Career Opportunities

Frugal United counting on wise heads

Published: Thursday 21 April 2011, 11.04CET

Semi-finalist profile: Manchester United FC have scored the fewest goals of the four remaining teams but a miserly defence may suffice to propel them back to the scene of their 1968 triumph.

by Simon Hart

from Manchester

• E-MAIL
• PRINT

United's defence has been the foundatio

Manchester United FC stand one step away from coming full circle and playing a UEFA Champions League final at English football's spiritual home.

It was at Wembley where the Old Trafford club had their name etched on the European Champion Clubs' Cup for the first time, with victory over SL Benfica in 1968, and it is there that they will return should they get the better of FC Schalke 04 in the semi-finals.

Unbeaten United are in miserly form in the competition, conceding only three goals – their best performance at this stage of a UEFA Champions League campaign since their first semi-final run in 1996/97. They topped Group C ahead of Valencia CF, recording four wins and two draws, then overcame Olympique de Marseille 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16 before producing their best displays yet in beating domestic rivals Chelsea FC home and away in the quarter-finals.

The challenge now is to beat German opposition over two legs for the first time in the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)• European Champion Clubs' Cup: 1968, 1999, 2008; (2009)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1991
• UEFA Super Cup: 1991 (2008)

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)• League title: 18 (2009)
• FA Cup: 11 (2004)
• League Cup: 4 (2010)

Previous European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-finals11 (won 4, lost 7)

UEFA club ranking1 (opponents FC Schalke 04 are 28th)

Leading scorerPremier League: Dimitar Berbatov, 21
UEFA Champions League: Javier Hernández, 4

Strengths and weaknesses United's progress has been built on a rock-solid defence with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar still assured at 40 and Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić as formidable a central pairing as there is. United will hope Ferdinand stays fit as they have the competition's best defensive record along with Real Madrid CF, yet are the lowest-scoring semi-finalists with 12 goals to Schalke's 21 and FC Barcelona and Madrid's 24. Worries about their potency are offset by Wayne Rooney's return to form and impressive dovetailing with Hernández (whose movement is exceptional), as well as the enduring excellence of Ryan Giggs. Despite Michael Carrick's fine display against Chelsea, arguably the biggest concern is the absence of a dominant central midfielder, a situation not helped by Darren Fletcher's ongoing lay-off.

Key moment United set the template for their campaign on their Matchday 2 visit to Valencia CF when Hernández stepped off the bench to decide a close contest with a late winner, his first UEFA Champions League goal. It was an early sign of the young Mexican's impact and, moreover, a taste of things to come: six of United's seven victories have been by a single goal. The Premier League leaders are actually the competition's joint-12th highest scorers but have yet to concede on their travels and, with their vast European experience, have an enviable know-how when it comes to winning games. As Sir Alex Ferguson said in his programme notes before the Marseille tie, when commenting on this side's perceived lack of fantasy: "Don't underestimate the boys of today."

Unsung hero The softly spoken Park Ji-Sung is hardly the type to seek the spotlight but he earned deserved acclaim after his winner in the quarter-final second leg against Chelsea. Park's strike – his first since his December league decider against Arsenal FC – underlined his knack of performing in the big games for United. Sir Alex left him out of his 2008 final squad but Park's versatility and energy make him key to the cause. "We want to know what he eats – he must have a different diet to all of us because the way he runs and the energy he has got is phenomenal," said Sir Alex of the Korean.

Form League position: 1 (Last five games: LWWWD)
The Old Trafford team had won seven straight games prior to their FA Cup semi-final loss to local rivals Manchester City FC – a match for which Rooney was suspended, Hernández a substitute and Giggs left out altogether. That defeat by Sir Alex's "noisy neighbours" ended their Treble dream, yet despite the ensuing draw at Newcastle United FC, United remain on course to win their 19th domestic championship, which would take them past Liverpool FC's long-standing landmark of 18. United are experts at negotiating the spring run-in, as Ferguson himself suggested after the dismissal of Chelsea: "I think we've hit form: the second half at West Ham [coming from two goals down to win 4-2], the performance at Chelsea, the performance here. It's a great boost."

Killer statOf the seven times United have reached the semi-finals in the UEFA Champions League era, they have neither scored (1.2 per game) nor conceded (0.3 per game) fewer goals getting there than they have done this year. In 1996/97 they scored ten and conceded three but that was over eight games, rather than ten.

What their opponents say
Benedikt Höwedes, Schalke player:United are a dream team. I will really enjoy playing them, but I don't think we have to hide. In the past, we used to play at Old Trafford on the PlayStation. Most of the time, those that had Manchester would win.