fc basel 1893 and newcomers fc oţelul galaţi may be outsiders in group c, but coaches thorsten frink and dorinel munteanu struck upbeat notes ahead of wednesday's opener.
the coaches of fc basel 1893 and uefa champions league debutants fc oţelul galaţi are looking to causing a few upsets as they open their group c bids on wednesday in switzerland, well aware most pundits are backing manchester united fc and sl benfica to top the section.
basel coach thorsten frink
"we are glad that the champions league is finally getting under way. when you hear the music before the game it gets you motivated". we are facing a very compact team in galaţi, who are very defensive. they don't have a great star, but their strength is their togetherness; they can cause upsets. we need a lot of patience to crack them because they will play defensively, but they also have dangerous players like john ibeh, who can spread play and keep possession, and liviu antal, who always likes to push forward. we are taking them very seriously.
our aim is to be in europe beyond the winter. we are outsiders, like in recent years when we caused upsets, but we want to win our first game and try and knock galaţi out of the running. benfica and manchester united are favourites in this group, but on a good day we can beat them; we want to take our chance as outsiders. we have confidence, experience, motivated youngsters and this all gives us hope.
oţelul coach dorinel munteanu
we are delighted to be here, delighted to have reached the group stage of the champions league, which is the result of a lot of work. basel are not unknown. last year they were in the champions league. we feel we have a chance. maybe we're not favourites in the group, but will try our best.
"we lost 4-0 at the weekend and basel won 4-0, but does that mean we should not even play? of course not". we have to play and we feel we have a chance. we have the lowest chance of getting through the group, but as i have said, we will focus on every game and try to get something; then we will see where we end up. i know swiss football and i know basel. they have experienced players, but i don't know how they will play.
