https://www.scmp.com/rss/326358/feed Andy Mitten is a journalist and author. He founded the best-selling United We Stand fanzine as a 15-year-old. A journalism graduate, he's interviewed over 500 famous footballers past and present. His work has taken him to over 100 countries, writing about football from Israel to Iran, Brazil to Barbados. Born and bred in Manchester, he divides his time between his city of birth and Barcelona, Spain. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The pickup vans worked their way through Gdansk’s beautiful city centre on Thursday night, stopping to collect branded Manchester United, Villarreal and Uefa signage for the 2021 Europa League final. There were giant pictures of each finalist to pack away while the United and Villarreal flags which flew from the front of every bus, tram and lamp post were replaced with the flags of Poland and Gdansk. As the city where the first shots of the Second World War were fired and where the Solidarity... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3135292/manchester-uniteds-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-wants-uefa-europa-league?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3135292/manchester-uniteds-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-wants-uefa-europa-league?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 May 2021 07:00:14 +0000 If only Manchester United’s central defence could stand as firm as the forbidding wall erected by the club to keep protesting fans out of Old Trafford. Harry Maguire, usually an every minute of every game mainstay, has been absent for United’s two midweek home matches separated by only a day this week. Though United’s captain tried to urge his teammates on from the stands this week, United lost three times in a Thursday to Thursday run which encompassed four games at the start of a May that has... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3133503/manchester-uniteds-porous-defence-misses-skipper-maguire-bailly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3133503/manchester-uniteds-porous-defence-misses-skipper-maguire-bailly?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 09:23:30 +0000 AS Roma knew all about Edinson Cavani before he left Naples for Paris in 2013, the year Manchester United last won the English Premier League title. There was the hat-trick in his final season in a 4-1 win, another goal in Olimpico. Cavani scored nine times against Roma in his final nine games against them. On Thursday night in rainy Manchester, he hit two more and also set up Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood as Manchester United finally convinced in a semi-final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3131748/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-hopes-nights-will-keep-edinson-cavani?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3131748/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-hopes-nights-will-keep-edinson-cavani?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Apr 2021 07:00:14 +0000 It was a big FA Cup game against Chelsea at Old Trafford in 1988 and the Stretford End was busier than usual. A crowd of 50,716 was present, 11,000 more than normal. Chelsea were on their way to relegation, but one of the game’s great appeals is that nothing is permanent and nor should it be.   “Move along, let the part-timers in,” said a voice as I tried to squeeze past. “Then they can go back to their armchairs and watch the other games on TV.” It stung. To be an armchair fan was a stain on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3130146/european-super-league-big-clubs-prove-match-going-supporters-no?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3130146/european-super-league-big-clubs-prove-match-going-supporters-no?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Apr 2021 10:19:46 +0000 Alex Ferguson had never thought much about footballers’ eyesight until he received a letter from Dr Gail Stephenson in 1996. Gail was a big United fan who went to games with her daughter Rebecca. Gail was also the vision expert at Liverpool University and had noted that United lost four of the five away games in a grey strip in the 1995-96 season. She explained to Ferguson that the drab colour made it much harder for the players to pick out their teammates than the regular kit. United didn’t... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3129860/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-shows-he-has-vision-gain-fine-margins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3129860/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-shows-he-has-vision-gain-fine-margins?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Apr 2021 09:23:23 +0000 Manchester United boast fast, exciting and young forwards, yet don’t have an established centre forward, a top goalscorer. Edinson Cavani could have been that man this season, but he’s started only seven of United’s 28 league games and played only 919 minutes of league football. Harry Maguire has played 2,610. Cavani signed after the season had begun, quarantined, got fit, got injured, got suspended and got injured again. Twice. The Uruguayan could still be a world class player and has shown... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3128115/manchester-united-must-go-all-out-secure-most-important-piece-ole?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3128115/manchester-united-must-go-all-out-secure-most-important-piece-ole?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:28:48 +0000 Paul Pogba may win headlines for a moment of brilliance to send Manchester United through to the Uefa Europa League last eight after a 1-0 win in Milan, but United’s defence should not be forgotten in a stadium that has seen some of the world’s best defenders on show. Since conceding three times to Everton on February 6, United have conceded only three goals in 11 matches and kept eight clean sheets. Among those were away matches which United won against Manchester City, Real Sociedad and Milan.... