Schalke 04’s Manuel Neuer & The Gelsenkirchen Stadium
The goalkeeper was at the Gelsenkirchen stadium—which will host Schalke vs Manchester United tonight—back in 2004. At that time, Manuel Neuer was “just” a ball boy as AS Monaco and FC Porto competed for the 2004 UEFA Champions League trophy. But he now represents Schalke and he has the chance of making history with his team against the mighty Red Devils.
Manuel Neuer to UEFA.com: “I was standing right on the pitch [in the 2004 final]. Back then, it was a dream for me to be at that match. Now, it is a dream for me to be playing in the semis [against Manchester United].”
Schalke 04’s Manuel Neuer vs Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney
The young goalkeeper is not entertaining fears ahead of Schalke vs Manchester United. Neuer has a big reason to feel confident as he told UEFA.com.
“I have already faced Rooney once. It was in the [Round of 16 of the 2010] World Cup, and it ended positively for Germany. I hope it will be similar against Manchester United.”
Wayne Rooney saw the strike of England team mate Frank Lampard counting for zero although Manuel Neuer had clearly been beaten.
Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney & The Gelsenkirchen Stadium
It was at the Gelsenkirchen stadium that Wayne Rooney got his marching orders in one of the most unforgettable red-card incidents. England were playing against Portugal in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup and the Manchester United striker got involved in a heated battle involving Cristiano Ronaldo following his foul on Portugal’s Ricardo Carvalho. Ferguson, however, is confident that such an incident won’t happen against the “grown-up” Wayne Rooney on Tuesday night.
Alex Ferguson to The Sun: “I think good players create their own platforms in the sense of the importance of their performance.
“I think Wayne [Rooney], more than anyone, realises performances are the thing that he will always be judged on, because there’s an expectation of him. You see that he has stepped up to the mark for that and proved himself entirely.”
Schalke 04’s Raul, Manchester United & Edwin van der Sar
Raul Gonzalez has scored 4 goals against Manchester United in his career and he is poised to pursue his amazing record against the Red Devils as the confident Manuel Neuer explained:
“Raul has great statistics in the Champions League [with 71 official goals so far]. He scores a goal every two games—so he yewill definitely score against Manchester United.”
However, Raul has never scored against Manchester United’s Edwin van der Sar. The pair clashed against each other more than 15 years ago when Van der Sar was representing Ajax and the Dutch shot stopper managed two clean sheets against the great Real Madrid. That was in the group stages of the 1995 UEFA Champions League.
