The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 196 European Cup Winners' Cup Failure

"Ferguson suffered a heavy blow, and Manchester United's confident journey to defend the European title came to an abrupt end."

--Inscription

After the 12th round of the league, the Red Devils ranked first in the standings, temporarily leading the pack.

Now, various English media have regarded the Red Devils as the favorites to win the championship. The Manchester Evening News said: "Ferguson's Red Devils played a very good game. They were very sharp, fast and full of attacking power. Their performance in the league was amazing. As long as they continue this form, they will be a strong contender for the league title."

The Times said: "Ferguson has changed the Red Devils. Now the Red Devils look like a completely different team. They are fast, active, technical and very entertaining. They attack aggressively and their attacks from the flanks are endless. They play very lively and energetically. Such a team will bring new impact to English football."

The BBC also paid attention to the tactical changes of the Red Devils. "Ferguson's current tactics are significantly different from before. He emphasizes more on wing attacks and uses wing breakthroughs to open up space. English teams are not used to this style of play and they will be torn to pieces by Ferguson's two wingers. This rapid breakthrough makes Ferguson's team full of vitality and makes their offense flourish. Now Ferguson's team is full of momentum, and it depends on which team can stop their unbeaten streak."

The media's hype is naturally a bit exaggerated, but Ferguson's team has made great progress in strength, which is a fact that everyone has to admit.

On October 1991, 10, the Red Devils traveled to the away game in the first leg of the second round of the European Cup Winners' Cup to challenge the La Liga powerhouse Atletico Madrid.

Amid the cheers of fans at the Calderon Stadium, the Red Devils were put into a very awkward and passive position by the opponent's fierce attack. Ferguson was not well prepared for Atletico Madrid's tactical style.

Atletico Madrid has a long history. In the 80s, they were in a short period of growth. Aragones coached here for more than ten years. He was almost always a regular in European wars. He also had experience in the Champions League final, won the Intercontinental Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup runner-up, and won the domestic league and cup championships many times. In 1987, the club owner Calderon died of a sudden heart attack, and Jesus Hill became the club chairman. Under the new chairman, Aragones left office and the team entered a new historical stage. In the two seasons from 1988 to 1990, the team ranked fourth in La Liga. In the 4-1990 season, the team won the La Liga runner-up and defeated Mallorca 91-1 in the King's Cup final, winning the seventh King's Cup in team history and entering the European Cup Winners' Cup. Not only that, they also successfully defended the King's Cup in the 0-7 season, and defeated their arch-rival Real Madrid in the final.

The Atletico Madrid team that faced Manchester United in 1991 had many talented players, the most famous of which were two forwards: Paulo Futre, the spiritual forward who dominated the Portuguese football world (who once won the European Silver Ball Award). His speed, his dribbling, and his feints created amazement again and again in Calderón and were praised again and again! Almost all Atletico Madrid fans believed that it was impossible to stop Paulo Futre's breakthrough. He was too fast, able to rush at high speed on the wing and rush into the opponent's penalty area like the wind. He was considered the fastest man in La Liga at the time. Another super striker of Atletico Madrid was Baltasar of Brazil. He had a keen sense of goal and excellent shooting skills, and was the most reliable weapon for Atletico Madrid to score goals. Baltasar scored 35 goals in one season, setting a record for the most goals in a single season in the club's -year history, becoming the top scorer with the most goals in a season.

Not only that, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Abel Recino Gomez was also very good. He set a world record of 1990 minutes without conceding a goal in the 91-1275 season. This was not only unprecedented, as the record of the legendary Italian goalkeeper Zoff was broken by him; it was also unprecedented, and no one has been able to break this record for the longest time.

Ferguson sent out Irwin, Bruce, Pallister and Parker in this game. Robson and Ings were in the middle of the midfield, Giggs and Kanchelskis were on both sides, and McClair and Hughes were still the forwards.

