“I have one word: team. The team is the most important thing for me...”
Inside: Ruben Amorim sets out his United vision
THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2024 Kick-off 8pm • League phase, matchday five
“This is about what we can become together by working hard, enjoying ourselves and having no fear”
o be writing my first programme
notes as head coach of Manchester United is an honour and a privilege.
It took a lot for me to leave Sporting, but everybody recognises the lure of Manchester United and, from the moment I began talking with the club’s representatives, I felt a connection that made it impossible to refuse this opportunity.
I honestly feel that I am where I am supposed to be, and I promise that I will do everything I can to put this club where it needs to be.
I know, of course, that there is a lot of work to be done here. It is a huge responsibility, but I have the clear sense that everyone involved with Manchester United is so hungry and determined to succeed. The unique history of this club is known
around the world but, when I arrived in Manchester, I took the Old Trafford tour and it gave me a feeling that I want everyone to have: to remember who we are, and what that means. Our history must inspire us. We must be excited by the opportunity to write a new chapter. Every player and member of staff here has the ability to contribute to that mission, and there is far more potential here than the season so far has suggested.
Now, I cannot fix this situation alone, and neither can any of the players or staff. This is not about any individual at the club. This is about what we can become together by working hard, enjoying ourselves and having no fear. I must say that, for all the potential inside the club, I believe one of the greatest weapons of Manchester United is the fanbase. I have been to Old Trafford as a player and I have felt what can happen when you face United’s players and fans together, so I know from experience that if we all work as one, back each other and give our all to each game, there is no limit to what we can achieve.
Last Sunday, we travelled to Ipswich Town. A draw was, of course, not the result we wanted,
but I was pleased with the intent of the players, who showed how open they were to our new approach, despite only having two training sessions together. Since we now have four months until the next international break, we have to maximise every minute on the training pitch and every game.
The time we have together provides opportunities to grow together, starting tonight as we host Kjetil Knutsen and his Bodo/Glimt players in the Europa League. Our first aim, of course, is to win the game. Our second is to set the tone for how we want games at Old Trafford to feel: all of us, together, giving everything we have for Manchester United.
Co-chairmen Joel Glazer, Avram Glazer Directors Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer, Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, Michael Edelson, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill CBE, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford, Jean-Claude Blanc
Secretary Rebecca Britain Honorary president Martin Edwards
Anew era begins at Old Trafford tonight, as head coach Ruben Amorim takes charge of his first game at our legendary stadium.
The Portuguese is already embedded at Carrington, after his arrival more than two weeks ago, and took charge of his maiden United match last Sunday, when we played out a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
Amorim’s new players made a blistering start in East Anglia, edging ahead before the two-minute mark when Amad centred for Marcus Rashford’s fifth goal of the season, but a fine drive from Omari Hutchinson skimmed off Noussair Mazraoui’s head and earned the Tractor Boys a deserved point.
Nevertheless, it was an intriguing first glimpse at Amorim’s plans for the side. Goalscorer Rashford started at centre-forward, while Amad adopted the right wing-back position, and the 3-4-2-1 shape initiated some nice passages of football and some cutting switches of play. Let’s hope we can see a more sustained version of the vision this evening.
Victory over PAOK in our last UEFA Europa League match here means the table looks a little healthier heading into tonight’s game, but United still lie outside the eight automatic qualification spots. So we’re not just here to mull over the team’s development, as three points are badly needed.
It’s a landmark night at Old Trafford, but Ruben’s Reds must take care of business against Norwegian visitors...
Tonight’s visitors Bodo/Glimt – the first side to arrive here from Norwegian shores – are not in M16 to observe the stands, statues and flags either. They are one point better off than the Reds thus far, and have already notched impressive wins against Porto and Braga – two teams Amorim is intimately familiar with.
It’s going to be a fascinating evening: how will United line-up? Which players
will get a chance to impress the new head coach? What kind of style might emerge as the Reds get more au fait with Amorim’s new ‘idea’?
We’re about to find out, but one thing stays consistent here at Old Trafford, whatever the formation and whoever’s in charge: we back our team through good and bad, until the final whistle. Let’s show Ruben what the Red Army is all about... come on United!
The club will open its doors to the local community again this winter, via our vital Warm Hub evenings. As temperatures continue to fall, the idea is that anyone looking for a warm, safe space can visit Old Trafford’s Red Cafe from 5pm to 8pm each Monday evening. It’s free to attend: simply arrive via the entrance to the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and register at reception. As well as the warmth, the Red Cafe also offers a welcoming atmosphere for those who might be feeling lonely or worried during the Christmas and New Year period.
Old Trafford once again invites those looking for a warm, safe space to our Red Cafe every Monday evening throughout the winter
The draw for the third round of the Emirates FA Cup will take place at 7pm next Monday (2 December), live on BBC Two. United enter as holders, of course, following last season’s monumental 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Wembley, and we can equal Arsenal’s all-time record of 14 triumphs if we retain the Cup on 17 May 2025. The second-round fixtures will conclude this weekend, with local clubs Salford City and Stockport County still in with a chance of making the third round.
Obi-Martin and Amir Ibragimov celebrate the Reds going three up in the League Cup win over Leeds
United’s Under-18s extended the Academy’s strong start to the season last Saturday, by beating Leeds United 3-0 in the Premier League Cup at Carrington. Jaydan Kamason gave us the lead within two minutes, before further goals from James Scanlon and Chido Obi-Martin before half-time. The win ensured we finished ahead of Leeds atop Group B, thanks to goal difference, and earns us qualification for the next round of a competition that we won last term.
Referee Lawrence Visser (Belgium)
Assistants Rien Vanyzere, Thibaud Nijssen (both Belgium)
Fourth official Simon Bourdeaud’hui (Belgium)
VAR Aleandro Di Paolo (Italy)
Assistant VAR Valerio Marini (Italy)
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Two-goal Amad stars as the Reds record first UEFA Europa League win of the season, following three successive league-phase draws
After stalemates in each of our opening three games of the league phase, United’s UEFA Europa League campaign properly got up and running with victory over PAOK last time out.
Despite an eventual triumph in what was the third of interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy’s four matches in charge, the Reds were contained by the Greek champions during a first half that featured bright moments for both sides.
A well-placed block from former Wolves defender Jonny stopped Alejandro Garnacho’s headed connection on a whipped Casemiro cross from opening the scoring at the Stretford End, prior to former Chelsea man Baba Rahman preventing Garnacho’s own intended assist from teeing up Amad for a tap-in, later in the half.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 Amad 50, 77
PAOK 0
United XI: Onana; Mazraoui, Lindelof, Evans, Dalot (Martinez 65); Ugarte (Eriksen 65), Casemiro; Amad (Mount 81), Fernandes (c), Garnacho (Rashford 65); Hojlund (Zirkzee 90)
Unused substitutes: Bayindir, Heaton, Amass, De Ligt, Fitzgerald, Antony, Wheatley
“The second goal was my favourite – I pressed the defender well, took the ball, shot and scored. I am happy to score two goals, but the most important thing is the win together” – Amad
United were kept honest at the other end meanwhile, most notably when a forceful right palm from Andre Onana prevented Mady Camara’s half-volley from dipping under the crossbar just before the interval.
The Reds had scored four of our five previous European goals this season in the first half of duels with Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce, so nerves around Old Trafford at a goalless half-time scoreline could have been forgiven. But, if there were any, they would have been evaporated five minutes after the break, when a brilliant piece of link-up play put us ahead. A delicately drifted ball over the PAOK defence from the right boot of Bruno Fernandes was met by Amad, who looped his header over goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski and in off the woodwork.
Onana then kept out a guilt-edged chance for Tarik Tissoudali – who struck a low effort from inside the penalty area tamely at the Cameroonian shot-stopper – before our goalscorer on the night doubled his tally in superb fashion. Having robbed the ball off Rahman inside the visiting half, Amad drove to the edge of the 18-yard box before bending a strike inside the far-left post to stretch our lead.
The advantage crafted out by our in-form Ivorian’s brace ultimately proved unassailable and secured him a standing ovation when he was substituted shortly after. His team-mates would go on to finish the job, securing us three important points going into the second half of the league phase, which starts for the Reds – now under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim – with the visit of Bodo/Glimt tonight.
Amorim, who arrives with a reputation as one of the game’s most talented and transformative young tacticians…
While the eyes of the football world will be on Ruben Amorim this evening, the Portuguese has slipped quietly below the radar on his two previous visits to Old Trafford.
A late substitute in Benfica’s 2011 Champions League group-stage visit, he helped Jorge Jesus’s side preserve a 2-2 draw which damaged United’s chances of qualification and ultimately ended in relegation to the Europa League, while a year on he completed 80 minutes of Braga’s 3-2 Champions League defeat in which United came from two goals down to win.
