Mourinho: Man Utd Handed 'Champions League' Group In Europa League Draw

Mourinho: Man Utd Handed 'Champions League' Group In Europa League Draw

Adeboye   18:39:00   No comments:

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has welcomed what he considers to be a difficult draw for the Europa League group stage.

United were pitted against Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and FC Zorya Luhansk in a tough-looking Group A during Friday's draw in Monaco.

And Mourinho believes the pool is one that would normally appear in the Champions League due to the quality of the teams and feels United fans will relish such games.

"It's good for us because we think we're in the Champions League. There are very similar groups in the Champions League," he said.

"We know it's difficult but I think it's good. It's good for those who maybe weren't looking forward to Thursday nights at Old Trafford.

"It's good for the competition, which doesn't have the glamour of the Champions League, that Manchester United are playing against clubs of the history of Feyenoord and Fenerbahce. It's big to play in Rotterdam, Istanbul."

United travel to Hull City on Saturday looking to preserve their 100 per cent record in competitive matches under Mourinho, who has overseen back-to-back Premier League wins against Bournemouth and Southampton since a 2-1 victory against Leicester City in the Community Shield.

Hull have likewise enjoyed a strong start to the campaign under the stewardship of Mike Phelan, despite significant injury concerns and uncertainty over both the long-term manager and ownership of the club.

Mourinho believes Phelan deserves to be given the role on a permanent basis, regardless of the result at the KC Stadium.

"We had a difficult start with a strange pre-season, players coming in step by step," he said. "We won the Community Shield and got six points, but more than that, there are good things in the team. We are trying to work, to change.

"But every point is difficult. Hull City found a way to get points. The manager is very experienced, he knows football well and how to organise a team to get results.

"I hope he gets the job losing the match. It's not fair to make a decision if he wins or loses a match. He was one of the most successful assistants in the country, then he was an important right arm to Bruce, and now he has the job.

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Man Utd Draw Fenerbahce, Southampton Face Inter - Europa League Draw In Full

Man Utd Draw Fenerbahce, Southampton Face Inter - Europa League Draw In Full

Adeboye   18:28:00   No comments:

Manchester United will face former striker Robin van Persie after being paired with Fenerbahce in the Europa League group stage.

The Red Devils will also face Feyenoord and Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk in Group A.

United sold Van Persie to Turkish side Fenerbahce, who finished second in the Super Lig last season, in July 2015 after three years at Old Trafford.

Southampton, participating in the Europa League for the first time in their history, will take on Serie A giants Inter in Group K.

Claude Puel's charges have also been drawn against Sparta Prague and Hapoel Be'er Sheva, who were beaten by Celtic in the Champions League playoff round.

Irish outfit Dundalk have been handed a difficult group against Zenit, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Group D.

Matchday one is on September 15 with the final games in the groups staged on December 8.

The full Europa League draw as follows:

Group A: Manchester United, Fenerbahce, Feyenoord, Zorya

Group B: Olympiacos, APOEL, Young Boys, Astana

Group C: Anderlecht, Saint-Etienne, Mainz, Qabala

Group D: Zenit, AZ Alkmaar, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Dundalk

Group E: Viktoria Plzen, Roma, Austria Vienna, Astra

Group F: Athletic Bilbao, Genk, Rapid Vienna, Sassuolo

Group G: Ajax, Standard Liege, Celta Vigo, Panathinaikos

Group H: Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Gent, Konyaspor

Group I: Schalke, RB Salzburg, Kuban Krasnodar, Nice

Group J: Fiorentina, PAOK, Slovan Liberec, Qarabag

Group K: Inter, Sparta Prague, Southampton, Hapoel Be'er Sheva

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Man Utd Get Fenerbahce In Europa League Draw

Man Utd Get Fenerbahce In Europa League Draw

Adeboye   13:43:00   No comments:

Manchester United will come up against their former striker Robin van Persie after being placed in the same group as the Dutchman’s current club Fenerbahce in Friday’s draw for the group stage of the Europa League.

Jose Mourinho’s side will also come up against Dutch giants Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine in Group A.

Second in the Turkish league last season to Istanbul rivals Besiktas, Fenerbahce were eliminated from the Champions League by Monaco in the third qualifying round.

They have since sacked coach Vitor Pereira and replaced him with veteran Dutchman Dick Advocaat, whose squad includes Van Persie and ex-Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel.

United can also look forward to coming up against Van Persie’s hometown team and first club Feyenoord.

The 1970 European Cup winners and twice winners of the UEFA Cup finished third in the Dutch top flight last season and also won the Dutch Cup.

Now coached by former Arsenal and Barcelona left-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the Rotterdam side are captained by Dirk Kuyt, formerly of Liverpool and Fenerbahce.

United have faced both of these sides in the Champions League in the past, but the Ukrainians are a new proposition as they feature at this stage of European competition for the first time.

The other English Premier League representative, Southampton, were given a tough draw in Group K along with Italian giants Inter Milan, Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic and Hapoel Beer-Sheva.

The Israeli champions were eliminated from the Champions League play-offs by Celtic.

Meanwhile, Irish champions Dundalk, knocked out of the Champions League play-offs by Legia Warsaw, will face former UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands and Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel in Group D.

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Europa League: More Final Misery For Klopp

Europa League: More Final Misery For Klopp

Adeboye   07:56:00   No comments:

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp collected his fifth successive losers medal after the Reds’ 3-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

Liverpool had been hoping to end their 15-year wait for Europa League glory having last won the competition, as the UEFA Cup, in a nine-goal thriller against Deportivo Alaves in 2001.

But a second-half fightback on Wednesday saw Spanish midfielder Coke hit a brace in the space of six minutes to help Sevilla to their third consecutive and fifth trophy overall from Europe’s second-tier competition.