Ferguson's starting lineup was basically the strongest lineup that the Red Devils could put out. But one mistake that Ferguson did not expect was that Robson, the most critical position in the team, was in poor form in this game. Not only did he lose his color in the confrontation, but his rhythm was slow, and it was difficult to stabilize the midfield, let alone suppress the opponent. This led to the Red Devils being unable to withstand the fierce attack of the La Liga powerhouse Atletico Madrid at the beginning of the game, especially the opponent aimed at Robson's position and the central area of ​​Manchester United to launch a fierce attack. Atletico Madrid's formation 433 is very aggressive, with flexible running positions, and it will form a numerical advantage in the midfield most of the time. Atletico's forward Paul Futre is even more accustomed to attacking the opponent's ribs and cutting in from the corner of the penalty area, which is a fatal threat to Robson. Bruce and Pallister, the two central defenders, also had no way to deal with the Brazilian striker Baltasar. The Brazilian's flexible body, exquisite movements, and quick and sharp reactions all gave Manchester United's two English central defenders a headache.

Ferguson's original tactic for the team was to stabilize the midfield and compete with the opponent for the initiative. However, the Red Devils' defense was torn open early on due to the opponent's rapid advance. In the 21st minute of the first half, Baltasar used an exaggerated fake move in the Manchester United penalty area to lure Pallister out of position, then got rid of the defense and easily scored, giving Atletico a 1-0 lead.

Ferguson immediately changed his tactics and took the initiative to push the midfield line across the center line as much as possible, creating offensive opportunities and trying to equalize the score. Manchester United launched a quick attack in the 31st minute. Kanchelskis dribbled the ball past the opponent's midfielder on the right and made a cross to the edge of the Atletico penalty area. Hughes received the ball in the middle of the penalty area, but when he wanted to turn and shoot, his opponent kicked the ball away. Ince, who followed up, shot the ball outside the penalty area, but unfortunately missed. In the 37th minute, Manchester United still launched from the right. Kanchelskis rushed to the rib area of ​​the Atletico penalty area with the ball, attracting the opponent's full-back and central defender to come to double-team and pass it to his teammate on the wing. Parker received the ball and made a cross from the bottom. McClair received the ball and protected the ball with his back, then set up a very suitable turret for his teammate Hughes. Unfortunately, Hughes' follow-up shot was too straight and was easily saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Manchester United pushed forward and attacked, so naturally there were many gaps in the midfield. After Atletico withstood the bombardment, Futre made use of his advantage in attacking and frequently penetrated into Manchester United's hinterland like a sharp knife. In the 43rd minute, Atletico launched a sharp counterattack. Futre broke through the penalty area alone and shot directly into the dead corner.

Manchester United was trailing 0-2 and the game was over.

In the second half, Manchester United's attack became more urgent, and the gaps in the backcourt became larger and larger. Atletico Madrid is not a team that just shrinks its defense. Their players' individual skills are also very good, and Futre's speed is the most dangerous weapon. In the 72nd minute of the second half, Manchester United's long attack in the frontcourt failed, and the backcourt was penetrated by the opponent's long pass counterattack again. Quias quickly advanced and passed the Manchester United defender and made a cross, and Boten easily scored in front of the goal.

Manchester United's fierce attack was ineffective and they ultimately suffered a 0-3 defeat.

L'Equipe commented scathingly: "Manchester United's strength is still not enough to sweep across Europe. They failed miserably against the La Liga powerhouse, which even casts doubt on their previous victory over Barcelona."

The Spanish daily said: "Ferguson's team was obviously a bit blindly arrogant. Their central defense had serious problems, but Ferguson did not make timely adjustments. This put the entire team in a passive position and eventually allowed Atletico to continue to expand their results."

After returning to the Premier League, the Red Devils challenged Sheffield Wednesday away in the 13th round.

The aftereffects of the European war were very serious. The exhausted Red Devils were left with only a false fire. After only a little bit of hot attack in the first half, they were unable to press. Manchester United's old captain Robson had difficulty running in this game, and the confrontation was not tough enough. He was a little distracted by the opponent's vigorous pressing and tireless running, and could not play a good role as a barrier. Although Giggs and Kanchelskis on the two sides still had threats, it was difficult for them to score without the help of their teammates. Throughout the game, Manchester United played very hard. Sheffield Wednesday defeated the Red Devils' defense with a simple rush. Their precise pass caused problems in the defensive cooperation between Robson and Webber in the middle of the Red Devils, which eventually led to leaks in the defense. Although McClair scored two goals in a row, he still couldn't save the 2-3 defeat.