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3126155/manchester-uniteds-defence-providing-solid-foundations-unbeaten-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3126155/manchester-uniteds-defence-providing-solid-foundations-unbeaten-run?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Mar 2021 08:00:05 +0000 Be it a bank of fog or a wall, Manchester United have hit something which has slowed their progress. Top of the table in January, United are now 14 points behind City having won only two of their last nine league games. The pair meet on Sunday. Fortunately for United, all rivals aside from City slowed too. Somehow, United have stayed second in the league and they’re still in the FA Cup and Europa League. This difficult season can be salvaged, it can even finish with a smile and a trophy, but the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3124237/manchester-uniteds-solid-season-danger-stalling-if-they-cant-find-top-gear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3124237/manchester-uniteds-solid-season-danger-stalling-if-they-cant-find-top-gear?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Mar 2021 08:12:13 +0000 Reality struck this week in European football. PSG’s 4-1 victory at the Camp Nou was a watershed, showing the Parisians have the quality to outclass Barcelona away, and the Catalans, so long a pre-eminent force with 13 consecutive Champions League quarter-finals, will not add another this year unless they can produce a comeback even more dramatic than 2017. PSG are better, Barça weaker and the image of Gerard Pique trying to cling onto Kylian Mbappe’s shirt was a microcosm of the shift. PSG have... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3122327/manchester-united-must-spend-wisely-rivals-city-and-psg-if-they-want?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3122327/manchester-united-must-spend-wisely-rivals-city-and-psg-if-they-want?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Feb 2021 06:30:07 +0000 Manchester United’s 9-0 win against Southampton on Tuesday was the eighth time that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have scored five or more goals. The first was in his first match at Cardiff in December 2018, the second over a year later at Tranmere in an FA Cup game. Since then, United have scored more than five against Bruge, LASK, Bournemouth, Leipzig, Leeds and Southampton. Critics are right to point out that United have struggled with goals against the best teams this season, but in the 301... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3120673/manchester-uniteds-rich-goalscoring-form-unparalleled-they-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3120673/manchester-uniteds-rich-goalscoring-form-unparalleled-they-need?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Feb 2021 06:30:18 +0000 What a turnaround for Paul Pogba in a Manchester United shirt. Six weeks ago, you’d have struggled to find United fans who wanted him to stay – or thought that he would remain at the club long term. Not now. There are echoes of Wayne Rooney in 2013 when he wanted to leave Old Trafford. Rooney got the fans back onside by being the stand-out player for six months and went on to become United’s all time leading goal scorer. Pogba is doing himself no harm with his performances and has scored two... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3118846/paul-pogbas-popularity-rising-old-trafford-manchester-united-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3118846/paul-pogbas-popularity-rising-old-trafford-manchester-united-need?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jan 2021 09:04:55 +0000 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer talks about the small margins that win the biggest games. On Wednesday against Manchester City, those margins were superior performances from players in blue. Fred didn’t play as well as his former teammate Fernandinho in a similar role, while the same could be said of Victor Lindelof and his old clubmate Ruben Dias, who was the man of match. They just had that little bit more than their United equivalents. Lindelof and Dias are two of many who made their name at Benfica’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3116951/manchester-united-are-much-improved-small-margins-are-what-make-also?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3116951/manchester-united-are-much-improved-small-margins-are-what-make-also?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jan 2021 08:40:38 +0000 Manchester United’s team coaches edged out of Goodison Park away from the temporary dressing rooms, past signs saying ‘red zone’, splashing through puddles in the road works by the statue of Everton legend Dixie Dean. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nemanja Matic and Harry Maguire had fulfilled their post-match media duties, smiling and confident after another away victory. Six weeks ago on the same spot, the Norwegian was fuming because of the 12:30 kick-off at Goodison in the league following a midweek... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3115389/premier-league-contenders-manchester-united-have-wind-sails-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3115389/premier-league-contenders-manchester-united-have-wind-sails-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Dec 2020 00:58:18 +0000 After Tuesday’s Uefa Champions League elimination, Manchester United have the difficult task of getting back on track in Saturday’s Manchester derby. Emotions are high and the disappointment of the defeat to RB Leipzig cuts deep after a positive beginning in the group, especially after United started the game so poorly in Germany – a worrying recent trend. United keep going behind and have led at half-time in only six of their 18 games so far this season. What’s the point in having nine shots,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3113550/solskjaer-cant-afford-champions-league-disappointment-blow-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3113550/solskjaer-cant-afford-champions-league-disappointment-blow-man?