Neat, tidy and accomplished, Amorim’s contribution to both games was effective but drew little fanfare, maintaining the theme of much of his career in which he was a versatile, valuable team player who spurned the spotlight. While Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho and Ricardo Quaresma headlined this generation of Portuguese football, Amorim quietly went about his work, amassing 14 caps and playing at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups – the former, incidentally, as a replacement for injured United winger Nani
– without making himself the star of the show.
“He was a relatively low-profile player,” says Portuguese football journalist Tom Kundert, “which is strange for being a Benfica player for most of his career and a Portugal international.
“He didn’t get much attention, didn’t give many interviews, so when you looked at that generation of Portuguese players, you didn’t think of him as obvious managerial material. That’s one of the reasons why what has followed has been so remarkable.”
Following his retirement in April 2017, however, Amorim soon crossed the touchline, spending time in Manchester learning under compatriot and then-United manager Jose Mourinho shortly after the Reds’ League Cup and Europa League double of 2016/17.
Ruben’s coaching journey truly began with his appointment at Portugal’s third-tier side Casa Pia in 2018/19, but a brief, albeit successful, stint was curtailed because the then-35-year-old was yet to complete all his necessary coaching qualifications. Once those were in place, he returned to Braga in the backroom staff, taking charge of the club’s second string, where his early work made him the club’s first-choice replacement when head coach Ricardo Sa Pinto was dismissed in late 2019. Within a month, Ruben had helmed Braga to victory over Porto in the Portuguese League Cup final, securing the club’s first trophy in four years.
Amorim’s breakneck coaching career continued apace on its upward trajectory as, less than three months after taking the Braga helm, his work convinced Sporting Clube de Portugal to enlist him as head coach. Having seen his predecessor Silas, a fifth head coach appointment in 20 months, fall by the wayside, Sporting supporters were more than sceptical to hear of an unproven newcomer taking the hotseat, particularly at a cost of €10 million – then the third-highest coaching compensation figure in football history.
“It wasn’t so much that people raised eyebrows as threw their hands in the air,” laughs Kundert, a devout Sporting supporter. “At the time, it was seen as another act of madness by
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a board who didn’t know what they were doing. History has since told us that it was probably the best €10 million that Sporting have ever spent. You cannot overstate the impact Amorim has had, not only on Sporting, but on Portuguese football as a whole. It has been incredible.
“Sporting were at such a low ebb at that time. If Manchester United fans think they’re in a tough place this season, it doesn’t compare to what a state Sporting were in then. About 18 months before Amorim came, there was an infamous incident when around 50 of the club’s ultras, who were angry at the way the 2018/19 season had gone, invaded the club’s Alcochete training complex and just violently attacked the players and the staff.
“Initially that led to a mass walkout of Sporting’s players without any compensation. Some, including Bruno Fernandes, were persuaded to change their minds, and they ended up staying, but the club lost some good players through all that, and that was the backdrop and the mood around the place for 18 months before Amorim came. Before his arrival, they’d gone through one bad coaching appointment after another, an embarrassing exit to a lower-league club [third-tier Alverca] in the Portuguese Cup, and they were way off the pace in terms of fighting for the league or any trophies. It was a complete house on fire. Then they paid €10 million for a guy who had done spectacularly well at Braga, but had been a first-team coach for maybe 10 weeks.”
In serendipitous circumstances, Amorim was given time to settle into the role, completing just one game before the worldwide pandemic prompted a mid-season hiatus across football. Following that 2-0 home triumph over Desportivo das Aves, the newcomer spent his enforced game-free time assessing his new club’s season to date while running the rule through their youth ranks. By the time competitive action resumed in June 2020, Amorim had taken the decision to flood his team with prospects from the Sporting Academy, which had the pedigree of producing Ronaldo and, before him, fellow Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo. In the short-term, the decision yielded an upturn in form, with five wins, three draws and two defeats proving enough to secure fourth spot and Europa League qualification. Moreover, the blooding of youngsters became a mid-term masterstroke.
“Amorim did that to see which of the youth team players were ready and how they would react,” says Kundert. “The next season, 2020/21, was when everything transformed. Some of those youth-team players played key roles in his first full season. Nuno Mendes has gone on to become one of the best left-backs in the world and was sold for €45 million to PSG; Goncalo Inacio, a really highly rated centre-back who is undoubtedly going to end up at a major
Getting ready to embark on his new United adventure, Amorim brings with him a history of managerial success, achieved in a relatively short period of time
“Sporting had no right to win that league, but he made it a case of the whole being a lot, lot stronger than the sum of its parts”
club, was superb; Tiago Tomas, a striker, and midfielder Daniel Braganca came in, as did Matheus Nunes, who is now at Manchester City.
“The business Sporting did that summer, ahead of 2020/21, was amazing. They had no money, were in absolute dire straits, but picked up a few cheap options, a few loan players, made a few loan recalls, and really leaned on the youth system, and what happened was incredible. Lots of people would describe Amorim as a miracle worker for what he’s achieved at Sporting, but perhaps his biggest miracle was winning the league that first season, especially when you compare the squad he had to that of Benfica or Porto. They had no right to win that league, but Amorim made it a classic case of the whole being a lot, lot stronger than the sum of its parts.”
In scouring the coaching world for the ideal replacement for the departed Erik ten Hag, United alighted upon Amorim for multiple reasons. His winning habit with Sporting has continued, with two league titles augmented by two domestic cups, and he leaves Lisbon with his former side in tip-top shape, with a perfect domestic record, scoring with abandon
and conceding with frugality. Sporting’s form in this season’s Champions League has also caught the eye, with their three-man central defence underpinning expansive, attractive play which has won admirers throughout the game. Eliciting such function after joining a club in disarray points to one of the biggest factors in Ruben’s appointment: his ability to bring people together. “At Casa Pia, Braga and Sporting, his ability to get everyone going in the same direction and completely behind the cause is without question,” says Kundert.
“His press conferences are a work of art, in terms of the art of good communication – it ties in with his man-management skills”
“His man-management is obviously superb. I cannot once remember him criticising a player in public. He always protects them and immediately that gets them onside and helps forge the spirit. He has a superb ability to get everybody feeling the same. He rotates his players and keeps them involved, never isolating anyone. At the end of that first championship in 2021, at the press conference after the clincher against Boavista, he made a point of getting all his coaching staff out with him in front of the cameras and he stressed that it was a team effort to achieve what they had. He always recognises the contribution of others and makes sure that contribution is seen by the media and the fans.
“His press conferences are a work of art, in terms of the art of good communication,” Kundert continues. “There’s a famous social media account in Portugal which counts down until Amorim’s next press conference, because they are fantastic to watch. Clear, concise communication carried out in a very polite, jovial way. He always has a smile on his face, gives intelligent answers and that ties in with his excellent man-management skills, as a communicator. It’s interesting because, of course, the big Portuguese manager in English history is Jose Mourinho and I’d say the one
thing they have in common is that charisma when they talk. People fixate on what they’re saying. They’re very, very different in terms of personality, though. I think Mourinho can be quite antagonistic or spiky at times, whereas Amorim is much more polished in that sense.”
While high-profile suitors had been circling Amorim for some time, making his departure from Sporting a formality, the step up from Primeira Liga to Premier League is a substantial one. Sporting’s status as one of Portugal’s big three alongside Porto and Benfica offers a warm-up, but no true preparation for the scale of becoming United’s head coach. Never before has the maxim ‘hated, adored, never ignored’ been truer, with the Reds coming under endless scrutiny among press, pundits and social media alike.
The reward, however, for not only igniting an idling season so far, but harnessing United’s potential and translating it into sustained success, is clear and obvious. As the sixth-youngest manager or head coach in club history (and our youngest in the Premier League era), with a gleaming reputation as one of the game’s top
young tactical talents, Amorim has already fostered excitement for United’s future. His next step is turning hope into belief. If anyone is going to harness the immense collective power of United’s players, fan base and staff, Kundert feels Ruben could be the one.
“I think the qualities Amorim has shown in Portugal are qualities that can be transferred to Manchester United,” says Kundert. “Even as a Portuguese football journalist and a Sporting fan, I recognise that there’s no real comparison between the two in terms of the pressure and the media glare. People all over the world watch every single minute of every single United match, and it’s a big step up for him that he’ll have to adjust to, but the qualities he’s shown here fill me with real optimism.
