Terim talks up Galatasaray virtues
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
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Fatih Terim hailed the "sacrifice" and "fighting spirit" of his Galatasaray AŞ side after they defeated Manchester United FC 1-0 in Group H, keeping them on course for a last-16 place.
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Fatih Terim, Galatasaray coach
It was important to beat Manchester United, regardless of whether they had a senior or reserve team out. The best scenario for us was to win. Cluj also won against Braga and we both have seven points. We are guaranteed to [at least] finish third and I now hope we can clinch qualification from the group.
The guys played fantastic. They played with sacrifice and were able to meet expectations with their fighting spirit. I congratulate them from the heart. If they hadn't played like this, it wouldn't have been possible to defeat Manchester United.
It was an entertaining match played at a high tempo. There are no guarantees in football, but I hope we can show the same spirit against Braga. With Braga certain to finish last in the group, they will be relaxed about facing us. Defending is easier than attacking, but we'll play for a win. Manchester United will be favourites against Cluj, but anything can happen in football. Our ears will be on that game while fighting for a win [in ours].
Sir Alex Ferguson, United manager
They handled the atmosphere and their temperament was good. Parts of the game were good, but the area in which we were worried about – set pieces – we suffered. That was always going to be a worry for us. Other than that, I was satisfied and it was a decent performance. We had some good attacking play in the first half and at that point the only trouble they gave us was from outside the box. It was a very competitive, good game.