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2020 08:00:19 +0000 The Estadio Diego Armando Maradona lies in the middle-class suburb of La Paternal, 10 kilometres to the east of the centre of Buenos Aires. The capacity is optimistically listed as 26,000 for the three-sided, mostly terraced home of Argentinos Juniors with concrete stands painted in red and white. It’s a proud football club with a fine track record of developing young players from Juan Roman Riquelme to Cambiasso, Sorin to Placente, Julio Arca and Coloccini. Maradona is by far the most famous of... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3111581/diego-maradona-boy-wonder-who-became-god-more-just-his-hand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3111581/diego-maradona-boy-wonder-who-became-god-more-just-his-hand?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Nov 2020 05:00:13 +0000 No Manchester United footballer divides fans like Paul Pogba who’s form is a microcosm of United’s – wildly inconsistent. Though he’s produced spellbinding individual performances, the Parisian has hardly been the talisman in a resurgent team as hoped. The man with 73 appearances in midfield for world champions France isn’t close to being regarded as a legendary midfielder like Bryan Robson or Roy Keane and fan arguments about whether it’s worth sticking with Pogba have been prominent for... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3109743/enigmatic-paul-pogba-floundering-when-he-should-be-his-pomp-united?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3109743/enigmatic-paul-pogba-floundering-when-he-should-be-his-pomp-united?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Nov 2020 08:42:00 +0000 Within one week, Manchester United have beaten two of the best teams in the world. The 2-1 win in Paris against Uefa Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain, diligent in its tactical diversity and deserved, delighted the fans – not that any could be there to see it. RB Leipzig, the Bundesliga toppers who went unbeaten away all of last season on their way to the Champions League semi-finals, were demolished 5-0 by United. Both performances were exceptional – and unexpected. Both saw... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3107756/its-not-perfect-theres-much-feel-bright-about-if-youre-manchester?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3107756/its-not-perfect-theres-much-feel-bright-about-if-youre-manchester?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Oct 2020 05:56:28 +0000 Diego Forlan received a call from an old Manchester United teammate during lockdown. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted to speak to the then Penarol manager about his young winger Facundo Pellistri, 18. “He asked me lots of questions about Facundo and I gave him lots of answers,” the Uruguayan tells the Post. “There was a lot of interest in the player and I could understand why. He’s very quick and goes past players easily. He was doing that even when it was not a good moment for the team. He likes... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3105826/manchester-united-cult-figure-diego-forlan-gives-new-uruguayan-duo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3105826/manchester-united-cult-figure-diego-forlan-gives-new-uruguayan-duo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Oct 2020 08:56:12 +0000 There are four right-sided attacking players wondering if they’ll be signed by Manchester United by the time the English transfer window closes on Monday. Two, 20-year-old Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund and 23-year-old Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona, would be signed as first team players. They would be costly. Sancho has long been United’s number one target and Dortmund have maintained throughout that they won’t sell the Englishman for less than €120 million (HK$1 billion). United, who have... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3103929/manchester-united-weighing-ousmane-dembele-gamble-jadon-sancho-price?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3103929/manchester-united-weighing-ousmane-dembele-gamble-jadon-sancho-price?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Oct 2020 07:00:10 +0000 They worry about outside influences at Manchester United. About the effects of social media on their young players who grow up with phones in their hand, reading online praise about their talents from the age of eight, known as the best player in the school, area, city, region. It’s all positive. The fortunate few do the hard yards at a club and, against all odds, make the first team. Being at a huge club means they are targets for scrutiny and public exposure, to feed a voracious public... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3102068/precocious-mason-greenwood-will-need-learn-his-lessons-man-united?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3102068/precocious-mason-greenwood-will-need-learn-his-lessons-man-united?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2020 07:26:35 +0000 Manchester United fans welcomed the signing of attacking midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax this week. He’s 23, his price of £35 million (HK$360 million) is right for a coveted player with a proven Champions League pedigree. In addition, he’ll provide competition and backup when it’s needed in a packed fixture schedule and a return to top-level European football. United started last season with a squad which was too weak and became quickly exposed by injury. One signing is not enough. United... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3100225/manchester-uniteds-donny-van-de-beek-solid-signing-first-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3100225/manchester-uniteds-donny-van-de-beek-solid-signing-first-team?