The experience of Alex Ferguson could be the key to Monday's potentially title-deciding Manchester derby, according to one of the veteran manager's former stalwarts Edwin van der Sar.
It's no Super Bowl. Heck, it's no Monday Night Football, but for an American audience, Monday's Manchester derby -- that is, the English club soccer game between Manchester's two Premier League teams -- is about as big as it gets stateside.
updated: Mon Apr 30 2012 07:17:00
Amanda Davies talks to Edwin van der Sar about former club Manchester United's crucial clash with Manchester City.
For Manchester City fans, Monday's night's crucial clash with United isn't simply the final battle of a season-long war. It isn't even just about clawing their way back into the race for the Premier League title. Their pain runs far deeper than that. City have lived in the shadow of their rivals for too long and they are desperate to break out into the light. You have to go back to 1991 to find the last time they finished above their rivals, a feat that was spoiled somewhat when United beat Barcelona to lift the now defunct European Cup Winners' Cup.
Five things we learned in Barclays Premier League action Sunday:
The English Premier League top two Manchester City and Manchester United suffered embarrassing defeats in their Europa League last 16 ties Thursday.
News and notes from around La Liga:
Rivals Manchester City and Manchester United prospered in the unfamiliar territory of the Europa League as both recorded away victories in the first leg of their last-32 ties.
An injury time penalty from Mario Balotelli secured a dramatic 3-2 win for Manchester City as they staved off a brave fight back from Tottenham to maintain their three point lead at the top of the English Premier League.
As people head to the polls in New Hampshire, the campaigns will learn whether all the funds used for direct marketing to voters was money well-spent.
The Manchester clubs City and United moved further ahead in England's Premier League on Wednesday, while Luis Suarez's Liverpool lost ground on the leaders after dropping points at Wigan.
MANCHESTER -- Ivica Olic was slightly limping at the late-night banquet in Manchester's Worsley Park hotel but still smiling when a reporter asked him about his running battle with Man City defender Stefan Savic a couple of hours earlier. "Big problems," the Bayern Munich striker said in broken German, before smiling even more. His foot was hurting from a kick by Savic in the opening minutes but it obviously didn't seem to matter all that much. Olic got his retaliation in by elbowing Savic into the advertising board a little later and was duly booked for his troubles.
Manchester United and their city rivals Manchester City both made embarrassing exits from the European Champions League on Wednesday.
Alex Ferguson may have dubbed last weekend's clash with Liverpool as "the biggest match in world football," but this weekend's Manchester derby will be a better reflection of the balance of power in England's Premier League.
In 1968, Manchester City won the league and a few days later Manchester United won the European Cup. In May, City won the FA Cup; later the same afternoon, United won the league. It was typical of the relationship between the Manchester clubs that after City had thumped one north London team 5-1 on Sunday, United went and thrashed the other one 8-2. Of more concern to the Premier League and football in general, though, is what Sunday said about the relationship between the Manchester clubs and everybody else.
After four nights of violence, an eerie calm descended Wednesday and continued into Thursday in Britain, where a massive police presence backed by strong words from the prime minister and vigilante efforts appeared to be having their intended effect.
updated: Fri Apr 29 2011 11:42:00
Thousands descend upon Westminster Abbey and Buckingham palace to participate in the royal wedding frenzy.
Manchester City and Manchester United will meet in the FA Cup semfinals next month after Roberto Mancini's City side claimed a narrow 1-0 quarterfinal win over Reading on Sunday.
America's bid to spread basketball's popularity will continue in the next two years, with Britain to stage men's NBA and women's WNBA pre-season matches along with Olympic build-up games for the U.S. international teams.
A father and son have been convicted of running a "family business" trafficking girls and women into the UK -- including one of their own relations -- to force them to become sex slaves, British police confirmed Tuesday.
Manchester United stayed top of the English Premier League as two goals from Dimitar Berbatov secured a 2-0 home win for the Red Devils over Sunderland on Boxing Day.
China have smashed the women's 4x200m freestyle relay world record on the opening day of the world short course championships in Dubai.
