FC Basel Vs Manchester United

Basel players target upset

Ahead of Wednesday’s crunch Champions League clash, Basel midfielder Scott Chipperfield speaks exclusively to ManUtd.com.

You were involved when United last went to St Jakob Park, in 2002/03. What do you remember about that game?
Well, I had a shot after about 60 seconds and we scored. It deflected off our striker, Christian Giminez, and then Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a couple of goals to kill us off. We played well in the first half and in the away game we drew 1-1.

There was another draw this season at Old Trafford, although you were leading 3-2 going into the 90th minute. What was the mood like in the dressing room afterwards?
Of course we were disappointed to have the victory snatched from us in the last minute but we were pretty pleased to come away from Old Trafford with a point. Not too many teams manage that. We were more upbeat than disappointed afterwards.

You won a lot of fans that night. You must have been proud of the performance...
Definitely. We were pleased with the way we came back from 2-0 down at half-time. Even at that point we felt we were a bit unlucky to be behind as we'd created a lot of good chances in the first half and could have had a couple of goals. In the dressing room at the break we were confident because we were happy with how we were playing. We just decided to go out there in the second half and give it our best shot. A win at Old Trafford probably would have been the biggest result in our history. We've had some good wins down the years, but that would have been really special.

What was playing at Old Trafford like?
It's exciting playing at Old Trafford. It's a great stadium and it actually motivates you more than intimidates you. I think most professional footballers thrive on challenges and want to play on the biggest stage, and that's what you get when you go to Old Trafford. Our young players have a lot of confidence and they loved going to play at Old Trafford.

You achieved that result without arguably your star man, Xherdan Shaqiri...
It was a big loss for us not to have Xherdan in Manchester. He's one of the most important players in our team and he's rare in the sense that he's terrific going forward but also works very hard defensively. He's played all over the pitch for us - all across midfield as well as at left-back.

He’s been linked with all sorts of teams around Europe, including United. What’s he like to work with every day?
He's a confident player. He's only small but that be deceiving - he's solid and strong. He's only young but he has very quick feet. Sometimes he reminds me a little of Messi, the way he dribbles. He's naturally left-footed but he also likes playing on the right where he can cut inside and shoot. He can also play at left-back and does a very good job there. He's a very good player and I think he'll go on to play for a much bigger club in the future. He's a big player for us but I don't know how long Basel will be able to hang onto him for.

Is that a scenario that affects a lot of Swiss clubs?
It is, yeah. Switzerland isn't a big league so it's only natural that talented young players want to go to Germany or England. I've been at Basel 11 years and I've seen a lot of players come and go - that's just how it is in Switzerland. That's how clubs have to operate in order to survive – they have to nurture and produce talent and then sell it on. Not many good young players stay in Switzerland.

You could knock United out of the Champions League on Wednesday with a win at home. Is it fair to say few people, even at FC Basel, expected to be in this position?
I think a lot of people, including opposition teams, under-estimate us. To be fair, when the group came out I think most of us thought the realistic target was Europa League qualification. That was where we felt we were likely to have our biggest success this season. But we have a good squad and a lot of us have played international football. In the Champions League we play with an attitude of having nothing to lose. Nobody expects us to do well, so we like to go out there and play entertaining football. At half-time at Old Trafford some people may have expected us to lose four or five-nil. In the end we were unlucky not to win.

What should United expect to encounter at St Jakob Park?
The game in Basel sold out a long time ago and our fans are always terrific at home - they sing non-stop throughout the game. Our support is easily the biggest in Switzerland. There have even been occasions when our away fans have outnumbered home fans. It's great to play in front of them and we normally play well at home in the Champions League. We were unlucky against Benfica and we beat Galati and could have won by more. We're pretty strong at home and we have a lot of good attacking options, particularly Alexander Frei and Marco Streller up front. Our defence has also been strong recently.

In some ways, is it easier to play against a team like United than it is against relative unknowns like Otelul Galati?Definitely. You know all about United when you play them and you're also really motivated to do well. You look forward to games like that, particularly young players. For them, high-profile opponents gives them a chance to showcase their skills in front of a lot of important people. When United come to Basel we'll all be up for it and we're looking to pull off an upset.
Click to expand...
..
 
Some of the formations on here are mental, do the authors honestly think SAF, with all his vast European experience, is going to try some new formation just because it makes a pretty pattern on the pitch?