“He’s a brilliant tactician with incredible attention to detail and he’s a masterful communicator with his players. He says and does the right things at the right times. It’s a huge challenge for him, but he’s ambitious and will maintain his same approach, same attitude, and see how far it gets him. Something special is happening at Sporting and, as he’s said himself, he would have ideally finished the season here, but when it became clear that it was now or never to join United, he couldn’t turn it down. He’s a genuine, intelligent, talented guy and everyone in Lisbon wants him to be successful with United. More than that, there’s a definite belief here that he can do it.” ●
With the second half of the competition’s league phase starting tonight, let’s take a look at the lie of the land in the 36-strong standings…
Away from Old Trafford tonight, 34 other teams will be in UEFA Europa League action, with eight of the 17 other fixtures kicking off in the earlier 5.45pm slot, ahead of the 8pm ties.
United, as well as our latest visitors Bodo/Glimt, are among a congested pack lurking just beneath the top eight – which is where every team wants to finish in order to qualify automatically for the knockout phase.
The top spots are currently spearheaded by Italian side Lazio, whose stoppage-time winner from former Barcelona and Chelsea winger Pedro in their last European fixture – a 2-1 victory over Porto – ensured they are the only team in the competition with a perfect record after four matches. Tottenham losing at Galatasaray and Anderlecht conceding late to draw at RFS saw their 100 per cent starts to the campaign end, although both still remain on course to bypass the play-offs and go straight into the round of 16.
Anderlecht and Galatasaray are two of five teams on 10 points and right on the shoulder of leaders Lazio, alongside Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Athletic Club, while Spurs are now a point further back, level with our upcoming opponents FSCB, who prop up the top eight heading into matchday five.
The Romanian side, who we will have a first-ever competitive showdown with at the country’s National Arena on 30 January, are the highest ranked of our four remaining opponents. Between themselves and Bodo/Glimt in 12th are 10th-placed Rangers – who are ahead of the
Norwegians on goal difference, prior to their Old Trafford visit in the new year. The Glaswegians travel to Nice tonight and then host Tottenham in another epic all-British tie, before their trip to Manchester on 23 January.
That means the lowest ranked of our future foes is Czech club Viktoria Plzen, who are one spot beneath us in the standings on goal difference, but like United they are also unbeaten, having got the better of Real Sociedad on matchday four after draws in each of their opening three games. The Reds
travel to Plzen next, when matchday six comes around on 12 December.
Roma, Fenerbahce and Porto are three of the bigger names among those residing in the middle 16 spots, which will eventually make up the two-legged play-offs to determine who will join the top eight in the last 16 when that begins in the first week of March.
At the lower end of the standings, Braga, only outside the middle play-off positions on goal difference, will need to be inside the top 24 by the end of January’s eighth and final matchday to ensure any chance of a reunion with our new head coach Ruben Amorim –who won the Portuguese League Cup as their manager in 2019/20 – this season.
There is still plenty of time to make ground however and, with the tightly packed nature of the new format, both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kyiv – the competition’s only two sides yet to get off the mark – will still harbour qualification hopes too.
On matchday four, Maccabi were on the wrong end of a heavy defeat to Ajax, the tournament’s top scorers so far with 13 goals (and best defence with only one conceded). The Amsterdam side are narrowly out in front of Galatasaray (12) and Lazio (11) when it comes to finding the opposition net.
In terms of top goalscorers to date, former Leicester City loanee Yunus Akgun is the main
contributor to Galatasaray’s push for the top spot with four goals to his name, although he too has competition in the individual stakes, from Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiacos, as well as Porto striker Samu Aghehowa, who have also netted four each.
All three players will be aiming to add to their tallies on matchday five this evening, which features a number of standout fixtures across a full 18-game slate to be played this Thursday, including Anderlecht v Samu’s Porto, Real Sociedad v Ajax and Tottenham v Roma. Let the games begin...
Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund answer posers from three members of our Scandinavian supporters’ club, with the two Danes covering many topics, from basement games of football, eating steaks, to their mutual admiration…
I had the pleasure of watching your first Premier League goal at Old Trafford against Aston Villa (last season), Rasmus. Do you have a favourite goal, or which is your favourite in the United shirt so far?
Rasmus Hojlund: “For me, it probably has to be my second goal against Galatasaray in the Champions League. Or the Spurs one at home, where I put it in the top corner. I like that one as well.”
Rasmus showed his Instagram followers this summer how hungry he was for his second season at United – there was a big steak involved in that photo! Christian, I’m wondering, how does Rasmus express his hunger in the training sessions at Carrington?
Christian Eriksen: “I haven’t seen him eat that many steaks, so I don’t know if that was just a PR stunt! [laughs] But no, obviously, Rasmus is
a hard-working guy, and he’s always 100 per cent committed in training and also in his recovery terms, or with his food or his sleep. He’s doing everything he can to be committed, and you can see that.”
I was wondering, Christian, as one of the most experienced football players in the current United squad, how do you keep your team-mates feeling positive and motivated during and after a loss?
CE: “Yeah, good question. I think people take it very differently. I think some people maybe feel a bit guilty in some way, if you missed a big chance, or you didn’t save, you made a bad tackle or you did something that the other team scored [from]. So, I think everyone has a different way of reacting when you lose a game. But in the end, obviously, you all do it together. How to keep them happy? I mean, it’s difficult.
I can only speak personally, and I go home to my kids and then will be thinking about something else – to really recharge in that sense. If you don’t have kids, it’s different. Those players probably do it differently. But at the same time, you lose one game, it’s a free day, then there’s another game. So, I think the focus, more or less, is on the next game already if you lose and can do better next time. Luckily, three days later, there’s a new game.”
Like you, Rasmus, I grew up with two siblings, both who have great significance for who I am today. What significance have your brothers had on your development as a footballer, and was there a lot of competition between you all when you were growing up?
RH: “I think that’s a very good question. I don’t know how it was at your home, but we used to have a little football pitch in the basement, where we used to do small competitions. My father always joined in, so we played two against two. We had a lot of fights, and it always ended up being a little bit too competitive! But it made it good now and you can see my brothers, they both play in top clubs in Germany – and obviously me, I’m playing here for my favourite club. So yeah, they have had a big part to play.
And I think as well I probably also had a big part in their success. I think we helped each other very well and kept each other on our toes.”
If you had the opportunity to swap life with one of your team-mates for a day, who would it be?
CE: “I’m going to disappoint you very much and say I don’t want to swap with anyone! No, I don’t want to do a full day [laughs]. Maybe I can do an hour for someone, but not a full day. I wouldn’t be anyone else; I don’t want to be apart from with my family in that sense.”
It seems you are enjoying Manchester, Rasmus. But what do you miss the most about living in Denmark? And what’s the most Danish thing you brought to Manchester when you moved there?
RH: “Christian is here, and Victor as well, who is also Scandinavian, so we speak internally, and you sort of get that sort of communication so you don’t really lose the language. But I miss the traditional [Danish] ways, you know, but as well a lot of my friends are only in Denmark because they’re studying and this sort of thing. So that’s probably what I miss the most, just being very close to my friends. What did I bring? I’m not
sure. Maybe Christian can answer that one?”
CE: “I can say what I would bring but I don’t know what you brought!”
RH: “I tried to spread the humour... [laughs] You know, I think that’s Danish.”
CE: “Did you bring a bicycle?”
RH: “No I didn’t. It’s too wet here to go out on a bike!” [laughs]
Christian, what’s the best things about Rasmus – on and off the pitch?
CE: “What’s the best thing on the pitch... ?”
RH: [laughs] “It would have been different if you’d said what was the worst thing, you’d already have answered the question!”
CE: “I think for Rasmus, you get the eagerness to get into the box and score the goals. And I think for him in his position, it’s nice to see how much he wants to get a goal, and obviously to get in the good situations. I think he’s doing really well in terms of that. The next one is getting the goal, but I think seeing him eager to get into the box is very impressive. And outside? I mean, he’s
“We’ve seen for a long time now that he keeps a very consistent high level on the pitch. And that’s a quality in itself – and that is what has kept him at the top level for so long”
– Hojlund on his admiration for Eriksen
a very nice guy... and not only because he’s sitting here! No, he is a nice guy. He works hard, he treats people well, and so people treat him well. He’s a good guy to be around.”
And, Rasmus, what’s the best thing about Christian, on and off the pitch?
RA: “I think on the pitch... I think we’ve seen for a long time now that he keeps a very consistent high level on the pitch. I think I haven’t seen
many bad games from Christian. He always seems to have a very consistent good level. And I think that’s a quality in itself – and that is what has kept him at the top level for so long. It is what I try to learn every day from him, that sort of always being very good and focused. And off the pitch? He takes very good care of his family and companions. And yeah, you could see that with his answer before when he said he wouldn’t change his life with anybody.”
WITH A WEEKEND WIN PUTTING THEM BACK ON TOP OF THE ELITESERIEN WITH ONE GAME TO PLAY, OUR OPPONENTS ARRIVE AT OLD TRAFFORD WITH A REAL SPRING IN THEIR S TEP AS THEY RESUME THEIR UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE CAMPAIGN...
