[ad_1]
Manchester United will face some familiar faces when they face Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League tonight, with a handful of old Premier League men looking to inflict more misery in their crisis season.
For some time, the Turkish team has been a popular destination for players to complete their playing days after leaving the English top flight.
In recent years we have seen former Arsenal and Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor join the team, as well as former City stars Gael Clichy and Robinho and former Newcastle midfielder Emre.
Now his current crop, including former Red Devils star Rafael Da Silva, have Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men in their sights ahead of their Group H clash in Turkey and will seek to remind fans of their quality.
Sportsmail takes a look at the old men from Istanbul’s Premier League Basaksehir who will face Manchester United and their travels since leaving the top flight.
Rafael Da Silva
Manchester United – 2008-2015
The Brazilian will know the club better than any of his teammates when the first whistle blows Wednesday night after beginning his professional career at Old Trafford, beginning his playing days with a trophy-laden spell.
Arriving in 2008 alongside his twin brother, left-back Fabio, he played 28 times in his first season and helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s team win the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.
United fans should have fond memories of Rafael, now 30, from his seven-year tenure at the club as he made 170 appearances, scored five goals and took home four major trophies.
He did not land a regular spot as a right-back while battling Antonio Valencia and Gary Neville for the spot, but he did feature prominently in Sir Alex’s final season in 2012-13, which earned him a 13th Premier League title.
While he survived new eras under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, he began to lose favor and eventually chose to join Lyon in 2015, signing a four-year deal while seeking more playing time. It turned out to be the right decision, as he would play 139 times for the Ligue 1 team over a five-year period.
Rafael was unable to add to his silverware collection at United, but he was part of Lyon’s resurgence in their bid to fight for the titles again.
Much like the end of his Old Trafford career, he began to see fewer minutes in recent seasons and asked to be released from the final year of his contract this summer, allowing him to join Istanbul on a free transfer.
There aren’t many of his former United teammates left at the club, though goalkeeper David de Gea and left-back Luke Shaw will be familiar faces should he be selected.
Demba Ba
West Ham – 2011
Newcastle United – 2011-2013
Chelsea – 2013-14
A reliable scorer in the Premier League, Istanbul will expect more of the same tonight. Ba first gained attention in the top flight when he joined West Ham United in January 2011, scoring seven goals in 12 games and drawing the attention of several clubs.
Newcastle United were quick to jump in 2011-12 after losing Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £ 35 million, and Ba did not disappoint, scoring 16 league goals as the club caused a commotion by finishing fifth. place. Along the way he scored against United in a 3-0 win at St James’ Park, the club’s first win over them in more than a decade.
Magpies will remember his devastating association with Sengal star Papiss Cisse, as they scored nearly 30 goals between them, and he added another 13 goals the following season before being sacked by Chelsea in 2013.
He was not as prolific at Stamford Bridge, scoring only 14 times, but he was known for scoring crucial goals, including another against the Red Devils in the FA Cup quarter-finals to win the tie 1-0. But his famous ‘slip’ goal against Liverpool in 2014 to punish Steven Gerrard’s costly mistake, denying them the title, will place him in the good books of many United fans.
Since leaving Chelsea in 2015, Ba has become something of a day laborer, coming and going from China and Turkey. He is well used to the Turkish Super Lig having played for three clubs in the first division.
The first was Besiktas, where he found his shooting boots again, scoring 27 goals in 44 games and winning the league, before heading to Shanghai Shenhua.
After scoring 29 goals for them over two seasons, he was loaned out again to Besiktas in January 2016, but only played twice before joining rivals Goztepe on a free transfer in 2017. He then returned to Shanghai again for a manic years before. signing for Istanbul in 2018.
Last season he claimed his second Super Lig title after finishing as his top scorer with 13 goals. He has played eight times this season, but has yet to find the net.
Martin Skrtel
Liverpool – 2008-2016
When the fierce Slovakian first joined Anfield, Liverpool were facing Manchester United for the Premier League title in the days of a fierce rivalry between the two clubs. The now 35-year-old center-back knows what it means to face the Red Devils and will play with a little fire in his belly.
He enjoyed two victories over United in his early days at Liverpool as he formed a strong partnership with Jamie Carragher – a 4-1 win in 2009 and a 3-0 win in 2014. He then played 320 times for the Reds , winning the 2012 League Cup as his only trophy.
He will be remembered for his brave displays at the rear and has delighted fans with his recent comments about United, who still seem to have animosity towards him.
Skrtel left Liverpool in 2016 for Fenerbache, and in his first season he played twice against José Mourinho’s United in the Europa League, and was booed by fans of the English team at Old Trafford in a 4-1 win over him. Turkish team. But he bounced back by helping the team to a 2-1 win in the reverse match.
He insisted that he “loved” the boos and said United fans were bitter with him because he stood out on Merseyside.
“ Manchester United fans don’t like me because I was a success in Liverpool, I was part of the team that left Old Trafford with a win a few times and considering the reception I got, I must have done well in Liverpool, ” he said . said.
“I loved the reaction, as a player who used to play for Liverpool, it’s normal to get booed at Old Trafford.”
Last summer, Skrtel ended his three-year stint in Turkey by joining Serie A’s Atalanta, but his contract was terminated after just three weeks as he struggled to adjust to his new environment. Instead, he opted to return to Turkey and signed for Istanbul, playing 27 times for the team last season.
Born Chadli
Tottenham – 2013-2016
West Brom – 2016-2018
Chadli has yet to bow his bow to Istanbul since joining in September, due to an injury that kept him out of the team, and is a doubt to face United, but he did enjoy spending six years in the Premier League.
The Belgian winger was one of eight names to walk through the Spurs door in the summer of 2013 after Gareth Bale was sold to Real Madrid for £ 85 million, and he quickly became a fan favorite in White. Hart Lane with great performances in the big games.
He played 119 times for the North Londoners and was firmly the first choice in Mauricio Pochettino’s first season in 2014-15, a season that saw him score 13 times.
Chadli rose to prominence again the following season when the Spurs battled for the title with Leicester City in 2015-16, earning some outstanding displays on the left wing, but saw his place in the team threatened the following year. He was sold to West Brom for £ 13 million, which helped them not only stay in the Premier League, but finish 10th by scoring five times along the way.
After two seasons with the Hawthorns, he headed to France with Monaco, playing 22 times but without finding the net, and then was loaned to Anderlecht in his native Belgium in 2019-20.
Never settling in Monaco, the Ligue 1 team agreed to sell it to Istanbul in September, and the 31-year-old signed a one-year contract.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
[ad_2]