Get real guys...:wenger:
 
I think we need to field Amos and Lindegaard as emergency sweepers to avoid defeat. Use our CB depth as well. Bit of a lack of width, but we could chuck Nani in to compensate, and get Rooney to play on his own up front, tracking back to CB if needed Something like this:

......................De GEa..............
...............Lindegaard....Amos......
........Rio....Jones../\..Smalling...Vidic.
..............Carrick...I..Fletcher......
..........................I............................................................Nani
.....................Rooney
 
Crustanoid said:
I think we need to field Amos and Lindegaard as emergency sweepers to avoid defeat. Use our CB depth as well. Bit of a lack of width, but we could chuck Nani in to compensate, and get Rooney to play on his own up front, tracking back to CB if needed Something like this:

......................De GEa..............
...............Lindegaard....Amos......
........Rio....Jones../\..Smalling...Vidic.
..............Carrick...I..Fletcher......
..........................I............................................................Nani
.....................Rooney
Click to expand...

Can't yo do something about Nani? he's spoiling the symmetry...
 
-------------De Gea-------------

Smalling----Rio------Vidic----Evra

--------------Jones--------------

Nani------Fletch---Giggs----Young

--------------Rooney-------------

Subs: Lindegaard, Evans, Valencia, Park, Gibson, Morrison, Welbeck.

Bricking it a bit TBH.
 
---------------DDG---------------
Smalling----Rio------Vidic-----Evra
----------Carrick-----------------
-----------------Giggs------------
Nani-------------------------Young
------------Park-------------------
-----------------Rooney-----------

4-5-1

Pressure Pressure Pressure and hopefully our MF will create some sort of chance for Roo to finish.
 
Starting XI: ----------- Carrick -----------------------
Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick
Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick
--------------- Carrick -------- Carrick ---------------

Bench: Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick
 
If we do lose on Wednesday, kudos to Basel and the Swiss League
 
Sean_RedDevil said:
Starting XI: ----------- Carrick -----------------------
Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick
Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick
--------------- Carrick -------- Carrick ---------------

Bench: Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick
Click to expand...

I think i heard on here that he's suspended
 
IF we lose, the game against City will be massive. I think we'll pull out a draw.
 
De Gea
Smalling, Vida, Rio, Evra
Jones, Giggs, Fletcher
Nani, Rooney, Young

Bench: Lindegaard, Evans, Gibson, Valencia, Welbeck, Park, Rafael
 
Michael Carrick is suspended for this game, please stop putting him in your line ups you absolute Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime!
 
De Gea
Smalling Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Fletcher Carrick
Nani Rooney Young
Welbeck​
 
Really think we need Carrick in this game.
 
Sean_RedDevil said:
Starting XI: ----------- Carrick -----------------------
Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick
Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick -------- Carrick
--------------- Carrick -------- Carrick ---------------

Bench: Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick, Carrick
Click to expand...

Naah. Should be:

Carrick
Carrick Carrick Carrick Carrick
Carrick Carrick Carrick Carrick
Carrick
Carrick​
 
Crustanoid said:
I think we need to field Amos and Lindegaard as emergency sweepers to avoid defeat. Use our CB depth as well. Bit of a lack of width, but we could chuck Nani in to compensate, and get Rooney to play on his own up front, tracking back to CB if needed Something like this:

......................De GEa..............
...............Lindegaard....Amos......
........Rio....Jones../\..Smalling...Vidic.
..............Carrick...I..Fletcher......
..........................I............................................................Nani
.....................Rooney
Click to expand...

:lol: Nani seems to have ended up in the car park
 
It'd be stupid to rest Carrick for this. Its an important game and he is in stellar form.

Evil Carrick will come off the bench and score a screamer after being set up by the real Carrick.. I can see it happening
 
But who to partner Carrick with? Jones again?
 
Sean_RedDevil said:
United squad: Amos, De Gea, Lindegaard; Evans, Evra, Ferdinand, Fryers, Jones, Smalling, Vidic; Cole, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs, Nani, Park, Valencia, Young; Diouf, Macheda, Rooney, Welbeck
Click to expand...

Both of the twins out.
 
Any reason why the Carrick jokes are being continuously since the last match?
It feels I'm left out or something :(
 
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