A 24-year-old Vermont man was fatally shot by a friend who used a gun in a prank, police said.
Few Manchester derbies have ever been so hyped; few have ever been so disappointing. It was a game that yielded just one chance of note: the free-kick that Carlos Tevez curved toward the top corner after 35 minutes. The effort lacked pace, though, and Edwin van der Sar was able to make a simple enough diving save. And while most were probably bored rigid, Sir Alex Ferguson could congratulate himself on a job well done.
Chelsea won their west London derby against Fulham to extend their lead at the top of the English Premier League on Wednesday.
Manchester United has had a very strange start to the season. The club has not lost in 11 games, which, in terms of games unbeaten, is its best start to a Premier League season. And yet, nobody could pretend United has been playing well, and it seems implausible that Sir Alex Ferguson's squad is only two points behind first-place Chelsea. The fixture list, of course, has much to do with it, and although United has beaten both Liverpool and Tottenham (it has six victories and five draws overall), Wednesday's clash with Manchester City will be its biggest test of the season by far.
A Delta Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Manchester Airport, England, Thursday, the airport told CNN.
Roberto Mancini has set his sights on a top four finish in the English Premier League this season to bring Champions League football to Manchester City after taking over from the sacked Mark Hughes.
updated: Tue May 26 2009 09:35:00
Footballers around the world prepare to battle for one of the most coveted trophies in world sports. CNN's Pedro Pinto reports.
If you just look at the balance sheets of Europe's top football clubs, it's no surprise that Barcelona and Manchester United are in the Champions League final.
World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt added yet another title to his tally after racing to victory in the Bupa Great CityGames 150 meter sprint in a new best time in Manchester on Sunday.
Usain Bolt, who was involved in a high speed car smash in his native Jamaica last month, will be fit to run in a special street race in Manchester this weekend.
Job fairs are getting more competitive. Recent events across the nation drew thousands of people and one fair was so packed organizers had to turn people away.
The chief constable for Britain's Greater Manchester Police indicated Thursday there would have been the potential for terrorist acts this weekend if police had not made a dozen arrests.
Oscar Pistorius will compete at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester in May after recovering from a boating accident in South Africa.
updated: Sun Jan 18 2009 08:27:00
$150 million move from Milan to Manchester. CNN's Pedro Pinto reports.
Brazilian star Robinho is set to play in his first Manchester derby on Sunday after recovering from an ankle injury.
In case you hadn't noticed, this week was a "FIFA date," which is when players leave their clubs, meet up with their national teams and face other nations. Sometimes, when qualification for World Cups is at stake, these can be thrilling dates. Most times, it's about as fulfilling as receiving one of those Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes winner's notifications in the mail.
As the ruling Labour Party struggles to appear united behind him, the Wall Street meltdown offers the Prime Minister his best hopes for a political revival
Colombian Breidis Prescott needed only 54 seconds to take the WBO Intercontinental lightweight crown from Briton Amir Khan in Manchester.
Manchester United will begin their defense of the Champions League in a group containing Scottish champions Celtic, Spain's Villarreal and Danish newcomers Aalborg.
The Olsens reportedly head to the Tennessee music fest for a rock-and-roll birthday
A year ago in this space, we dropped the hammer on Liverpool, which had inexplicably defied the odds and advanced to its second Champions League final in three years. But seeing as the Reds lost out to AC Milan, managed only another fourth-place finish in the English Premier League and finished the season without a single trophy, it was a tough call to leave them on the Rankings. Not even another Rafa Benítez miracle could save them.
For star striker Cristiano Ronaldo it was "the happiest day of my life."
updated: Thu May 22 2008 09:28:00
Manchester United fans react to the win over Chelsea as they celebrate the passion of the game.
Bankrolled by one of the world's wealthiest companies, Zenit St. Petersburg now have the silverware that means the Russian club's aspirations to be a major force in European football will be taken seriously.
updated: Thu May 15 2008 21:59:00
Violence mars the UEFA Cup final between Scottish Rangers and St Petersburg Zenit. ITN's Tim Rogers reports.
