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Vogel's 'boundless joy' at Basel achievement

It may take Heiko Vogel "until 2017" to come to terms with FC Basel 1893 knocking out Manchester United FC but Sir Alex Ferguson rued an exit from this "marvellous competition".

Vogel's 'boundless joy' at Basel achievement
Vogel's 'boundless joy' at Basel achievement ©UEFA.com

Heiko Vogel, Basel coach
The story of this game is told quickly: David beat Goliath. Yes, I had tears in my eyes. With the full-time whistle, all the weight was lifted from my shoulders. It will probably take until 2017 until I completely realise [the magnitude of this]. I said before the game that I would have to be restrained with a lasso if we won, so maybe that will follow later.

I tried to be calm on the sidelines for a change and this worked out well. I knew that we would continue [in Europe], be it the Europa League or Champions League, but it's nicer this way; I think the team realised this before me.

There is boundless joy, the pride I feel is at its maximum. Not only did we win 2-1, it was the way we won. Especially in the second half, the daring way we played. I'd expected Manchester to attack, to throw everything at us one more time, but the way we resisted them was sensational.

I believe we can't be beaten when it comes to togetherness; here every player runs for another. And despite all the pride, I'm sure that we can play even better. Some passages were really good, in defence and attack, but nevertheless we could have played the odd counterattack better.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager
Of course we're disappointed. The last few years have been outstanding and it's a loss because it's the best tournament in the world. It's a marvellous competition. Losing the early goal was a big blow. When you're away from home and 1-0 down you have a job to do and we didn't take our chances. It's big blow for us.

 

 

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