Nickname: Superlaget (‘The Super Team’)
Founded: 1916
Ground: Aspmyra Stadion (capacity 8,270)
Major honours:
Eliteserien (Norwegian top flight) winners: 2020, 2021, 2023
Norwegian Cup winners: 1975, 1993
Best European campaigns:
UEFA Champions League: play-off round (2022/23, 2024/25)
UEFA Cup/Europa League: knockout round play-offs (2022/23)
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, second round (1978/79)
UEFA Europa Conference League: quarter-finals (2021/22)
Cheered on by their fervent fans (and their unusual props), Bodo/Glimt have scrubbed up very well in recent years, with boss Kjetil Knutsen leading the Superlaget to the club’s first league titles – and how the Yellow Horde are enjoying the ride...
There’s a very good reason for the curious forward-slash in Bodo/Glimt’s name. Founded in 1916 in northern harbour town Bodo as plain old Glimt, the club added a location and some punctuation to their name 28 years later to distinguish themselves from an older team from Trondelag, also called Glimt – the Norwegian for ‘Flash’. So, now you know.
Football here matters. Sat 120km inside the Arctic Circle – this year, the town became the first European Capital of Culture above 67 degrees north – Bodo is the second-largest settlement in Northern Norway and locals are immensely proud that their team has come to represent the wider region’s 482,000 population across Europe.
Glimt were Nordland county champions by 1919 but it took a handful of big-name arrivals from Norway’s footballing hotspots in the south to truly pique locals’ interest. Among them was Jorgen Juve, Norway’s top scorer until Erling Haaland came along, as well as being a jurist, journalist and celebrated non-fiction writer. Juve had a brief spell as Glimt coach in 1939 and delivered a fourth North-Norwegian Cup of the decade for the Superlaget. The country’s north-south divide persisted well into the 1970s. Teams from Northern Norway’s three counties were refused entry into the Norwegian Cup until 1963 and couldn’t win top-flight promotion before 1972 because of the view that sides from Nordland, Troms and Finnmark were unfit opponents for southern clubs.
Bodo/Glimt did most to challenge that outdated perception. The Superlaget knocked out Trondheim giants Rosenborg in the third round of their inaugural national cup campaign, then became Northern Norway’s first team to win it, beating Vard 2-0 in the 1975 final. It was around this time that the
Above: Celebrating the second of their Norwegian Cup wins, in 1993 – until their recent run of league titles they remained Glimt’s greatest triumphs
Below: Knutsen’s side went up against Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League in 2022/23, losing 3-0 and 1-0 to the Gunners
symbol still most associated with Bodo/Glimt took root... giant toothbrushes. Decked in yellow-and-black club colours, Glimt fans soon developed a reputation as Norway’s loudest and most passionate. Supporters’ trademark top-pocket toothbrushes served a dual purpose – maintaining excellent oral hygiene on the overnight journeys required to follow their side in Norwegian Cup away ties, and rudimentary batons with which to conduct chants. Soon, a leading Oslo-based dental company were providing oversized toothbrushes for fans to wave in the stands. Opposition teams still receive a (regular) bicuspid cleaner on their first visit to the Aspmyra Stadion.
“The Yellow Horde!” the club’s legendary playmaker Harald Berg later recalled of the Glimt fan base. “A wonderful group, completely unique. They came so close to us that there was almost no room in the midfield.”
The supporters show their passion in an away game against Stromsgodset in September –but how many toothbrushes and megaphones will we see in the away end at Old Trafford?
“We want to create a team identity that encompasses everyone – players, staff, coaches, fans” – MANAGER KJETIL KNUTSEN
A year after that cup success, the horde witnessed Bodo/Glimt finally win promotion to the First Division and prove the north’s worth by finishing second in their debut 1977 campaign, while reaching another cup final. But such glory years didn’t last. Relegated in 1980, they soon weren’t even the best team in Bodo following relegation to the third tier. In 1992, player-boss Trond Sollied took Glimt back into the top flight, leading a rejuvenated side that featured playmaker Berg’s son, Runar, and future Celtic forward Harald Brattbakk to second in their first top-flight season for 13 years, as well as the club’s second Norwegian Cup. In 1994, they even beat a Sampdoria side managed by future England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson and featuring David Platt at Glint’s Aspmyra Stadion in the Cup Winners’ Cup.
After 13 consecutive top-division seasons, Glimt were relegated in 2005. They spent much of the next dozen campaigns as a yo-yo team, mired in financial difficulty, despite cult hero Cato Andre Hansen’s best efforts as both player and coach. A 1993 Norwegian Cup winner with the club as a player, Aasmund Bjorkan took charge in 2016
and sparked a renaissance by restoring the sense of pride at playing for the club. Bjorkan, who remained as sporting director until 2022 after two years in the dugout, was also responsible for anointing the successor who has revolutionised the club. Since former assistant Kjetil Knutsen ascended to the top job in January 2018, Glimt have dominated Norwegian football. In 300-plus games, the 56-year-old has established arguably Europe’s most intense high press to become the first club from Northern Norway to win the top flight – by a staggering 19 points in 2020 –before adding further titles in 2021 and 2023.
“Dominating doesn’t just mean scoring but also having the possession of the ball and dictating the rules of the game,” Knutsen has said. “We want to create a team identity that encompasses everyone – players, staff, coaches, fans.”
There is a sense of family, sometimes literally. Academy graduates Patrick Berg and Fredrik Andre Bjorkan, grandson of 1970s hero Harald and son of former boss Aasmund respectively, plus Jens Petter Hauge are among the homegrown 2020 title winners to
have left and since returned. Danish winger Philip Zinckernagel, with 19 goals and 18 assists in that 2020 league campaign, is also back in Bodo after spells at clubs including Nottingham Forest and Standard Liege. Profits from player sales are reinvested in young, hungry talents from Scandinavia and beyond, with Bayer Leverkusen’s star Nigerian forward Victor Boniface among them. If any single result symbolised the club’s better-than-the-sum-of-their-parts mantra, it was the 6-1 destruction of Roma in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage. After his team became the first to score a half-dozen against a Jose Mourinho side in Europe, boss Knutsen jokingly declared himself “the Pretty One”. It was no isolated result. Glimt beat Celtic home and away in the knockout round play-off and dispatched AZ in the last 16. Roma got their revenge in the quarter-final, but only after a 2-1 first-leg defeat, this time at full strength. Tonight, the Reds become the second English side to face Norway’s up-and-comers, after Arsenal beat them home and away in the UEFA Europa League group stage in 2022/23. “The higher up you go, the more difficult it becomes,” Knutsen said recently.
“Look at Glimt in recent years and what we have delivered, I think it’s actually pretty good, but I’m not objective.”
Norwegian champions in three of the past four seasons, Bodo/Glimt seemed to be letting a fourth league title slip away from them after a 4-1 defeat at title rivals SK Brann in September sparked a crisis in confidence that would see them relinquish top spot. However, an away win last weekend, coupled with Brann’s loss to Molde, put tonight’s opponents back on top spot ahead of this Sunday’s final round of fixtures.
So it’s a huge week for head coach Kjetil Knutsen and his charges, but tonight they’ll only be thinking about the three points they need at Old Trafford. It’s been a demanding few months for Glimt in Europe – tonight represents their 11th continental fixture since late July, beginning with comfortable home-and-away Champions League qualifying victories over Latvian and Polish opposition to reach the play-off round, where they faced Red Star Belgrade. A 2-1 defeat of Red Star in the first leg put a debut main-draw appearance within tantalising reach, only for them to succumb to a heartbreaking 2-0 loss in the Serbian capital.
“The most important thing we have is a clear identity and culture,” said Knutsen recently. “You have to build your own game, have a force in you and that is the reason why we can be competitive against such teams.”
Glimt channelled their Champions League disappointment into picking up Europa League points – they won seven of the first nine available. But don’t be fooled into
Latest news from the opposition camp, plus profiles and tactics...
thinking a 0-0 draw at Union Saint-Gilloise and victories over Portuguese big-guns Porto and Braga – two-time tournament winners and 2011 runners-up respectively – is the work of ankle-snapping underdogs set up in a low block. Only a last-minute Porto consolation gave that 3-2 scoreline an air of respectability for their opponents, while the 2-1 victory in Braga on matchday three was far from the smash-and-grab that Villads Nielsen’s impudent late winner could make it appear.
