We need United spirit says Schalke coach
Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick has urged his team to emulate Manchester United's never-say-die spirit as they bid to upset the English giants in the Champions League on Wednesday.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: May 04, 2011 10:34 am IST
Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick has urged his team to emulate Manchester United's never-say-die spirit as they bid to upset the English giants in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Rangnick's side were comprehensively outplayed in last week's semi final first leg match in Gelsenkirchen, losing 2-0 as United took a giant step towards their third final appearance in four years.
United's victory in Germany has left Schalke as massive outsiders heading into Wednesday's return fixture, but Rangnick says he is unfazed by his team's underdog status.
And the Schalke coach said his team should take inspiration from United's famous win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, when they scored twice in the final minutes to win the title.
"Even if there is only two minutes left we have to think of Manchester United when they won the Champions League in 1999," Rangnick said.
"I think we have to be well organised in the first 10 minutes and we have to take our chances when they come."
Rangnick said he was unconcerned that English bookmakers had made United heavy favourites to progress, recalling Schalke's stunning 5-2 win over Inter Milan in the quarter finals.
"What the people here say doesn't really matter," Rangnick said. "But that was no different than the situation against Inter Milan. Tomorrow we want to play better and show that we have learnt our lessons from last week.
"In the first leg we competed for first 15 minutes but then we gave away too many clear-cut chances. But when we played in Milan against Inter, they didn't give us too much hope either."