The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

"It's certainly not a glorious thing for Manchester United to be eliminated after just two games in European competitions, to be eliminated in the first round."

--Inscription

Because they finished second in the previous season, the Red Devils could only participate in the UEFA Cup. This time, the Red Devils' opponents were very unfamiliar, and even Ferguson heard of them for the first time and was very confused.

After the UEFA Cup draw, the first question Ferguson asked reporters was, "What's the name of this team, Rotor Team? Where are they?" The Red Devils' team reporters were at a loss for words and gave the old Scottish man a geography lesson, "Your opponent is called Volgograd Rotor Team, 1000 kilometers southeast of Moscow, and they are in Volgograd."

Volgograd Rotor had not played against Western European teams for a long time, no wonder Ferguson was not familiar with them. They were a strong team in Russia in the mid-to-late 90s. Starting from the 1993-94 season, they played closely with the Russian league giant Spartak Moscow for several consecutive years and were always competing for the league championship. They were full of fighting spirit, but unfortunately they never succeeded and finished second for four consecutive seasons. This is the second time in their history that they have entered the European war. The last time was the previous season. At that time, they were eliminated by Nantes of France in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

曼联第一场欧洲联盟杯比赛是客场作战。在1995年9月12日的伏尔加格勒，有260名红魔死忠跟随球队完成了这次单程4600公里的旅行。

Andy Mitten, a famous Red Devils fan and writer, later wrote an article specifically recalling the experience of this away trip. "It takes 22 hours to fly for a game. This kind of journey exhausted us, and I think the team was the same. We arrived at the empty airport very late and were taken to the hotel by taxi. It is said that there are only two taxis in this city that provide services for foreigners, and there is a severe shortage of hotels. There are no shops and restaurants on the wide streets of Volgograd. There are only two hotels in the city - fans and reporters live in one of them, and the Red Devils players live in the other. The hotel facilities are very poor, the decoration is simple, and the beds are speechless. We stayed in the best hotel in the city, but the hotel chosen by the Red Devils was not very good. The two tall players, Pallister and Schmeichel, were very dissatisfied with the beds. They thought the beds were too small and joked that they had to ride on the beds. There was no way to get a good night's sleep."

Mitten's description is actually a complete misunderstanding. Russia had undergone tremendous changes, but the economic achievements accumulated over the years were still there, and the economic foundation was not as bad as he described.

Mitten later described Volgograd as follows: "This is a special city, with one of the world's largest granite sculptures, 'Mother Russia', to commemorate the millions of people who died in the Battle of Stalingrad. When the first rays of sunlight shine on the wide boulevard, the shadow of the huge statue will extend all the way to the vast Volga River. It was an honor for us to be in Volgograd, the warm autumn air, the friendly and curious locals - even though we could only communicate with gestures. Fans shook hands with us outside the stadium, said 'hello' in English, and marveled at the hammer and sickle on our 'Reds In Russia' flag. We sat among them during the game and they handed us bottles of vodka. The police seemed confused by the friendly attitude of us outsiders. They might have been thinking, 'Aren't these British people all football hooligans? But they don't look like them?' They sat around us, perhaps on guard, or just to protect us. In the end they were relieved that there was no problem."

The encounter with an unfamiliar opponent was not very good. Ferguson sent out a team mainly composed of young players. The home team played cautiously, concentrated their forces in the midfield, and did not attack actively. Ferguson was also relatively conservative on the Manchester United side. He did not require the players to launch a continuous attack. The game was mainly about testing for a long time. In the end, the game ended in a dull atmosphere. The Rotor team played several fast side attacks, but Ferguson was very familiar with this. There was no problem with the defensive strategy deployed, and there was no flaw in the defense line. In the offense, the Red Devils players did not play sharp enough. Beckham and Giggs did not play well. Other players also seemed to be in poor condition and ultimately failed to break the opponent's goal.

The team reporter Andy Mitten finally recorded that "the atmosphere in the stadium was very warm, even though we were all strangers. We sang the Red Devils' songs, and they sang the home team song of the Rotor Wings. Everyone served their own team, but they also lived in peace. At the end of the first half, the local fans seemed very happy that they could even maintain a draw with the Red Devils. This surprise turned into ecstasy when the game ended 0-0."

Mitten's later memories were full of warmth. "We didn't play well in this game, but our opponents gave it their all, so in the end they seemed more excited and happier with the result. At the end of the game, the Rotor fans applauded enthusiastically and waved goodbye to us, as if their team had won a great victory. The police insisted on taking us back to the hotel, and the sirens on the car kept blaring along the way. In fact, we didn't feel any danger and everyone was full of joy."

