Shaqiri: United underestimated Basel

By Nick Moore
published

FC Basel starlet Xherdan Shaqiri has criticised Manchester United for underestimating the Swiss club when the two teams met at St. Jakob-Park in their decisive Champions League fixture earlier this season.

Three-time European champions United only needed a draw to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament, but succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in Switzlerland which saw them fail to advance past the group stages for only the third time in 17 years.

And 20-year-old Shaqiri, speaking ahead of his side's last 16 tie with German giants Bayern Munich, believes that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men underestimated Basel.

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Nick Moore
Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.