Indeed, Knutsen’s largely academy-reared team are among Europe’s most vibrant attacking units. Youth-team graduate Jens Petter Hauge scored two and created the opener for Kasper Hogh in that bravura Porto win and the returning
It’s easy to see why occasional captain Ulrik Saltnes – part of the club furniture since 2011 – has used the word ‘kamikaze’ to describe Glimt’s possession-based, high-pressing 4-3-3 system. Knutsen’s progressive tactics have attracted many a favourable glance from Europe’s bigger boys, with dizzying intensity and lightning transitions prerequisites. Vital to the latter is midfielder Patrick Berg, whose 12 interceptions and 22 tackles are more than any other Europa League player this term and help spark the Superlaget into counterattacking life. Right-footed left-winger Hauge can beat opposition full-backs on either side, with former Nottingham Forest wide man Philip Zinckernagel holding his width on the opposite flank, in support of false nine August Mikkelsen, the injured Hogh’s mobile replacement. Further back, centre-back Odin Bjortuft hasn’t missed a Europa League minute this season and marshals the defence, with Fredrik Andre Bjorkan – another academy graduate to have returned to the club – an excellent option on the overlap from left-back.
Eintracht Frankfurt loanee is level with Marcus Rashford on a Europa League-high 11 carries into the opposition penalty area this season. Centre-forward Hogh, absent since matchday two through injury but nearing a return, has scored three times in Europe this season and averages 0.93 goals per 90 minutes in the Norwegian top flight – a better strike rate than any other player in the division. Though the merits of his forward-thinking approach have drawn the odd recent criticism domestically, not helped by a 2-1 home reverse to Qarabag last time out in this tournament, Knutsen loves the challenge and Glimt will approach their big night at the Theatre of Dreams on the front foot.
Nikita Haikin
Before their weekend fixture, no goalkeeper had kept more clean sheets in the 2024 Eliteserien than the 29-year-old’s 11. Since an itinerant youth career featuring spells at Chelsea, Portsmouth and Reading, the former Russia U21 international has settled in the Arctic Circle and has been Bodo/ Glimt’s first choice since 2019. He produced a string of superb saves – no keeper has made more across this tournament’s league phase – to win Player of the Match in the club’s 2-1 win in Braga on matchday four.
Jens Petter Hauge
Hauge was the talk of Europe when, fresh from a devilish assist and savage 25-yard goal in a narrow 3-2 defeat to AC Milan in Europa League qualifying, the then 20-year-old joined the Rossoneri from Bodo/Glimt in October 2020. Hauge never quite managed to break through at the seven-time European champions but did enough to make many in Italy doubt – former team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic included – whether allowing the precocious winger to join Eintracht Frankfurt on an initial loan was the right decision. A direct, pacy left-winger often compared to Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, Hauge was part of Eintracht’s Europa League-winning squad in 2021/22 before again falling down the pecking order. In February, he returned home. Bodo born and bred, Hauge is now 25 and excelling back at the club where he scored 35 times in 118 appearances first time around. Two goals and an assist in September’s 3-2 home defeat of Porto in the UEFA Europa League served notice of the “great talent” that compatriot and close friend Erling Haaland has known since their days together in Norway’s youth teams.
Patrick Berg
The 27-year-old is the latest in a long line of storied Bodo Bergs: father Orjan (the current sporting director), grandfather Harald, uncles Runar and Arild, and even great uncle Knut have all played for the club. A senior Norway international (like Orjan, Harald and Runar before him), the defensive midfielder has been a one-man Glimt engine room since his 2014 debut – bar a brief spell at Lens in 2022 – and he can create and destroy in equal measure.
PLAYER AGE NATION
Julian Faye Lund 25 Norway
Nikita Haikin 29 Russia
Magnus Brondbo 19 Norway
Isak Sjong 17 Norway
PLAYER AGE NATION
Villads Nielsen 19 Denmark
Odin Bjortuft 25 Norway
Brice Wembangomo 27 Norway
Jostein Gundersen 28 Norway
Fredrik Andre Bjorkan 26 Norway
Brede Moe 32 Norway
Michal Tomic 25 Slovakia
Adam Sorensen 24 Norway
Cassander Krane Dreyer 18 Norway
Magnus Fagervik Antonsen 18 Norway
PLAYER AGE NATION
Patrick Berg
Norway
Sondre Auklend 21 Norway
Ulrik Saltnes 32 Norway
Sondre Brunstad Fet 27 Norway
Fredrik Sjovold 21 Norway
Hakon Evjen 24 Norway
Jesber Berg Hanssen 18 Norway
Sturla Sagatun-Kristjansson 18 Iceland
August Mikkelsen 24 Norway
PLAYER AGE NATION
Kasper Hogh
Runar Espejord 28 Norway
Andreas Helmersen 26 Norway
Jens Petter Hauge
Isak Dybvik Maatta
Sondre Sorli
Norway
Norway
Norway
Eryk Lukaszka 16 Poland
Philip Zinckernagel
Nino Zugelj 24 Slovenia
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Manchester United has achieved gold-level BOG STANDARD Charter accreditation, demonstrating the club’s commitment to supporting men living with incontinence.
Currently, thousands of men are living with incontinence in the UK and are too anxious to leave their homes due to a lack of disposal facilities and sanitary products in public spaces.
The BOG STANDARD Charter, established in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK and phs Group, is striving to change that by improving public access to incontinence support so that men can dispose of waste with dignity.
In support of this campaign, named ‘Back in the Game’ United has supplied incontinence bins and sanitary products in the washrooms at Old Trafford. The club has also installed P-Wave screens with messages reminding men to conduct regular checks in support of their health and wellbeing. “I’ve been in many pubs, bars, and they have sanitary products for women, but there’s nothing for men,” notes United fan Mark Farrington (right), who was hesitant about returning to Old Trafford following a prostate operation and living with incontinence.
“Straight after treatment, you’re at your lowest; you don’t want to go out. You feel safe being at home or somewhere near your home where you are within walking distance.”
Farrington, who comes from Horwich, near Bolton, believes that having the right products available, and somewhere to change, will give confidence to the many people living with similar issues. “Manchester United have been at the forefront of many things, so for them to take the
Seventy-four per cent of football fans with incontinence are put off going to matches. One in seven have stopped going altogether.
lead on this [means that] other Premier League teams will follow,” he stresses. “Then the lower league clubs will start following what the major league clubs do. By putting bins and products into the stadium,
it means that I can go and watch the football for the football. I can enjoy the day; I can enjoy being with my friends, being in the moment, instead of having to constantly worry… ‘What if I need to go? What am I going to do about it?’ It 100 per cent made me want to go back to watching football again.” Through supporting this Back in the Game campaign, the club hopes to encourage fans, like Mark, to return to Old Trafford and support their team in-person again.
Happy 21st birthday to Tom Armstrong for 21 November. We hope you have a great time celebrating at the game.
Happy 50th birthday to Stuart Hoole, and also to son Lucas, who is turning 15. Have fun celebrating at tonight’s match.
Happy birthday to you, Leo Bull. He’s here to celebrate turning 16.
Happy 18th birthday, Joe. Love Mum, Dad, Archie, Freddie and Neville.
To Daniel: happy 10th birthday to United’s biggest fan. All our love, Mum and Dad.
Wishing a very happy eighth birthday to Brock Gidman for 29 November. He’s here watching with dad David.
‘Happy 26th birthday, Darren Kelly. Today your dreams are coming true. What better way to spend your birthday than watching your idols playing live at Old Trafford with Ned, surrounded by your fellow fans. Come on, you Reds!’
Happy 18th birthday to Joseph Welsby for 25 November. He’s a huge Red and has been to more than 130 games.
‘Happy 30th to my diehard United husband, Ben Adams. Hope you have an incredible time. Lots of love, Suse.’
Sending many happy returns to William Fynn. He’s nine today and super excited to be at a game on his birthday.
Happy 12th birthday to Henry Holden. His favourite players are Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.
A very warm welcome back to Old Trafford to Edwin and Jo Kenny from Cork, Ireland.
Happy eighth birthday to Dreydon Barrington, a big United fan who spends all of his school holidays and weekends at Carrington.
We hope Harry and Ella Hair had a great time at their first Premier League game, against Chelsea, earlier this month. Their favourite players are Hojlund and Dalot respectively. Glory, glory Man United!
Happy 14th birthday to Luci Mutch. She’ll be in the Stretford End tonight, willing on her favourite player, Alejandro Garnacho, to score a hat-trick. Love from Mum, Dad, Orla and Barney.
Wishing a very happy 10th birthday to Thomas. Love from Mum, Dad and Harrison.
We hope siblings Isabelle (nine) and Max McInerney (eight), from Ireland, had a great time on their first visit to Old Trafford, for the Leicester game earlier this month.
Happy birthday to big Reds fan Harry O’Leary, who recently turned six. We hope you had the best time celebrating. Lots of love from Mum, Dad, and everyone at United.
Happy ninth birthday, Finley! Lots of love, Mummy and Theo.
Happy 11th birthday to Peleg Goldbourt for 19 November.