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2020 08:00:27 +0000 Crowds will attend football matches in England this weekend for the first time in five months, though it’s a stretch to call them such. While Premier League clubs and those in the five divisions below are hoping to get some supporters back as soon as possible, matches will be played behind closed doors until October 1 at the earliest when the 2020-21 season has already started. Only the clubs in the seventh level and below can welcome fans back. With average crowds of 1,700 last season, FC... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3098271/soul-english-football-being-destroyed-covid-crisis-lower-league?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3098271/soul-english-football-being-destroyed-covid-crisis-lower-league?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Aug 2020 07:00:12 +0000 A couple of days after he had signed for Manchester United, my seven years old, football mad nephew spotted Alexis Sanchez in a restaurant near Manchester Airport. The Chilean stood out, not because of his famous face, but also because he was the only other person there. Small talk and photos ensued. Sanchez spoke in faltering English but the one point he wanted to make to my brother was that he only wanted to join United and not City. He was a fully-formed player who was expected to be an Eric... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3096436/alexis-sanchez-ends-his-unhappy-time-manchester-united-lesson-perils?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3096436/alexis-sanchez-ends-his-unhappy-time-manchester-united-lesson-perils?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2020 06:28:33 +0000 Manchester United will put on their bravest face if the team goes a second consecutive season without reaching the Champions League, but qualification to football’s elite tournament is vital for next season. For prestige, for football, for huge games, for money. Would Bruno Fernandes have come at the start of the season if United had been in the Champions League rather than the Europa League? The chance of that happening would have been far higher. United’s kit manufacturer Adidas holds a clause... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3094736/manchester-united-can-ill-afford-miss-out-champions-league-if-they?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3094736/manchester-united-can-ill-afford-miss-out-champions-league-if-they?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jul 2020 05:17:00 +0000 Aston Villa had done what they could to warm up their heroes on a cold, damp Midlands evening. “Two Tribes” belted out through the PA, along with some screeching sounds only recognisable to foxes and Villa fans. There were claret and blue flags with lions and words like “pride” on the George Cross of England, that favoured flag in Birmingham. This Witton Wisdom was a decent shot at sabre rattling, but Villa don’t have Mason Greenwood. If Dean Smith’s side did have the 18-year-old, they’d have a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3092641/sky-limit-mason-greenwood-he-silences-jadon-sancho-chatter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3092641/sky-limit-mason-greenwood-he-silences-jadon-sancho-chatter?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jul 2020 07:01:05 +0000 Liverpool have won the Premier League and if you’re not one of them, following is some much needed advice. Print this out and stick it up wherever you keep your beer. A wave of Scouse glee is imminent, and if you hear their attack warning, you and your family must take cover. There will be little respite in forthcoming days. Those Manchester United fans who joked about flying to remote islands on the other side of the world to avoid continual scenes of Scouse success can, of course, no longer do... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3090678/how-handle-jubilant-scousers-after-championship-win-manchester?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3090678/how-handle-jubilant-scousers-after-championship-win-manchester?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jun 2020 07:00:21 +0000 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Bruno Fernandes reminds him of Paul Scholes several times, but the more he watches him, the more he sees flashes of another former United player: Juan Sebastian Veron. The Argentine galactico’s 2001 arrival at Old Trafford left even treble-winning players star-struck in his presence, but while Veron was as popular as Fernandes was with his teammates, he ultimately underwhelmed. Veron admits that he wasn’t convinced about moving to England and that he was never... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3088795/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-eyes-fernandes-pogba-he-looks-fix-midfield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3088795/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-eyes-fernandes-pogba-he-looks-fix-midfield?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jun 2020 08:23:36 +0000 Manchester United’s players hope Odion Ighalo stays at the club after his loan spell ends this Sunday. His manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants him to “finish off what he’s started” and the Nigerian striker wants to stay, but if he never plays another game for United, he’ll be remembered fondly for his contribution even though his loan spell was limited to just four weeks of games, no Premier League starts and 319 minutes of football. Ighalo scored in all three games he started and was having a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3086757/odion-ighalo-hoping-his-manchester-united-dream-doesnt-end-too-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3086757/odion-ighalo-hoping-his-manchester-united-dream-doesnt-end-too-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 May 2020 12:23:03 +0000 Uwe Kemmer, an elected board member at Bundesliga giants Schalke 04, was being shown around Old Trafford by Bobby Charlton before their 2011 Uefa Champions League semi-final against Manchester United. “Can I just thank your club for the two best minutes in sports history when you beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final,” he said to the United legend. Schalke reached the semi-finals that season with Raul and Manuel Neuer in their team, but, despite their vast size and 61,000 average... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3084616/bundesliga-restart-provides-bliss-starved-football-fans-schalke?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3084616/bundesliga-restart-provides-bliss-starved-football-fans-schalke?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2020 10:21:15 +0000 Manchester United have received the go ahead to trial a section of barrier seating, commonly referred to as rail seats, at Old Trafford when football resumes with supporters inside stadiums. United fans have long favoured the idea of having a choice whether they sit or stand at matches ever since Old Trafford’s last standing terrace was turned to seating in 1994. A similar section inside Celtic Park in Glasgow has been a success, boosting the atmosphere and allowing fans who want to stand to do... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3082212/manchester-united-try-out-safe-standing-old-trafford-when-football?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3082212/manchester-united-try-out-safe-standing-old-trafford-when-football?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2020 13:47:04 +0000 A new book arrived on the 31st anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster last week featuring 25 years of lost football grounds and stands in the UK. After 50 years where almost no football team moved homes until Scunthorpe United in 1988, new stadiums and stands proliferated to make venues safer after Hillsborough. So many iconic homes of football have been lost. So many of them were far more interesting than what followed. The new stadiums are undoubtedly safer, but most lack the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3080894/iconic-football-stadiums-falling-wayside-name-progress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3080894/iconic-football-stadiums-falling-wayside-name-progress?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2020 09:59:20 +0000 When professional football returns for Europe’s big five leagues, it’s likely to be behind closed doors. I was at Manchester United’s last game, played in front of empty stands in Linz, Austria, last month. It was awful. United won 5-0 and a resounding away win in the knockout stage of any European competition is impressive, but it all seemed so wrong and not just for the Austrian side set for their biggest ever game. They lost the advantage of a home crowd who’d helped them enjoy their finest... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3080039/coronavirus-crisis-underlines-importance-footballs-match-going-fans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3080039/coronavirus-crisis-underlines-importance-footballs-match-going-fans?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2020 08:32:36 +0000 Federico Macheda was in fine form when Greek football came to a stop last month. “My best season in my career with 10 games still to play,” he said. Two goals in his final game meant the Panathinaikos striker had eight in 11 as his team shook off their woeful early season form to rise from tenth to fourth. His goal in a win against champions and league leaders PAOK Salonica in February was key. “Actually, I scored against PAOK home and away,” he added. “And then football stopped and I’m in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3078644/late-bloomer-macheda-main-man-greece-wishes-he-could-have-made-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3078644/late-bloomer-macheda-main-man-greece-wishes-he-could-have-made-it?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2020 09:48:49 +0000 Borussia Dortmund’s English winger Jadon Sancho is likely to cost more than any other footballer in the close season – whenever that is. The Londoner who turned 20 last week can play on the left or right, has been a success at Dortmund’s football factory where they buy emerging talents, give them plenty of games at a high level in front of the world’s highest average league crowds of 80,000 and then sell them for a vast profit. “We don’t buy superstars, we make them,” Dortmund’s youth... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3077711/race-jadon-sanchos-signature-may-have-few-runners-manchester-united?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3077711/race-jadon-sanchos-signature-may-have-few-runners-manchester-united?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2020 06:28:32 +0000 The biggest sports story in Spain since the state of emergency was declared on Friday, March 13, was the death on Saturday of former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz from the coronavirus. Sanz, 76, was the cigar-smoking president who oversaw Madrid’s first European Cup in 32 years in 1998. He took Fabio Capello from AC Milan to Madrid in 1996 when Serie A was top dog and Madrid didn’t win European Cups. Capello was one of the few coaches that Sanz didn’t sack, while he sanctioned Madrid... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3076692/la-liga-there-light-amid-spains-coronavirus-lockdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3076692/la-liga-there-light-amid-spains-coronavirus-lockdown?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2020 06:54:50 +0000 The “news” went viral on Sunday, a feel-good story for these feel bad times. Cristiano Ronaldo would turn his chain of hotels in Portugal into hospitals for people affected by Covid-19. Not only that, he would pay the salaries of all the doctors and nurses. Hundreds of websites repeated this story including established news outlets like Marca’s website (but not the actual paper) in Spain and TalkSport’s website in England. Last Thursday, Marca’s website also wrote that all the Europa League... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3075752/cristiano-ronaldos-coronavirus-hotels-another-footballs-fake-feel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3075752/cristiano-ronaldos-coronavirus-hotels-another-footballs-fake-feel?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2020 06:59:27 +0000 Manchester United’s Serbian international Nemanja Matic was about to leave Old Trafford after Sunday’s Manchester derby. He’d played well again, as he did when the two teams last met when he was the man of the match – and also sent off. “I’m pleased but it’s only three points,” he said, refusing to get carried away while United fans do exactly that after beating England’s champions for the third time in three months. United’s assistant manager Mike Phelan had opined that it was Matic’s best game... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3074245/unflappable-nemanja-matic-helps-manchester-united-another-win-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3074245/unflappable-nemanja-matic-helps-manchester-united-another-win-over?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2020 07:09:46 +0000 The referee stopped the game and the public address system broadcast that the attendance figure was 81,365, the biggest in the world that weekend. Bigger even than the 80,000 who watched Sunday’s clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Bundesligachasing Borussia Dortmund were leading against Freiburg when the referee told both captains that he was stopping the game. The request for fans to stop singing insulting songs went out as players stood around looking unsure. Meanwhile Dortmund’s ultra... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3064570/germanys-ultra-fans-are-fighting-future-bundesliga-clubs-and-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3064570/germanys-ultra-fans-are-fighting-future-bundesliga-clubs-and-against?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2020 05:16:08 +0000 Before his new signing Bruno Fernandes kicked a ball for Manchester United, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer compared him to Paul Scholes, arguably United’s greatest ever-attacking midfielder and one who played 718 times for the club. Fernandes, signed after protracted negotiations at the end of the January transfer window, has pulled on a United shirt only four times, but the versatile Portuguese is the best thing about the club right now. After an awful January when United lost four games, they’ve... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3052285/bruno-fernandes-hits-ground-running-manchester-united-finally-fill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3052285/bruno-fernandes-hits-ground-running-manchester-united-finally-fill?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2020 10:27:56 +0000 Manchester United’s Ivorian defender Eric Bailly hadn’t played a game of football since July or a competitive game since last April when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told him on Sunday that he’d be starting away to Chelsea on Monday night. Victor Lindelof, one of the usual central defenders, was ill and the Ivorian was considered ready. “It’s not easy when you don’t play for so long,” Bailly said after the match as he walked from the dressing room to the team coach. “But it only gets easier by playing... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3051093/eric-bailly-soars-swift-return-manchester-united-defence-ready?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3051093/eric-bailly-soars-swift-return-manchester-united-defence-ready?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Feb 2020 04:16:28 +0000 “Things seems to be as bad and as toxic at the club as they were in ’89-90,” a legendary Manchester United player told the Post on Monday. “And I can’t understand why Ed Woodward wants better PR. Fans don’t like the chairman or owners in football even when teams are winning, let alone losing. At United, Martin Edwards wasn’t popular with fans, nor Peter Kenyon or David Gill …” After decades of relatively plain sailing Manchester United continue to operate under a cloud. Fans are angry and... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3050207/manchester-united-toxic-1989-90-season-and-need-premier-league-wins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3050207/manchester-united-toxic-1989-90-season-and-need-premier-league-wins?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2020 05:54:56 +0000 Slogans on the blue scarves on sale by car park E outside Leicester’s King Power stadium show their fans do not like VAR. Maybe, but Leicester fans have few other complaints about the way this season has gone. The Foxes are third in the English Premier League, eight points clear of last Saturday’s opponents Chelsea. They won’t repeat arguably the greatest sporting story of the last decade by winning the title, but they’re in a very good place. “We're genuinely competing at the top end of the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3049161/uefa-champions-league-beckons-brendan-rodgers-leicester-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3049161/uefa-champions-league-beckons-brendan-rodgers-leicester-city?