The result was not bad, but the bad thing was that Keane was injured.

The first game ended in a 0-0 draw, and the warm images and memories in Mitten's mind soon became a thing of the past in the fierce battle of the second round.

On September 1995, 9, the second round of the UEFA Cup between the Red Devils and Volgograd Rotor kicked off at Old Trafford.

The score was 0:0 in the first leg, and a win was all they needed to get through the game. Before the game, most media believed that Manchester United would easily win. Ferguson made bold rotation adjustments in the lineup, with Schmeichel still in goal, two young players Phil Neville and John O'Kane replacing Irwin and Parker, Keane in midfield, and Giggs and Cole playing as forwards.

The Red Devils were not focused at the beginning of the game, and the visiting team took the lead. In the 16th minute, the Russian team attacked from the left. The striker from Kazakhstan, Nidragus, retreated to get the ball, turned to face Bruce who followed him, and used a very clever fake move to directly pass the Red Devils central defender, and then continued to lead the ball forward, passing it directly to his teammates when the other Red Devils central defender David May filled in. After receiving the ball, the wing striker Zhirnov rushed into the penalty area alone, attracted the Red Devils goalkeeper to attack, but did not shoot, but easily passed the ball to the front of the goal. At this time, his teammate Nidragus arrived in time and easily pushed the ball into the empty goal.

Manchester United is trailing 0-1!

The first goal lost by the Red Devils was caused by Bruce being dribbled past, and the second goal was also caused by him. Eight minutes later, Bruce received a pass from Beckham near the center circle. Manchester United's transfer was not dangerous at the time, but Bruce stopped the ball too hard and made a mistake. The ball was directly intercepted by another striker of the rotating wing, Vretnikoff. This mistake was fatal. Vretnikoff drove straight into the penalty area and shot directly. Although the Red Devils goalkeeper Schmeichel tried his best to save the shot, the shot was very tricky. The ball passed his fingertips, hit the inside of the goal post and bounced into the net.

Before the end of the first half, Manchester United was trailing 0-2 and the team was in a desperate situation.

Ferguson's face was livid and Old Trafford was silent.

The Red Devils will be eliminated by their opponents, which will inevitably greatly damage the reputation of the team and the coach. The media even dug up a piece of history that is eye-catching. If Manchester United loses to their opponents in this game, it is likely to suffer the embarrassment of losing at home in the European war for the first time in 39 years.

Ferguson did not hesitate to replace O'Kane with Scholes at the beginning of the second half, urging the players to strengthen their attack and equalize the score as soon as possible. The substitute Ginger and Cole played as strikers, and the two wingers were replaced by Beckham and Giggs. This adjustment made the Red Devils team become sharper.

The Red Devils, who were pressing their opponents, created an opportunity in the 59th minute of the second half. Keane stole the ball in the midfield and then launched an offensive. Scholes got the ball on the right and then dribbled to the corner of the penalty area, where he made a timely long pass to his teammates. Cole responded in the penalty area in time. He quickly adjusted after receiving the ball sideways, and then quickly shot. The opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground and blocked the ball out of the goal line. At this time, there was chaos in the Rotor Wing penalty area. Scholes arrived sharply and scored a direct shot in front of the goal. The Red Devils tied the total score to 1:2.

After scoring the goal, the Red Devils continued to attack, but the opponent defended with all their strength and did not give the Red Devils too many opportunities. In the 89th minute of the game, the Red Devils got a corner kick opportunity. The corner kick sent by Giggs flew accurately into the small penalty area. Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel rushed to the opponent's penalty area to participate in the attack. He jumped high and headed for the goal. The ball was hit hard on the ground and bounced into the opponent's goal.

The Red Devils tied the score 2-2!

This goal was Schmeichel's first goal in his United career and the only goal of the Danish goalkeeper in his United career. Recalling the moment of the goal, Schmeichel once said, "It is very lucky to score in such a game. I had a hunch when I ran towards the opponent's goal. At that time, no one was specifically marking me. Giggs' serve was perfect. I jumped at the right time and the angle of force was also very good. I was very excited at the time, but the timing of this goal was a little off, and it did not bring victory to the team. We were eventually eliminated. How great it would have been if this goal had turned the score into a 3:2 winning goal!"

Schmeichel's goal could not save the team from being eliminated, and the Red Devils were eliminated from the UEFA Cup.

After the game, the English media criticized Manchester United without hesitation, and Ferguson could only swallow the criticism. Manchester United's European performance during that period was at a low point, even though they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1991. Since the 1991-92 season, Manchester United has played a total of 18 European games, with a record of only 3 wins, 10 draws and 5 losses. They participated in the Champions League for two seasons and returned home early.