Scottish Football Association hierarchy have declined to ease Rangers' crowded fixture schedule as the club bids to land the nation's first European title for a quarter of a century.
Olympic champions Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy were named in a strong British line-up for the world track championships in Manchester from March 26-30.
Gather round the fire and nestle close, dear readers, for here in the great hall of Castle Limey, amidst faded portraits and moth-eaten antlers, wise Team Limey has salutary holiday messages for you to contemplate. And some banter, too.
The wife of "Canoe Man" John Darwin, presumed dead until he walked into a London police station earlier this month, has been arrested on her return to the UK, police have told CNN.
A Briton released by Pakistan after more than a year in custody was arrested shortly after his plane landed Friday at London's Heathrow Airport
It's the same old, same old in the English Premier League standings: Manchester first, Chelsea second. But, much like the closing moments of The Sixth Sense, with an exciting new twist: It's Manchester City -- not United -- that leads the way.
Forget soccer, the boggy British city of Manchester is hoping to be known worldwide for something completely different -- an international arts fair
Entertainment giant Sony has been branded irresponsible for using a cathedral from a city plagued by gun crime in a violent video game.
Manchester United fans and Italian police clashed during the half-time break at the Champions League quarterfinal with AS Roma which the English side lost 2-1 on Wednesday.
The northern England city of Manchester is the surprise choice as the site for Europe's first Las Vegas-style supercasino, it was announced Tuesday.
Four Rwandans were arrested on provisional extradition warrants Thursday in Great Britain, charged with crimes related to the 1994 mass killings of members of the Tutsi ethnic group in the African nation.
The Scene caught up with Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, to talk Manchester music, football and copping off...
Do you have an insider tip for Manchester? Share your suggestions.
What do you think of our ideas for the capital of northern England? Send us your suggestions and comments.
Slouched against the Pennines, this Northern wideboy, once 19th century Cottonopolis, is now the swaggering, rollicking, cultural second city of Britain. The home of global brands from Manchester United to the Hacienda, its damp environment has seen the city grow from the T-Rex of the textile industry to bold, brash global player.
Instead of the typical vacation, consider these more memorable journeys.
YES, YOU COULD JUST PLOP YOURSELF down on a beach in Jamaica this winter, but in most cases, it'd be no different from that beach in St. John's. Or Florida. Or California. The same is true of skiin...
Fourteen men were being held Saturday after anti-terrorism raids in London. Police said they believed the men had been involved in training and recruiting for terror attacks.
The removal of two young British Asians from a holiday flight last week because fellow passengers were suspicious of them has been condemned by British parliamentarians.
Anna Meares and Ben Kersten gave Australia a double gold start to the track cycling events at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne on Thursday.
Manchester police have complained to the FA and Manchester United about England defender Gary Neville's celebration of the late goal that beat Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday.
An Army bomb unit detonated a suspicious package at Manchester Airport on Friday after police arrested a man under Britain's Terrorism Act, police said.
Viking FK have been awarded a place in next season's UEFA Cup, after Norway finished top of UEFA's Fair Play league.
The UK government has denied that its asylum system is in chaos after an Algerian man was found guilty of plotting to spread the deadly poison ricin and the murder of a policeman.
More than 300 passengers were evacuated from a Pakistan International Airlines flight Tuesday after smoke was reported coming from the aircraft at Manchester airport in northern England, police said.
England central defender John Terry will miss Saturday's friendly against Iceland in Manchester with a hamstring injury.
Thousands of air travelers were caught up in a chaos of queues and delays after a computer failure in one of Britain's main air traffic control centers grounded many of the country's flights and cancelled others.
Ten people held a month ago as suspected terrorists mostly in Manchester, England, and then freed are demanding public apologies.
Security has been stepped up at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in Britain after the arrest of 10 people accused of plotting terror attacks, police said Tuesday.
British police say they have arrested 10 people accused of plotting terrorist attacks in raids involving hundreds of officers.
From the big-spending candidates, to the exuberant young campaign workers, to the flood of media people, to the pizza makers and doughnut sellers, to the restaurateurs and hotel operators, a presidential primary campaign means big bucks for New Hampshire.
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