Manchester United prepare to face Galatasaray

Adapted from Daily Mail

Nineteen years on from their first visit to 'hell', Manchester United are preparing to head into the lion's den that is Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen stadium once more.

But when Sir Alex Ferguson's men walk out for their Champions League clash in Istanbul on Tuesday night they are unlikely to be greeted with such vitriolic hostility as they faced back in November 1993.

Rewind 19 years and the two clubs were paired together in the second round of Europe's elite club competition. The first leg had been drawn 3-3 at Old Trafford, giving the Turkish side the edge on away goals heading into the second leg - and their fans were determined to press home an advantage they could.

Banners reading 'welcome to hell' greeted United on their arrival at Ataturk airport, they seemed unfazed but they should have taken it as a sign of things to come. Life certainly didn't get any easier, as veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs remembers.

'I remember it vividly. It will always stick with me,' said the 38-year-old of his first trip to the 35,000-seater stadium.

'I was 19 and, when we arrived at the airport, there were all the banners and fans,thousands of fans screaming at you.'

'There were things being thrown at us when we were driving away on the coach. Outside the hotel their fans were chanting all night, making sure we didn't get any sleep. People were phoning the hotel room.

'Prior to the game, the manager told us to go on the pitch and sample the atmosphere.

'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.'

Whether the fans' behaviour had an impact is hard to tell, but United underperformed as they had done in the first leg and could only draw 0-0 as they were sent crashing out.

The drama didn't end there though as the visitors had Eric Cantona sent off in the dying embers of the game, resulting in a brawl at the final whistle involving both players and fans.

'When we came off the pitch, it was chaos,' Giggs said.

'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.

'Obviously not at the time because we lost and went out, but it was a great experience for us.

'They were a good team then and they will be a good team now.'

United have faced Galatasaray three times since their infamous first trip to the Ali Sami Yen, the following season they exacted their revenge with a 4-0 win at Old Trafford in the group stage, but once again could only draw 0-0 in Istanbul.

September's clash at Old Trafford saw an early Michael Carrick strike separate the two sides, meaning if United can shut out the Turkish giants for a fourth consecutive match and continue their unbeaten European season so far, the Ali Sami Yen will feel more like heaven than hell.