‘Happy 80th birthday to our very special dad, Sean O Driscoll, from Beswick. Have a lovely day, Dad. Love from all your family.’
Edward White turned 40 on 24 November and is a walking encyclopaedia on all things Manchester United. He has been a lifelong fan and is hoping for a win! We hope you had a great day, Edward. Love from all your family and friends.
Wishing a happy ninth birthday to Austin Ackerley for 13 November. Loads of love from Mum, Jessica and Ethan.
Happy sixth birthday to Joel Whittaker, who is at the Theatre of Dreams for the very first time tonight hoping to see his favourite players, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho. All our love, Mummy and Daddy.
Wishing a very happy birthday to Francine Holmes, who turned 43 on 7 November.
Big birthday wishes to Harry Pendleton, who celebrated turning 90 on 10 November. He’s been coming to Old Trafford for more than 75 years, and even played against some of the Busby Babes when they were all kids in the Derbyshire youth squads.
very happy 47th
Happy 15th birthday to Liam Smitheman. He’s here at Old Trafford for the first time, along with proud father Dave. Enjoy it, guys.
Happy 50th birthday. Forever loved, forever remembered. Always a United fan. Kam, RIP.
All the best and a very happy birthday from all of us to Ahmed Debuchy for 4 November.
Happy 13th birthday, Nathan Gleave. We hope you enjoyed coming to Old Trafford for United v PAOK. Love, Dad, Mum and Ella.
Happy 10th birthday, Louie. Lots of love, Dad, Charlotte, Charlie, Jack, Olivia and Max.
A very happy 13th birthday to Rio Harris, who was at Old Trafford for his first game recently in the 3-0 win over Leicester – the perfect present! Lots of love from Nana Lisa and all your family.
Happy birthday, Harper Johnston. She turned eight on 10 November and is here watching tonight. Both Harper and brother Ollie love United.
We’d all like to say happy second birthday to Billy Welch, for 27 November. Hope you had a wonderful day!
Many happy returns from all of us at United to Harry Willerton, who’s turning 11.
Happy birthday to Daniel Logan, who turned nine on 19 November and whose favourite player is Alejandro Garnacho.
Happy 11th birthday for today to Quinn Marie Pilling, an avid United fan who has travelled all the way from North Wales to be here at tonight’s game.
Happy birthday, Dr Kashif Cheema. Come on, you Reds!
‘Happy 13th birthday, Oscar Grimshaw. We hope you enjoy the game and the Reds get the win for you! Keep being the awesome person you are, just like your favourite player, Noussair Mazraoui. Love Mum, Dad, Freddie and all your family.’
Happy birthday to Conor O Leary from Ireland, who is celebrating turning 11. He’s here tonight with parents David and Becky, enjoying an early birthday present watching his beloved United.
Wishing all the best and a very happy 50th birthday to Paul Jones, who is in his 38th season coming to games at Old Trafford. Top work!
Happy 18th birthday, Roman. We’re proud of how strong you’ve been and we hope you have a great time watching the Reds tonight at Old Trafford.
Happy birthday to Jenson, who turned nine on 6 November. Here he is celebrating his uncle’s birthday on his first-ever stadium tour at the Theatre of Dreams, and he’s hoping to be back later this season for his first match.
hope
18th birthday to
enjoy the
On Sunday 3 November, after the Chelsea game, Steve Dolan, chairman of the Chepstow and District supporters’ club branch for 30 years, sadly passed away. His favourite subject was the 1999 Champions League final, and he was always coming out with stories from the trip. He will be sadly missed by his family and will leave a big hole for us to fill. Rest in peace, Steve.
In memory of Richard ‘Dick’ Thomas Vincent (23.06.1929 - 05.10.2024). He first became interested in football when George Best started playing and he was also a big fan of David Beckham. He married Margaret in 1953, and they had two children together. Dick and grandson Thomas would regularly talk all things United, and he will be missed by all his family and friends. Rest in peace.
On 1 October 2024, Thomas Donohue, a lifelong Red from Manchester, sadly passed away. His friends and family say: ‘Tom had seen it all and made sure that his love for United was passed on to all of his now heartbroken family. But although Tom may have been laid to rest, we know he’ll be having a good few drinks with Georgie Best.’
Wishing a happy 11th birthday to Billy
We
Remarkably,
tonight is our
first competitive match against
UNorwegian opposition
– but, as United Review explains, the Reds have deep-rooted Scandinavian connections…
nited’s support in Scandinavia has long been legendary. Widely acknowledged to have first taken root in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when First Division matches and FA Cup finals started to be screened there, things really mushroomed during the 1980s and 1990s, when United started recruiting Danes, Norwegians and Swedes to play for the first team.
Jesper Olsen was the first Scandinavian to represent United on the field, signing in 1984 from Ajax, but fans from the area were a regular sight at home and away games long before that.
Lars Morten Olsen, who hails from Sarpsborg in Norway, has been attending matches since the mid-1970s. “My first game was Tottenham away, ’76/77,” he told UR. “The bus from my hometown was about four hours. I took the 24-hour ferry from Gothenburg. Then I got the bus from Felixstowe to London. The game was on a Saturday, so I left Norway on the Thursday. I was 16.” In 1979, Lars went even further in pursuit of watching his beloved Reds, selling his car to finance a trip to that year’s FA Cup final! Sadly, Alan Sunderland’s infamously
painful late winner for Arsenal didn’t deliver the result his dedication deserved. But United’s long history in Scandinavia dates back even further than the ’70s – years before highlights and live games from the UK made it on to local TV channels. And, somewhat eerily, the story began on the same patch of land where we’d eventually win the 2017 UEFA Europa League – a night that saw us become one of only a handful of sides to complete the set of major trophies available to European clubs at the time (before the 2021 introduction of the UEFA Conference League).
Our first competitive match on Scandi soil took place in Sweden way back in 1964. The occasion? The first round, first leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – now generally regarded as the competition that preceded the UEFA Cup/Europa League. The Rasunda Stadium in Solna, Stockholm, was the venue, as we earned a 1-1 draw against Djurgardens IF thanks to
Law continues to bombard the HJK Helsinki goal during our 6-0 Old Trafford pummelling of the Finnish outfit during the European Cup preliminaries in 1965/66
David Herd’s late equaliser. There were fewer difficulties in the return leg, mind you: a treble from Denis Law, plus a double from Bobby Charlton and one more from George Best sealed a convincing 6-1 win (7-2 on aggregate). Our next meeting with Swedish opposition, exactly 30 years later, was less fruitful: drawn in the same group as IFK Gothenburg, we beat the two-time UEFA Cup winners 4-2 at Old Trafford, but they triumphed 3-1 in Sweden on a night that would prove terminal to our qualification hopes. The Swedes would eventually qualify (along with Barcelona) at our expense.
Selected friendly opponents: Jonkoping, Gothenburg Alliance, Helsingborg, IFK Vasteras, Gefle IF, IS Halmia, Laxa IF, Karlstad BK, Trollhattans IF, Elfsborg.
The star player for Gothenburg in that aforementioned 1994 victory was one Jesper Blomqvist, who, four years later, would become the first Swede to sign for United. The winger was integral to the Treble season, but did not play a game after starting the 1999 Champions League final, due to injuries. Since then, we’ve seen Bojan Djordjic and Henrik Larsson don the red shirt, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined in 2016 and blasted 28 goals in a brilliant first season. Victor Lindelof and Anthony Elanga are more recent representees, and defender
As mentioned, our Scandinavian story began at the Rasunda Stadium in 1964. But when that stadium was demolished in 2013, it was replaced by the Friends Arena, the site for our 2017 UEFA Europa League triumph. There, we beat Ajax 2-0, to the delight of our fans in Scandinavia, many of whom were well represented inside Sweden’s national football stadium, which is now known as Strawberry Arena, for sponsorship reasons. Current Reds Andre Onana and Matthijs de Ligt both started for Ajax on the night, while ex-United midfielder Donny van de Beek came on during the second half.
We’re yet to find a Finnish first-team player, but we did face HJK Helsinki in 1965, on the way to the European Cup semis. A 3-2 away win set us up nicely for the return leg, where we thumped the visitors 6-0, with three from John Connelly, two from Best – making his European Cup debut – and one from Charlton. The no.8 shirt Best wore in the second leg was loaned to the club museum in 2023. Finland, like other countries such as Iceland and the Faroe Islands, is not always considered part of Scandinavia. But we’ve played there and in Iceland several times, most often for friendlies.
Selected friendly opponents: VND Hanko (Finland), Valur and KA Akureyri (both Iceland).
Finland is also home to the Helsinki Red Room – a private Manchester United museum curated by longtime fan Jere Virtanen. Its amazing collection of memorabilia contains over 38,000 pieces from the 19th century to the present day.
