PORTUGAL: SOCCER - Manchester's United Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani revived their career start with Sporting in their opening Champions League group match

Record ID: 336361

  • Title: PORTUGAL: SOCCER - Manchester's United Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani revived their career start with Sporting in their opening Champions League group match
  • Date: 19th September 2007
  • Summary: MANCHESTER TRAINING
  • Embargoed: 4th October 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Portugal
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVADL3PTO6U82JA3PQJDHM120X9S
  • Story Text: Manchester's United Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani revived their career start with Sporting in their opening Champions League group match.
    Rosenborg.
    Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani will face former colleagues when they meet native club Sporting in the Champions League phase of groups opener on Wednesday (September 19, 2007).
    Manchester United added to injury-list the key midfielder Owen Hargreaves and defender Gary Neville who have both failed to recover from thigh strains and did not travel to Portugal.
    England striker Wayne Rooney is in the squad, however, after recovering from a broken foot sustained in the opening day of the season.
    Mikael Silvestre, out of the season with a serious knee injury, darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Park Ji-sung and Ben Foster are also on United's injury list.
    Despite injuries, manager Sir Alex Ferguson, aiming for thier 100th win in the European Champions tournament, said Mancherster United should have a better record in the Champions League.
    Only one win in 1999 - to go with their inaugural 1968 European Cup success -- is a poor return for a club that was won nine domestic league titles in Ferguson's 20-year reign at Old Trafford.
    Ferguson would dearly love to add a second title before he relinquishes control, and regaining the Premier League crown last season means that the Champions League may now have moved to the top of his list of priorities.
    At Old Trafford, United remain almost invincible and last season's 7-1 win over AS Roma was a remarkable result.
    The two clubs have been drawn together again this time , along with Sporting and Dynamo Kiev in Group F Sporting 's coach Paulo Bento is confident the team will show more maturity and improve on last year's performance, when his team ended the group stage in fourth place.
    Sporting have never lost at home to an English team, with four victories and one draw.
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