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)Basel players target upset
Ahead of Wednesday’s crunch Champions League clash, Basel midfielder Scott Chipperfield speaks exclusively to ManUtd.com.
You were involved when United last went to St Jakob Park, in 2002/03. What do you remember about that game?Well, I had a shot after about 60 seconds and we scored. It deflected off our striker, Christian Giminez, and then Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a couple of goals to kill us off. We played well in the first half and in the away game we drew 1-1.
There was another draw this season at Old Trafford, although you were leading 3-2 going into the 90th minute. What was the mood like in the dressing room afterwards?Of course we were disappointed to have the victory snatched from us in the last minute but we were pretty pleased to come away from Old Trafford with a point. Not too many teams manage that. We were more upbeat than disappointed afterwards.
You won a lot of fans that night. You must have been proud of the performance...Definitely. We were pleased with the way we came back from 2-0 down at half-time. Even at that point we felt we were a bit unlucky to be behind as we'd created a lot of good chances in the first half and could have had a couple of goals. In the dressing room at the break we were confident because we were happy with how we were playing. We just decided to go out there in the second half and give it our best shot. A win at Old Trafford probably would have been the biggest result in our history. We've had some good wins down the years, but that would have been really special.
What was playing at Old Trafford like?It's exciting playing at Old Trafford. It's a great stadium and it actually motivates you more than intimidates you. I think most professional footballers thrive on challenges and want to play on the biggest stage, and that's what you get when you go to Old Trafford. Our young players have a lot of confidence and they loved going to play at Old Trafford.
You achieved that result without arguably your star man, Xherdan Shaqiri...
It was a big loss for us not to have Xherdan in Manchester. He's one of the most important players in our team and he's rare in the sense that he's terrific going forward but also works very hard defensively. He's played all over the pitch for us - all across midfield as well as at left-back.
He’s been linked with all sorts of teams around Europe, including United. What’s he like to work with every day?He's a confident player. He's only small but that be deceiving - he's solid and strong. He's only young but he has very quick feet. Sometimes he reminds me a little of Messi, the way he dribbles. He's naturally left-footed but he also likes playing on the right where he can cut inside and shoot. He can also play at left-back and does a very good job there. He's a very good player and I think he'll go on to play for a much bigger club in the future. He's a big player for us but I don't know how long Basel will be able to hang onto him for.
Is that a scenario that affects a lot of Swiss clubs?
It is, yeah. Switzerland isn't a big league so it's only natural that talented young players want to go to Germany or England. I've been at Basel 11 years and I've seen a lot of players come and go - that's just how it is in Switzerland. That's how clubs have to operate in order to survive – they have to nurture and produce talent and then sell it on. Not many good young players stay in Switzerland.
You could knock United out of the Champions League on Wednesday with a win at home. Is it fair to say few people, even at FC Basel, expected to be in this position? I think a lot of people, including opposition teams, under-estimate us. To be fair, when the group came out I think most of us thought the realistic target was Europa League qualification. That was where we felt we were likely to have our biggest success this season. But we have a good squad and a lot of us have played international football. In the Champions League we play with an attitude of having nothing to lose. Nobody expects us to do well, so we like to go out there and play entertaining football. At half-time at Old Trafford some people may have expected us to lose four or five-nil. In the end we were unlucky not to win.
What should United expect to encounter at St Jakob Park?The game in Basel sold out a long time ago and our fans are always terrific at home - they sing non-stop throughout the game. Our support is easily the biggest in Switzerland. There have even been occasions when our away fans have outnumbered home fans. It's great to play in front of them and we normally play well at home in the Champions League. We were unlucky against Benfica and we beat Galati and could have won by more. We're pretty strong at home and we have a lot of good attacking options, particularly Alexander Frei and Marco Streller up front. Our defence has also been strong recently.
In some ways, is it easier to play against a team like United than it is against relative unknowns like Otelul Galati?Definitely. You know all about United when you play them and you're also really motivated to do well. You look forward to games like that, particularly young players. For them, high-profile opponents gives them a chance to showcase their skills in front of a lot of important people. When United come to Basel we'll all be up for it and we're looking to pull off an upset.
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