All-time Sweden great Ibrahimovic made an immediate impact during his time at United
The Games
Our most recent meetings with Scandinavian opposition occurred last season, when we faced FC Copenhagen twice in the group stage of the Champions League. United won 1-0 at Old Trafford – the first home game after Sir Bobby Charlton’s passing – and were beaten 4-3 in a crazy rematch in the Danish capital. But our first Danish opponents were Brondby, who we larruped 6-2 (away) and 5-0 (home) during the 1998/99 Treble season. Fixtures with Copenhagen, Aalborg and FC Midtjylland followed – a 5-1 win over the latter delivered Marcus Rashford’s memorable two-goal debut.
Selected friendly opponents: Copenhagen XI, Odense XI, Aalborg, Aarhus, Jutland XI, Copenhagen Combinbation, Staevnet, Danish Olympic XI, Holstebro, Halskov Select XI, Hvidovre, B1903, Vejle BK, Brondby.
Jesper Olsen made 176 appearances for us, collecting a winner’s medal from the 1985 FA Cup final, before leaving in 1988. Only one other Dane has surpassed his appearance tally in the years since: Peter Schmeichel, who racked up 398 (including 180 clean sheets) and countless trophies during his spell as the most talismanic goalkeeper in United history. Christian Eriksen (86) and Rasmus Hojlund (56) are not too far away from reaching three figures, while John Sivebaek, Mads Timm and Anders Lindegaard complete our list of Danish Reds.
Tonight’s match with Bodo/Glimt – our first competitive fixture against Norwegian opponents – will mean we’ve played each of the three official Scandinavian countries. But we also
“My first game was Tottenham away, ’76/77. The game was on a Saturday, so I left Norway on the Thursday. I was 16” – Norwegian Red, Lars Morten Olsen
United’s official Scandinavian suppporters’ club was founded in 1981, and is by far the biggest branch in our global network. At the time of writing, MUSC Scandinavia has circa 46,000 paid-up members, the overwhelming majority of whom hail from Norway. That’s almost one per cent of the entire population of Norway! The supporters’ club holds hundreds of season tickets, runs a website and and even produces its own magazine, which is released eight times per year. Iceland is also in our top 10 biggest supporters’ clubs, while Finland is also represented with its own branch.
have a long history of arranging friendlies and warm-up games in this part of the world. Among our opponents are Rosenborg, Hamarkameratene, Stromsgodset, SK Brann, EIK Tonsberg, Valerengens IF, Viking Stavanager, Molde, IK Start and Lillestrom.
While we’ve had to wait until tonight to meet a club from Norway, the Nordic country has supplied five first-team players, including three Treble winners and one Manchester United manager. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored arguably the most famous goal in our history when he poked home Teddy Sheringham’s flick-on
to seal the Treble in Barcelona and, in 2018, became our interim manager. After a series of magical wins – including a scarcely believable comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League – Ole was given the job on a full-time basis. He scored 126 goals as a player, and is the only manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to lead us to Champions League qualification in successive seasons. He played alongside compatriots Ronny Johnsen and Henning Berg during the Ferguson years, who made more than
250 appearances between them. We’ve also had two other Norwegian Reds beyond that trio: Erik Nevland and Joshua King.
Did you know?
Steinkjer FK, who are based in central Norway, were managed by two stalwarts from United’s 1968 European Cup-winning team. Bill Foulkes was appointed their coach in 1982 and, remarkably, was succeeded by his former defensive colleague Tony Dunne.
1. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer = 126
2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic = 29
3. Jesper Olsen = 24
4. Rasmus Hojlund = 18
5. Ronny Johnsen = 9
UR dives into the stats behind our UEFA Europa League campaign so far, explores our rich European history, and sets the stage for a pivotal night with our new head coach at the helm…
Marcus Rashford leads the way for United appearances in this competition (including Fairs Cup and UEFA Cup), and he’s going to take some catching. Of his current teammates, the next nearest on the list for all-time UEFA Europa League appearances for us is Bruno Fernandes (28). 11
Old Trafford hosts its 44th home game in the UEFA Europa League (and all its previous iterations) this evening. We have a 62.79 per cent win ratio across those matches, scoring 91 goals and losing just three times. Can you recall who those three defeats were against? (See bottom-right for the answers.)
Ruben Amorim will become the 11th different coach to take charge of United in the UEFA Europa League. The previous 10 are: Ron Atkinson, Sir Matt Busby, Tommy Docherty, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Dave Sexton, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag, Louis van Gaal, and Ruud van Nistelrooy. 18
Amad’s brace against PAOK in our last fixture in this competition was the 18th time a United player has scored two or more goals for us in the Fairs Cup, UEFA Cup or Europa League. The first man to do it was Denis Law, against Djurgardens IF in October 1964 (quickly followed in the same game by Bobby Charlton scoring two). The most recent addition to this list prior to Amad’s pair was Marcel Sabitzer’s double against Sevilla in April 2023. 1
Tonight, Bodo/Glimt become our first Norwegian opponent in a competitive first-team fixture. We have, of course, played clubs from Norway in friendly matches for decades, although never 44
This is how many attempts on goal the Reds have had in our opening four group games of the current UEFA Europa League campaign: 22 on target, 24 off target, with 29 shots blocked. By comparison, Bodo/Glimt have had 56 attempts (17 on target, 19 off, 20 blocked). United have scored seven goals; Glimt have scored six. 142
While Norwegian clubs have never featured in our European competition history until tonight, players from that country obviously have (see section 10 for more). Four Norwegians played a combined total of 142 European games for us, breaking down as: Solskjaer (82 matches), Ronny Johnsen (35), Henning Berg (24) and Josh King (1).
73,174
Our attendance for the visit of PAOK earlier this month is the highest for any fixture in the Europa League so far this season. A total of 236,897 have attended our four Europa League group phase matches to date – which, to save you doing the maths, works out at an average crowd of 59,244. 229
This is how many minutes our new head coach Ruben Amorim played against the Reds in his career. Those minutes came from four matches, all in the Champions League, with the Portuguese representing Benfica against us twice in 2011/12, then twice more with Braga in 2012/13.
235
2014
Amorim was a runner-up in this competition a decade ago, playing for Benfica when they lost 4-2 on penalties to Sevilla (who else!) after a 0-0 draw in the final at Allianz Stadium in Turin. He played the full 90 minutes plus extra-time but didn’t take a penalty.
The 2023 Norwegian champions are set to become our 235th different opponent tonight, with Victoria Plzen and FCSB soon to join that growing list in the coming weeks. Answers: Ajax, Athletic Club (both in 2012) and Real Sociedad (in 2022)
Club snapper Ash Donelon (above) captures our scorer and provider celebrating their early goal collaboration last Sunday...
Image taken:
On Sunday 24 November 2024, Portman Road, Ipswich.
Ash says:
“Even though I’m usually in the stadium a few hours before kick-off, matchdays always seem to go by in a blur. At Ipswich, as soon as the pre-match warm-ups had finished, I quickly put my remote camera in place behind the goal nearest the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand, then headed towards the halfway line in case the teams changed ends following the coin toss. Once it was confirmed which end we were attacking, I rushed towards my position in the north-east corner, and just 81 seconds later the ball was in the net! I was sat at a spot right in the corner and it offered an interesting perspective as the United players ran towards the edge of the pitch to celebrate. Although this angle means the corner flag is visible, it doesn’t detract from this composition as it separates the goalscorer and provider, while adding context to the frame.”
Can you work out these current United players from their most-recent clubs?
Our mascot is here to test your knowledge! Answers at the bottom of each page...
We’re up against Scandinavian opponents, but can you match these Reds from that region to the flags? Draw three lines to link ’em up!
Can you find these eight United players, past or present, who each celebrated a birthday in November? We hope you all had a good one! Q A G Y O R O G Z S F L V Q C N N N W C D E G E A L
With Casemiro celebrating his 100th United outing last weekend, here’s a look at where he ranks in our top 10 appearance-makers from his home continent…
339 APPS
Antonio Valencia
The winger turned full-back amassed this huge number of games between 2009-2019, winning nine trophies.
105
Our livewire winger recently brought up his century of appearances and there’s much excitement about what lies ahead for him in the years to come.
213 Fred
The energetic central midfielder was at the club for five years, winning the League Cup in 2022/23 and scoring 14 goals.
100 Casemiro
The game at Ipswich was not just our new head coach’s first match, but it was also a landmark afternoon for our Brazilian midfielder.
181 Anderson
Signed from Porto in 2007, the midfielder spent eight years at United. He was part of our 2008 Champions League winning team.
99
Carlos Tevez
The forward’s appearance total fell agonisingly short of a century but his tally of 34 goals makes him our leading South American goalscorer.
