, completely wrongfooting Benaglio and bouncing into the far corner.
United sensed a chance to compound Wolfsburg's frustration and Rooney almost delivered, curling a right-foot cracker only inches over from the edge of the box.
Instead they had to wait until 12 minutes from time, Giggs laying the ball off to Carrick for the midfielder to calmly slot past Benaglio from the edge of the area.
Wolfsburg continued to plough forward as they had done all night, but their search for an equaliser ended in vain.

bbc.co.uk

Posted by Barry on 2009-09-29 @ 18:47:34 +0000

Obafemi Martins knows a thing or two about stopping Manchester United but he will not be fooled into thinking the task is getting any easier.
The former Newcastle striker played in the Magpies' 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on the opening day of last season - only one of three home league games in which the eventual champions failed to take all three points.
Now at Wolfsburg, the 24-year-old Nigerian comes face to face with United once again when the German side travel to Manchester for their first away game in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Despite United's failure to hold on to winger Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Carlos Tevez in the summer, Martins believes playing Sir Alex Ferguson's team may be more difficult this season.

There is a lot of talent here, no big-name players, but people who can play football
Wolfsburg's Obafemi Martins
"I watched them beat Manchester City 4-3, that was a very tough game for them, but they won and that is the important thing," Martins told BBC Sport.
"Even without Ronaldo and Tevez, I would say you face the same problems playing against United. In fact, I would even say they are playing much better than before.
"When Ronaldo was on the pitch, everyone looked to him, expecting him to change the game when his team most needed it.
"But now United have a lot of players who can change a game, like Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov. Even the defenders can score goals, so we must watch out for them all over the pitch."
Having played with the likes of Owen, Mark Viduka, Adriano and Hernan Crespo, Martins is in a strong position to discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of his fellow strikers.
And he believes the in-form Rooney poses the biggest danger to Wolfsburg's hopes of springing a surprise on Wednesday.
"He is my favourite, no question," stated Martins. "He is playing so well at the moment, he can destroy defenders in an instant.

VfL WOLFSBURG FACTFILE
Founded: 12 Sept, 1945
Ground: Volkswagen Arena, 30,000-capacity
Honours: Bundesliga (2008/09); German Cup runners-up (1994/95)
Famous ex-players: Stefan Effenberg, Martin Petrov, Claudio Reyna, Andres D'Alessandro
"He is scoring goals, maybe more goals than before, and he is helping the team in lots of other ways as well. He is a player we need to be very, very careful of.
"I've told my team-mates about Rooney and all the United players but they know United have a team full of top-class footballers. Everyone knows that."
Wolfsburg have a couple, too. In fact, Germany is still reeling from the havoc caused by Die Wölfe hitmen Grafite and Ezin Dzeko as the club romped to a first league title last term.
The Brazilian and his Bosnia and Herzegovinian partner went on a scoring spree, netting 28 and 26 goals respectively as they became the most successful partnership in Bundesliga history, overtaking the record of Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness from 1972-73.
Their Champions League debut did not disappoint either, as Grafite slammed in a hat-trick against CSKA Moscow to send Armin Veh's team to the top of a fledgling Group B.
Martins has slotted straight into coach Veh's favoured 4-3-3 formation and he can hardly believe his luck at playing with two such accomplished strikers.
"The quality of the squad has surprised me a lot since I arrived," revealed Martins, who arrived on a four-year contract for about £9m in August.

Wolfsburg's players celebrate winning the club's first Bundesliga title in May
"There is a lot of talent here, no big-name players, but people who can play football - not least Grafite and Dzeko, who are both very, very good," added Martins.
"Grafite can score from absolutely anywhere and Dzeko is very strong, he can keep the ball and bring the midfielders into play. It is easy to play with these guys because they are big and strong and can hold it up for me.
"We are an attacking team, that's the way we play, so it is going to be tough for Manchester United as well. It will be a fun game, very interesting.
"Wolfsburg are the champions of Germany and they play as a team, there is a lot of togetherness, everyone is very friendly with each other."
When I ask how Martins has settled down to life in Germany, he chuckles apologetically.
Far removed from the dizzying glamour of Milan - where he started his career with Inter - and the lively surrounds of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Martins is getting used to a slower, sleepier way of life on the banks of the River Aller.

FOOTBALL BLOG
Manchester United might find themselves up against a striker with a point to prove when they take on Wolfsburg - Brazilian Grafite
BBC Sport's Tim Vickery
"It's a very small town," he eventually offered as way of an introduction. "Um, it's the home of Volkswagen but there is not much really to say."
He laughs and the Wolfsburg press officer sitting next to him laughs too; clearly Martins is having fun adapting to his new home.
Little is known about the town he lives in or the team he plays for - and the muscular frontman with rocket fuel in both boots believes that might just play into Wolfsburg's hands.
"It is much better for us that not many teams around Europe know about us," he said. "Manchester United will not have seen too many of our games so it might be difficult for them in that regard.
"We must try to take advantage of that."

BBC.CO.UK

Posted by Barry on 2009-09-29 @ 18:40:44 +0000

MANCHESTER United go in search of a second successive Champions League victory against Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

Here is a look at where the match might be won and lost.

RIO FERDINAND V GRAFITE

Ferdinand has struggled for fitness and form this season, missing a number of matches with niggling injuries and gifting goals to Manchester City's Craig Bellamy and, when with England, Holland's Dirk Kuyt.

He will have his hands full dealing with the bustling Grafite, whose hat-trick fired Wolfsburg to a 3-1 win over CSKA Moscow on their Champions League debut and who forms a potent front three with Edin Dzeko and former Newcastle man Obafemi Martins.

DARREN FLETCHER V ZVJEZDAN MISIMOVIC

Scotland star Fletcher has emerged as a key figure in Sir Alex Ferguson's midfield over the last 18 months and should be recalled after sitting out the opening win over Besiktas.

He will have to contain the creative threat of Bosnia-Herzegovina ace Misimovic, who caused problems throughout for the Russians in game one and set up Grafite's opener with a superbly-weighted through-ball.

WAYNE ROONEY V ALEXANDER MADLUNG

Rooney, as always, will have a vital role to play for United, having scored eight goals already this season as his influence increases in a more central role.

He will provide a sterner test for Madlung than he faced against CSKA, when he and central defensive partner Andrea Barzagli were imperious. The German will have to be at his best to deal with the England star.

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