Manchester United Football Club Blog: Revealed: Why Manchester United struggle against German sides

Tuesday 29 September 2009

Revealed: Why Manchester United struggle against German sides

You would think that Sir Alex Ferguson's troops would be defending their territory against the Germans on Wednesday evening full to the brim with confidence, based on their sterling Champions League record under his reign.
However, take one look at the stats and last year's finalists could be set for a rude awakening against the new Bundesliga boys on the bloc.
Wolfsburg have emerged as a genuine threat in the top tier of European football, thanks to their first German title win last season.
Manager Armin Veh has a potent mix of defensive durability and attacking verve at his disposal to delight the fans at the Volkswagen Arena.
So much so that Ferguson's experienced campaigners will be hard pressed to reverse a poor record against German opposition in Uefa's showpiece event as our table below shows.
They have only managed to beat German sides four times in 15 Champions League games, an astonishing statistic when you consider their success in the competition overall.
The fact that one of their Champions League triumphs came against Bayern Munich in the nerve shredding 1999 final is even more surprising, Teddy and Ole's injury-time goals the difference.
Arsenal and Chelsea haven't fared that much better since the format switched from the European Cup, Liverpool's four wins in six games the only sustained spell of British achievement.
United have drawn six and lost five of their games, a slender goal difference of one doing little to cover over the 27 per cent victory rate.
With the Red Devils winning 53 per cent of their Champions League matches overall, it could well be that Ryan Giggs and co start boosting their win column sooner rather than later.
However Brazilian Grafite became the oldest player, aged 30, to notch a Champions League debut hat-trick last time out against CSKA Moscow.
Add prolific Bosnian strike partner Edin Džeko to the mix and Ferguson's men have it all to do at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. 

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