Ralf Rangnick is an optimistic man indeed after he claimed that his Schalke side can make it to the Champions League final at Wembley by beating Man United tonight.
Schalke have had a very mixed season this season and while they have been quite poor domestically, European games have been their fundamental source of joy as far as the current season is concerned.
However, losing 2-0 at home to Manchester United last week literally gave the Devils all the bragging rights on the road to Wembley. Although Ralf Rangnick's team will be regarded as underdogs later tonight, the Schalke manager insisted that United's dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in 1999 will be their major inspiration at Old Trafford.
“We want to show we can play better, that we learned our lesson from last week and then we'll see what happens. If [Man United manager] Sir Alex Ferguson does spare players it shows he has belief in his squad.
"And if we have a chance it is up to us to perform in contrast to the first-leg. We need to take a different approach, learn from that and apply the lessons tomorrow.
“The first 10 to 15 minutes Manchester United will try to score. I think we have to be well organized during this period and then we have to take our chances when we get them, even if there are just two minutes left.
"You only have to think of Man United in the Champions League final [against Bayern] when they came back to win 2-1.
“[In] The first-leg we competed for the first 15 minutes then we gave away too many clear chances. We are looking to change that.
"When we played in Milan against Inter they didn't give us much hope either. Part of the hope comes from the development the team has shown over recent weeks – I hope they can show what they can do tonight."
However, losing 2-0 at home to Manchester United last week literally gave the Devils all the bragging rights on the road to Wembley. Although Ralf Rangnick's team will be regarded as underdogs later tonight, the Schalke manager insisted that United's dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in 1999 will be their major inspiration at Old Trafford.
“We want to show we can play better, that we learned our lesson from last week and then we'll see what happens. If [Man United manager] Sir Alex Ferguson does spare players it shows he has belief in his squad.
"And if we have a chance it is up to us to perform in contrast to the first-leg. We need to take a different approach, learn from that and apply the lessons tomorrow.
“The first 10 to 15 minutes Manchester United will try to score. I think we have to be well organized during this period and then we have to take our chances when we get them, even if there are just two minutes left.
"You only have to think of Man United in the Champions League final [against Bayern] when they came back to win 2-1.
“[In] The first-leg we competed for the first 15 minutes then we gave away too many clear chances. We are looking to change that.
"When we played in Milan against Inter they didn't give us much hope either. Part of the hope comes from the development the team has shown over recent weeks – I hope they can show what they can do tonight."
