With Manchester United taking on Galatasaray tomorrow, thoughts are instantly cast back to United’s now infamous trip to Istanbul back in 1993.
United took on Galatasaray at the Ali Sami Yen where a frenzied 40,000 fans gave United a less than friendly welcome to Turkish football.
The game, which saw United crash out of Europe on away goals, will be remembered for Cantona’s red card and the struggle with Turkish police that followed, and Ryan Giggs still hasn’t forgotten that crazy adventure almost 20 years later.
Speaking in the MEN, Ryan Giggs said:
“The fans had been in the ground for hours and hours. The atmosphere was buzzing 90 minutes before kick-off.
“We were stood in the middle of the pitch watching the fans chant. It was one stand to another.
“When we came off the pitch, it was chaos. Eric had already been sent off and the way back to the dressing room was underneath the pitch.
“There were armed police either side – not the kind of people you would ever mess with. They had helmets, batons, were all ready. And it just kicked off.
“I was just trying to get back to the safety of the dressing room as quickly as possible.”
United take on Galatasaray in the comfort of Old Trafford tomorrow but bad news Giggsy, Istanbul beckons on November 20th!
it’s not always friendly to play a game in an armed environment.But this time they are in Old Trafford where the atmosphere is 100% safe for them to lose.Big up MAN UNITED.