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Feb 2020 08:05:38 +0000 Manchester United fans have been understandably annoyed that no new players have arrived so far in the January transfer window. Midfielder Bruno Fernandes is expected from Sporting Lisbon, but anger, stoked by five defeats in a month, prevails. Too many fans rounded on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the press conference before Wednesday’s game at Manchester City. His crimes? A tongue-in-cheek comment that Alexis Sanchez would come back and prove the media wrong when (if) he came back from loan in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3048026/manchester-uniteds-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-needs-support-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3048026/manchester-uniteds-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-needs-support-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jan 2020 07:00:07 +0000 Just as many fans feared at the start of the season, Manchester United’s squad is looking light after a few injuries. Marcus Rashford, the player of the season, is the latest casualty and likely to be out for months with a back problem. He will be missed, just as Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are. No player started more games than Rashford before his injury, but what do United do now he’s unavailable? Sad though it sounds for a club of their stature, they’re in the chase for a Uefa Champions... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3047148/manchester-united-linked-bruno-fernandes-and-edinson-cavani-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3047148/manchester-united-linked-bruno-fernandes-and-edinson-cavani-will?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2020 07:09:16 +0000 Manchester United beat Norwich City 4-0 at Old Trafford and the attacking midfielder had his best game for the club. United fans looked at him and thought “so this is why you were bought” and the 22-year-old was clearly delighted – but this wasn’t in Manchester on Saturday as United put four past the hapless Canaries, but seven years ago. That number 26 is still playing, but he’s no longer at United. Shinji Kagawa is 30 and in Spain’s second division with Real Zaragoza. He played on Saturday in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3046019/manchester-united-zaragoza-shinji-kagawa-rise-and-fall-one-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3046019/manchester-united-zaragoza-shinji-kagawa-rise-and-fall-one-best?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2020 08:46:51 +0000 Almost eight thousand Evertonians were at Anfield on Sunday for their FA Cup defeat by Liverpool’s reserves, a suitably sizeable following for a massive local derby between two big clubs. The majority turned their backs when Liverpool fans sang You’ll Never Walk Alone before kick-off. That’s exactly the type of amusing, harmless, petty, enmity which you should see at derby matches. It’s the Tromso fans chiding the Bodo Glimt fans because the colour of their shirt is yellow, the same as urine. In... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3044948/manchester-united-cutting-man-city-allocation-rids-league-cup-derby?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3044948/manchester-united-cutting-man-city-allocation-rids-league-cup-derby?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jan 2020 04:18:12 +0000 At least there won't be 31 days of will-he-won’t-he over a possible transfer of 19-year old Norwegian striker Erling Haaland to Manchester United. No reports from Flight Tracker about a private plane heading to Manchester from Salzburg or Stavanger. No pictures of him signing a United shirt among the many others he’s asked to sign. Haaland’s deal to join Borussia Dortmund was announced on Sunday, with the contract dated from January 2. United were interested in Haaland and his former boss, Ole... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3043924/manchester-united-end-erling-haaland-interest-after-mino-raiolas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3043924/manchester-united-end-erling-haaland-interest-after-mino-raiolas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2019 07:58:54 +0000 January’s Carabao Cup semi-finals between the Manchester giants is the most eagerly anticipated domestic cup tie in English football so far this season, but fans of Manchester United and holders Manchester City are disappointed that the ticket allocation for both clubs has been cut by 60 per cent to just 3,000 each – the normal amount for a league game. The decision was made privately between both clubs on safety grounds and goes against the competition rules where 10 per cent of tickets should... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3043425/manchester-derby-united-and-city-fans-uproar-after-clubs-cut-away?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3043425/manchester-derby-united-and-city-fans-uproar-after-clubs-cut-away?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 09:31:15 +0000 Arsenal’s response to Mesut Ozil’s comments about China’s treatment of the Uygurs was condemned as much as the player’s views were by the Chinese authorities whose state television network didn’t broadcast Arsenal’s game against Manchester City. China’s foreign ministry spokesman said: “He was misled by fake news. Xinjiang is enjoying political stability, a flourishing economy, ethnic unity, a social harmony. We welcome him to visit Xinjiang.” Arsenal distanced themselves from Ozil’s comments... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3042470/premier-league-clubs-focus-china-market-means-theyll-keep-making?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3042470/premier-league-clubs-focus-china-market-means-theyll-keep-making?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2019 10:03:35 +0000 Two Manchester City stewards crossed the streamlined modern bridge linking the club’s training ground to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, walking towards a large police wall which would separate 51,000 home fans from 3,000 away fans. “It’s the first derby I’ve not been nervous about,” says one. His colleague agrees. Nearby, City legend Shaun Goater was similarly confident. And rightly so. The champions were about to face a Manchester United with a solitary away league win all season. City had... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3041426/manchester-uniteds-derby-win-over-city-hints-solskjaers-vision?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3041426/manchester-uniteds-derby-win-over-city-hints-solskjaers-vision?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Dec 2019 08:07:26 +0000