Manchester United may be clear favourites ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League opener with FC Twente, but Joseph Oosting’s side are certainly not prepared to lay down and accept defeat.
Far from it.
Instead, the team who finished third in the Eredivisie last season – ahead of an admittedly dreadful Ajax side – are ready to take the game to their vaunted hosts at Old Trafford.
While Manchester United have made improvements in a multitude of areas so far this season – Erik ten Hag’s team keeping three clean sheets in a row for the first time since January 2023 as an ‘unbelievable’ Andre Onana saved United’s skin at Crystal Palace – there are still some lingering concerns about how easy it is to play through the Red Devils’ midfield.
The signing of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain should help.
But with Casemiro perhaps likely to come back into the team against Twente – as he did against Barnsley in last week’s 7-0 Carabao Cup thrashing – Oosting feels that there will be opportunities for his team should they have the bravery to seize them.
FC Twente boss shares plan to ‘hurt’ Manchester United in Europa League
“I always believe in chances,” Oosting said during his pre-match press conference. “I think that if we dare to play – really dare to play football – we can create chances.
“Especially in the transition, I think we can hurt Manchester United.”
Even against Southampton and Crystal Palace – two of the poorer sides in the Premier League – United still looked worryingly vulnerable to quick counters.
United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane expressed concerns over Ten Hag’s tactics after that 3-0 defeat against Liverpool. A midfield short on physicality and athleticism often appearing like a block of warm-temperature butter up against teams with the sharpness required to slice through.
Twente, of course, do not have a Mo Salah or a Luis Diaz. And, individually speaking, Man United’s squad is on another level entirely to that of FC Twente.
But Oosting is determined to ensure that his plucky underdogs walk onto the Old Trafford stage not to act as unwitting stooges in a confidence-boosting Man United win, but to be antagonists in a play he hopes will have a few twists at the end.
“If you talk about Real Madrid and Barcelona, then I think United also fits in there [among the top clubs in Europe],” adds Oosting. “In the end, [beating such a side] is always easier said than done.
“We have to show courage. We want to. The will is definitely there. We are here because we came third in the Netherlands.
“We can show the world that we rightly belong on this podium.”
United coaches Rene Hake and Erik ten Hag set for Twente reunion
Man United boss Ten Hag discussed his adoration for FC Twente this week. A former captain of the Enschede outfit, both Ten Hag and Rene Hake began their coaching careers with Twente’s academy.
United’s newly-hired assistant coach – Noussair Mazraoui hailed Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy and they role they are playing behind the scenes at Carrington on Tuesday – has also known Oosting since they were team-mates together at Emmen.
“We know each other very well,” Hake tells ESPN. “It is nice to see each other again in this context. That was the case in the Netherlands not so long ago, and now we can greet each other at Old Trafford.”
Hake, who led an overachieving Go Ahead Eagles to ninth last term while boasting the Eredivisie’s fourth-best defensive record, is also delighted with his new position at Man United even if he is playing an unfamiliar supporting role these days.
“In the beginning, it was very hectic, both privately and with work. But it’s wonderful to experience and to be a part of it,” the 52-year-old smiles. “I can put my own stamp on it.
“You have to do different things than when you’re a head coach. You’re busy in a different way, preparing training sessions and such. You do notice that you have to pay a bit more attention to that in the beginning.”
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