It means five-time European champions Liverpool have not won a European trophy since their stunning comeback victory over AC Milan in the final of the Champions League in 2005, reports AFP.

Klopp, meanwhile, now has a fifth successive losers medal from his past five finals, the last of which came in February when Liverpool lost the League Cup final on penalties to Manchester City.

In Klopp’s last match as manager of Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga side suffered a 3-1 defeat to Wolfsburg in the German Cup final — the second successive setback in the competition after an extra-time defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2014 final.

But the defeat that arguably hurt the Liverpool manager most came against Bayern in the all-German final of the Champions League in 2013 when Arjen Robben hit a late winner for the Bavarian giants.

“I promise everybody we will use it (Wednesday’s loss) and come back stronger. It was 50-60% of our usual quality and we have to accept that. We will come back,” said Klopp after the game.

Meanwhile, Klopp admitted his team became nervous after they lost the Europa league final 3-1 to Sevilla on Wednesday.

Daniel Sturridge scored a fine goal to put the English side ahead in the first half but Sevilla equalised seconds after the interval and ran out comfortable winners to win Europe’s second-tier club competition for the third year in a row.

“We had our chance, 1-0 at halftime is usually good,” Klopp said.

“Their first goal was not really a problem but we lost faith in our style of play. Didn’t defend well. Nervous.”

Defeat meant Liverpool will not play in European competition next season after finishing eighth in the Premier League.

“We have to use this experience in the right way. But for tonight it is disappointing and frustrating,” Klopp said.

“My players have to have belief. Still we are surprised by our good things. The goals were too easy. We lost faith in the second half and it is not enough in a final.”

German Klopp, who took over as manager last year, accepted his share of the responsibility for the defeat.

“Tonight we couldn’t reach our level – my job is to help the boys to see our opportunity and not feel the pressure so much,” he said.

“I’m responsible for this performance too. We are responsible for not being in Europe next year so we have to use this time. I promise everybody that we will come back stronger, 100 percent.”

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Liverpool, Sevilla Clash In Europa League Final

Liverpool, Sevilla Clash In Europa League Final

Adeboye   08:11:00   1 comment:

Liverpool take on Sevilla in the Europa League final in Basel on Wednesday (today) with a place in the group stage of next season’s Champions League up for grabs for the winners.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have endured an indifferent campaign in the Premier League, finishing eighth in the table, their lowest position since 2012. As a result, the Reds will miss out on European football altogether next season if they fail to beat a Sevilla team that has won the competition in each of the past two years.

Klopp insists, however, that Sevilla’s 2014 and 2015 triumphs mean nothing ahead of this year’s final at St Jakob Park. The German also be-lieves Sevilla’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Sunday could “make a big difference” to the outcome of the game.

Sevilla, who are at least assured of a Europa League place next season courtesy of their seventh-place finish in La Liga, travel to Switzerland looking to make history by becoming the first club to win Europe’s secondtier competition three times in a row.

Meanwhile, a fifth triumph overall for Sevilla – all within just 10 years – would also extend the record it holds over the likes of Liverpool, Juventus and Inter Milan, who have all won the competition on three occasions.

At the same time, victory for the Merseysiders at St Jakob Park would see them draw level with the Spaniards as the joint-most successful team in the UEFA Cup/Europa League’s 45- year history.

But one perfect record has to end on Wednesday: Sevilla and Liverpool have won all seven UEFA Cup and Europa League finals they have played in. Unai Emery’s holders, though, have not won outside Spain all season long, a run that started back in August in Tbilisi when Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup 5-4 after extra time.

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UEFA Invites Ayisat For Europa Cup Final

UEFA Invites Ayisat For Europa Cup Final

Adeboye   22:12:00   No comments:

Former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf-Aromire has been invited that European Football Union to grace the final of the Europa Cup final between Liverpool and Sevilla in Basel, Switzerland.

The invitation sent by UEFA Finance and Administration Manager, Pamela Lubowa, reads: “We are pleased to invite you to the following event: 2016 UEFA Social Responsibility Lunch and 2016 UEFA Europa League Final.

“The event is a corporate business invitation, all the arrangement has been put in proper order for you, and the invitation is strictly private by UEFA COMMITTEE.”

The letter added that: “The UEFA Football and Social Responsibility partner lunch will take place on Wednesday, 18 May 2016 at the Restaurant Schlüsselzunft in Basel to be followed immediately by the 2016 UEFA Europa League Final will kick-off at 20.45 hours at the St. Jakobs-Park stadium in Basel.”

Speaking with ‘New Telegraph’, the UEFA SAY NO TO RACISM ambassador expressed delight for the recognition.

“I want to thank the Finnish Football Federation for the platform that gave me the recognition by UEFA. I feel happy for the great honoured,” the Finland-based coach added.

The Finland-based retired player had attended several UEFA organised programme including the European ‘Respect Diversity’ conference in 2014 after being nominated by the Finnish Football Federation based on her contribution to the League having featured for three clubs namely OLS FC (2005), Nice Futis (2007) and K.M.F. Kuopio (2008).

Ayisat currently works with the migrants’ women sports federation in Finland as a member of the board since 2013-2014 and Mondial Stars migrant women football groups.

The versatile right sided player, who played in defence, midfield or as a winger, started her football career with Verobim Queens in 1996. She also had a glorious career with the national teams starting with the FIFA U-19 World Cup in (Canada 2002) and (Thailand 2004) and was a gold medallist at the All African Games (Nigeria 2003) and (Algeria 2007).

Ayisat also won gold at the African Women Championship (South Africa 2004) and participated at the FIFA Women’s World Cup (China 2007) and the Beijing 2008 Olympics after which she retired.

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