This was the first time the Red Devils lost in the league and the team suffered two consecutive defeats.

Sheffield Wednesday successfully exploited the lack of Red Devils' midfield defense, specifically targeting Robson's slump and attacking the Red Devils' central gap. These teams found that as long as they speed up in the middle and constantly attack the Red Devils' midfield, the Red Devils' midfield line will have some problems. Once the slow Robson does not run enough, or Ince goes too deep into the opponent's defense and is bypassed, the opponent can directly face the Red Devils' central defender. When the two Red Devils' central defenders retreat, both Pallister and Bruce will have the weakness of not being able to keep up with the movement. The opponent only needs to keep trying to quickly attack the Red Devils' central defense area, which will force the Red Devils' entire defensive system to bear pressure, and then make mistakes under pressure.

Sheffield Wednesday took advantage of Robson's fatigue and the Red Devils' European war syndrome, and challenged the Red Devils' defense by quickly crossing the midfield. They won the Red Devils, who were known for their offense, in a head-on confrontation.

On October 10, the Red Devils defeated Portsmouth 30-3 in the third round of the League Cup and successfully advanced. In this game, Ferguson still started all the main players, Giggs and Kanchelskis attacked from the wings and played a very fierce wing attack. Portsmouth was weak and could not pose any threat. With the help of Manchester United's wing tactics, the center easily tore through the opponent's defense line, Robson and Robins scored, and the Red Devils won easily.

In the 14th round of the league, the Red Devils beat Sheffield United 2-0 at home. Ferguson said before the game: "Our players need to be rotated now, because we have suffered a lot from the schedule arrangement before, and we have to deal with it carefully."

Despite the large rotation of the defense, Manchester United still focused on the wing attack in this game. Giggs performed very maturely and Kanchelskis also performed at a high level. Manchester United's frontcourt attack became more and more sharp. In the 17th minute, Kanchelskis passed the ball back from the right bottom. Parker received the ball and rushed into the upper corner of the penalty area. Then he made a low pass to the penalty area to assist. Unfortunately, Hughes' shot, which should have easily scored, was blocked by the opponent. In the 18th minute, the Red Devils made a cross through the corner kick tactics. The Red Devils players in the penalty area forced the opponent's defender to make a mistake in the penalty area and scored an own goal. Then Kanchelskis made a powerful header in the penalty area to lock the score of 2-0 and help the Red Devils win.

The Red Devils then faced Atletico Madrid at home in the second leg of the second round of the European Cup Winners' Cup. Manchester United attacked with all their might right from the start. Mark Hughes broke out in form, jumping high like a flying general in the opponent's penalty area and heading the ball into the dead corner in the 4th minute of the game. However, Atletico Madrid still had a 2-goal advantage and steadily consumed the energy of Manchester United, and were always ready to take advantage of Manchester United's carelessness and launch a sharp counterattack.

In the second half, Manchester United continued to attack fiercely, but they were unable to penetrate the opponent's defense. Manchester United's frontcourt attack failed, but the defense line made mistakes and was penetrated by the opponent's sharp counterattack tactics again. In the end, the two teams tied 1-1.

The Red Devils were eliminated by their opponents 1-4 in two rounds, ending their defense of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

The defending champions of the European Cup Winners' Cup were eliminated in the second round. The BBC made harsh criticisms, saying, "Ferguson's team lost the chance to defend the European Cup Winners' Cup. His team is completely unable to play tough games in Europe. Against the La Liga team, they didn't win any of the two rounds and didn't have any chance of a comeback at home. This is completely different from the game against Barcelona. The result is really disappointing."

Ferguson had no way to refute it. Ferguson did make mistakes in his deployment of the two teams against Atletico Madrid. The process and results of the two games also reminded him that Manchester United has not really become a super team in the European arena, and the team still has a long way to go.