Eagles must beat Man U or face exit From Europe

The Black Eagles, the current Turkish champions, may have rediscovered winning form in the domestic league and are sweeping aside opponents with enthralling arrogance. Ask the latest victims, Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe, and they will tell you what it feels like being on the receiving end when Beşiktaş is at issue.

Going getting tougher in Europe

But all is not well with the Black Eagles in Europe. They are languishing at the bottom of Group B with only one point from four matches. Their chances of continuing in the lucrative Champions League have evaporated into thin air, and even finishing third the group and continuing in the less prestigious UEFA Europa League is a tall order, indeed.

CSKA Moscow, the Eagles’ closest rival, has four points with only two games left including this evening’s, and if they earn a point from their match with German champion VfL Wolfsburg this evening and Beşiktaş is beaten at Old Trafford, that would be the end of the story for the Black Eagles. In plain language, that would mean the Eagles bidding bye-bye to all European competitions this season.

But Beşiktaş seems undaunted by the might of Manchester. “Our morale is sky high,” the Beşiktaş general manager said before their departure to England on Monday. “We had a very pleasant week and are going to England with high morale. This is an advantage for us, no doubt about it,” he noted.

Former captain İbrahim Üzülmez, the hero of the derby against Fenerbahçe on Saturday, concurred rather philosophically with his general manager. “We are not concerned about what Manchester [United] can do or has done. On the contrary we are concerned about what we can do and are going to do,” he said. “This is a match in which we have to give our all and it is a match in which we must put up a good fight. As a team we are performing well and hope to return from England with a good result,” he added.

Coach Denizli cautious

Beşiktaş coach Mustafa Denizli was more cautious in choosing his words. “We are not going to England to lose,” he said, which can be translated as “a draw at Old Trafford would not be a bad result.” But he also noted that his team is more desperate for points and so they would “strive for a result worthy of Beşiktaş.”

But Denizli will be missing suspended Czech stopper Tomas Sivok, injured second-choice keeper Hakan Arıkan, Slovakia striker Filip Holosko and 18-year-old Turkey junior international left back Rıdvan Şimşek, whose surname translates to lightning, while Brazilian-Turkish forward Mert Nobre was allowed to stay behind in İstanbul because his child is ill.

The coach is very likely going to field Brazilian Bobo as the sole striker, with midfield support from Germans Fabian Ernst, Michael Fink, Rodrigo Tello and of course Üzülmez. In a nutshell, any player who is fielded today has to perform above his natural capacity because United is no spring chicken.

For United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, whose team has already qualified, this evening’s match is a mere formality. And so Sir Alex may field some reserves while preserving his regulars for the premiership.

There are also reports that 21-year-old Northern Ireland left back Jonathan Grant “Jonny” Evans and 28-year-old Bulgarian forward Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov have been sidelined due to injury.

Apart from the lucrative prize money for the winner, nothing else is at stake for Manchester United. But Beşiktaş has everything to play for.