170 Rafael
Signed as a youngster with his twin Fabio, this Da Silva brother enjoyed the more success – Fabio making 56 Reds appearances.
98 Diego Forlan
Just one behind Tevez is the hugely popular Uruguayan, who famously scored twice in a 2-1 win at Anfield in December 2002 – a feat still sung about by fans!
122
The combative defender played this many times across six seasons, after joining from Sporting in the summer of 2014.
87
Now in his third season as a Red, the former Ajax winger will be looking to impress the new coaches in the coming weeks and add to his total.
There was a new addition to the season-appearances list (left), with Luke Shaw playing his first football of 2024/25 at Ipswich last Sunday. Our no.23 was one of five second-half substitutes used by new head coach Ruben Amorim, coming on in the 56th minute.
Casemiro brought up his 100th United appearance at Portman Road at the weekend, but he wasn’t the only Red reaching a milestone. For Andre Onana, our 1-1 draw – in which he excelled with several fine stops – was his 50th Premier League outing for United.
0(3) 0 8(2) 600 42(14)18
Victor LINDELOF 160(22) 4 21(1) 0 14(2) 0 42(3) 010 238(28) 4 Harry MAGUIRE 129(16) 6 13(4) 3 11(2)
Marcus Rashford’s strike against Ipswich last Sunday was his 136th goal for the club, meaning he’s in 15th place in our list of all-time leading goalscorers, and nine goals behind David Herd and Cristiano Ronaldo in the places above him.
CS Sat 10Manchester City (N) 3pm 1-1 ↓ 78,1464-2-3-1Onana
PL Fri 16Fulham (H) 8pm1-073,2974-2-3-1Onana
PL Sat 24Brighton & Hove Albion (A) 12.30pm 1-2 31,5374-2-3-1Onana
PL Sun 1Liverpool (H) 4pm 0-3 73,7384-2-3-1Onana
PL Sat 14Southampton (A) 12.30pm3-031,1444-2-3-1Onana
LC Tues 17Barnsley (H) (R3) 8pm 7-0 72,0634-2-3-1Bayindir
PL Sat 21Crystal Palace (A) 5.30pm0-025,1724-2-3-1Onana
UEL Wed 25Twente (H) 8pm 1-1 73,0694-2-3-1Onana
PL Sun 29Tottenham Hotspur (H) 4.30pm 0-3 73,587 4-2-3-1Onana
UEL Thu 3Porto (A) 8pm 3-3 49,2114-2-3-1Onana
PL Sun 1 Everton (H)
PL Wed 4Arsenal (A)
PL Sat 7 Nottingham Forest (H) 5.30pm UEL Thu 12Plzen (A) 5.45pm
PL Sun 15Manchester City (A) 4.30pm
LC Thu 19Tottenham Hotspur (A) (QF) 8pm
PL Sun 22Bournemouth (H) 2pm
PL Thu 26 Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) 5.30pm
PL Mon 30Newcastle United (H) 8pm JANUARY
PL Sun 5Liverpool (A) 4.30pm
LC 7/8 Semi-finals, 1st leg
FA 10-13 Third round
PL Thu 16Southampton (H) 8pm
PL Sun 19Brighton & Hove Albion (H) 2pm
UEL Thu 23Rangers (H) 8pm
PL Sun 26Fulham (A) 7pm
UEL Thu 30FCSB (A) 8pm FEBRUARY
PL Sat 1Crystal Palace (H) 3pm
LC 4/5 Semi-finals, 2nd leg
FA 7-10 Fourth round
UEL Thu 13 Play-offs, 1st leg
PL Sat 15Tottenham Hotspur (A) 3pm
UEL Thu 20 Play-offs, 2nd leg
PL Sat 22Everton (A) 3pm
PL Wed 26 Ipswich Town (H) 8pm
FA 28-3 Mar Fifth round
MARCH
UEL Thu 6 Round of 16, 1st leg
PL Sat 8Arsenal (H) 3pm
UEL Thu 13 Round of 16, 2nd leg
PL Sat 15Leicester City (A) 3pm
LC Sun 16 Final (N)
FA 28-31 Quarter-finals
APRIL
PL Tue 1Nottingham Forest (A) 7.45pm
PL Sat 5Manchester City (H) 3pm
UEL Thu 10 Quarter-finals, 1st leg
PL Sat 12Newcastle United (A) 3pm
UEL Thu 17 Quarter-finals, 2nd leg
PL Sat 19 Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) 3pm
PL Sat 26Bournemouth (A) 3pm
FA 26/27 Semi-finals
MAY
UEL Thu 1 Semi-finals, 1st leg
PL Sat 3Brentford (A) 3pm
UEL Thu 8 Semi-finals, 2nd leg
PL Sat 10West Ham United (H) 3pm
FA Sat 17 Final (N)
PL Sun 18Chelsea (A) 3pm
UEL Wed 2 1 Final (N)
PL Sun 25 Aston Villa (H) 4pm
Manchester United and Greater Manchester Police have very detailed emergency procedures and contingency plans in place to deal with any emergency scenario which might arise at the stadium. Part of these procedures can involve evacuation plans should such an eventuality be required. We strongly advise that should any unforeseen emergency incident develop then please remain in your position and listen carefully to any public address announcements or directions from the attendant stewards. Loudspeakers are located in the stands, concourse areas, hospitality areas, toilets and outside the stadium. Depending on the nature of the incident, whole stands, part stands or even the entire stadium may be evacuated. There is also an option to evacuate spectators on to the pitch. Our public address system operates on a stadium zone-by-zone basis. It may be that certain zones are affected by an incident but not others. In such an event our main attention will be focused on the zone concerned. If you hear an announcement in an area other than your own, you should ignore it and respond only to messages directed towards your section or by stewards. All spectators are asked to respond calmly and as quickly as possible to emergency directions.
Help tackle discriminatory or offensive behaviour inside Old Trafford by texting HELP to 84222* followed by the STAND, ROW and SEAT of the offender and then the nature of the problem. Allow us to do the rest. *Texts are charged at the standard network rate.
It’s our 11th alphabetical quiz of the season, taking us to letter K – it will feature in each question, but it might not necessarily be the first letter of the answer...
2. 1.
Name the only English side beginning with ‘K’ that United have faced in a competitive game.
How old was the teenage Brian Kidd when he scored in the 1968 European Cup final on his birthday?
4. 5.
3.
Andrei Kanchelskis, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Fred all moved to Old Trafford from which club?
FC Kosice, opponents of the Reds in the 1997/98 Champions League, are from which country: Slovakia or Slovenia?
Kleberson was the first Brazilian to make a senior appearance for United, but who was the second?
Kieran Richardson helped West Brom to dramatically beat the drop in the Premier League in 2004/05, under the management of which Reds legend?
Against which current top-flight club did Roy Keane make his final United appearance, in September 2005?
Speaking of Keanes, who made more senior appearances for the Reds – Michael or Will?
10. 8. 9. 7. 6. 17
In the final of which competition did Tomasz Kuszczak help United to victory during his five-season stay, and in which year?
Cup, 2010; 10. Shinji Kagawa.
Slovakia; 5. Anderson;
Robin van Persie scored his first Reds goal in a 3-2 win against Fulham in August 2012, but which team-mate also opened their account for the club that same day? (Clue: one of his names begins with ‘K’).
*date and kick off time subject to change
Altay BAYINDIR
Victor LINDELOF
Noussair Mazraoui
Matthijs de Ligt
Harry MAGUIRE
Lisandro MARTINEZ
Bruno FERNANDES
Rasmus HOJLUND
Marcus RASHFORD
Joshua Zirkzee
Tyrell MALACIA
Christian ERIKSEN
Leny Yoro
Alejandro GARNACHO CASEMIRO
Diogo DALOT ANTONY
Tom HEATON
Luke SHAW
Andre ONANA
Manuel Ugarte
Jonny EVANS
Ethan Wheatley
Kobbie MAINOO
Harry Amass
Toby Collyer
dan gore jack fletcher
Julian Faye Lund
Villads Nielsen
Odin Bjortuft
Brice Wembangomo
Jostein Gundersen
Patrick Berg
Sondre Auklend
Kasper Hogh
Runar Espejord
Nikita Haikin
Ulrik Saltnes
Fredrik Andre Bjorkan
Brede Moe
Sondre Brunstad Fet
Fredrik Sjovold
Andreas Helmersen
Jens Petter Hauge
Isak Dybvik Maatta
Hakon Evjen
Sondre Sorli
Michal Tomic
Adam Sorensen
Magnus Brondbo
Isak Sjong
Eryk Lukaszka
Cassander Krane Dreyer
Magnus Fagervik Antonsen
Jesber Berg Hanssen
Sturla Sagatun-Kristjansson
Philip Zinckernagel
August Mikkelsen
Nino Zugelj