Latest news with #AndréOnana
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana believes football talent in India is ‘really good'
English football club Manchester United's No. 1, André Onana, had only just touched down in Mumbai when he found himself swept up in the city's infectious energy. The Cameroonian goalkeeper, visiting India for the first time, wasted no time getting involved — joining teammates Diogo Dalot and Harry Maguire for the launch of United We Play, a grassroots football initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing young talent across the country. 'We are having fun, we are enjoying it,' Onana said, his face lighting up. 'We're really happy to be here. We ate a lot already — we had the vada pav. Yeah, really happy to be here.' But beyond the fanfare, food, and photo ops, the visit carried deeper meaning for the 28-year-old. For Onana, it was about connection — with fans, with aspiring footballers, and with a country where the Premier League's popularity continues to rise. 'The Indian talent is really good,' he said. 'If you work hard and you focus, it will come. Commit to it with passion and prepare yourself for the jump. I don't know when it will come, but it will.' Having joined Manchester United in 2023, Onana has had a rollercoaster debut season filled with scrutiny and pressure. His time in India, however, offered a rare moment of respite — a chance to step away from the high-intensity world of European football and soak in the joy of the sport at its purest level. Amid the cheers and playful training drills, his message to young Indian players was clear: belief and preparation are everything. As children lined up to take shots against him and fans roared his name from the sidelines, Onana's presence was more than ceremonial. It was symbolic — a reminder that football dreams are valid no matter where you're from. For many in Mumbai that day, the goalkeeper's visit was unforgettable. And for Onana, it was another reminder of just how global, and powerful, the Manchester United connection truly is.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Manchester United "Slipped In Premier League, More Focused On Europa League": Harry Maguire
As part of United We Play Season 5, Manchester United stars Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot, and André Onana made a special visit to Mumbai, engaging with fans and young footballers while offering candid insights into their turbulent 2024/25 campaign. Speaking exclusively to NDTV, the trio shared their thoughts on what went wrong during the season and what lies ahead for the club. Harry Maguire, Manchester United's former captain, didn't hold back when reflecting on the Premier League season. 'Players have to take responsibility,' Maguire said. 'We slipped in the Premier League. We were more focused on the Europa League, but that's no excuse.' He acknowledged that the current state of the club is unacceptable by United's standards: 'It's Manchester United—we can't accept where we are. There will be a lot of players who will leave. Things have to change.' André Onana: Backing Amorim 's Vision Goalkeeper André Onana defended incoming manager Rúben Amorim, whose appointment has been met with skepticism from some corners. 'People called Amorim the worst manager,' Onana noted. 'But he has his ideas, and he will not change his style of play. We have to adapt to his vision.' Diogo Dalot: Change is Underway Full-back Diogo Dalot emphasized the need for a cultural and mental shift at the club. 'We need a lot of change—and change is happening. In the club, in the squad,' he said. 'Players need to be mentally strong to play for United.' The players' visit was part of Manchester United's commitment to nurturing young talent and engaging with fans worldwide. With key voices within the squad acknowledging the need for transformation, hopes are high that this marks the beginning of a new era for the Red Devils.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Man Utd ratings: Kobbie Mainoo and Shea Lacey bright sparks in dismal performance that sees Hojlund flop once again
MANCHESTER UNITED'S stars thought their embarrassing season was over, but the ASEAN All Stars left them even more red-faced than Tottenham. The Red Devils played cautiously plodded their way to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the cobbled together Asian side in a humid 90 minute match in Kuala Lumpur. 6 Ruben Amorim gave 26 different players a run out in their un-needed post-season tour opener after the club's worst ever Premier League campaign was wrapped up at the weekend. It was a goal from Maung Maung Lwin that was the difference as the All-Star side patiently waited for their chance against a lacklustre United showing. Amorim won't be too upset at defeat in what is ultimately a glorified way of adding some pennies to his transfer kitty and getting a look at some youngsters on the books. Here's how SunSport's Joshua Hall rated the Man Utd perdormances... ANDRE ONANA - 6 Had very little to do for the 45 minutes he played. Called upon once or twice and did enough to keep the opposition out. DIOGO DALOT - 3 Really didn't do anything of note in the half an hour he was on the pitch. Perhaps his biggest impact was regularly leaving the teenage centre-half next to him without any help. Not his best showing at all. 6 HARRY MAGUIRE - 7 Looked the most settled payer of the starting centre-back trio, which was no surprise as he lined up with 18-year-old's either side of him. Took it upon himself to play some line-splitting passes in the knowledge that he was going to have step up alongside the teens for the short 31 minutes he played in. Hard to remember the last Maguire played as badly as people would like to tell you he does - consistently solid. AYDEN HEAVEN - 7 After 30 minutes Heaven became the most experienced centre-back on the pitch for United - he's 18. The former Arsenal man was confident enough to step into that role and looks like a talent for the future. Used his body very well and was always the first of the back line of defenders to react to any loose ball in United's own final third. REECE MUNRO - 4 Showed his inexperience with some cheap fouls in the opening 10 minutes when players were able to skip past him. The 18-year-old also failed to close down the all-stars attack quickly enough on a number of occasions. PATRICK DORGU - 7 Perhaps the only first-term player that looked like he wanted to play at the intensity of a competitive match. The wing-back was regularly caning down the flank to try and get in behind, as well as tracking back to try and win the ball. Since he's come in to United in January it's been hard to say he's been used properly by his manager or his teammates, but the signs are there that he could success next term. 6 CASEMIRO - 6 This was a game played at a pace suited to a player like Casemiro, slow build up that gives him time to make an impact. Unfortunately, nobody was moving off the ball to allow him to do so. Substituted on 31 minutes ahead of his return to the Brazil squad. KOBBIE MAINOO - 7 A special moment for the midfielder who was handed the captain's armband when Harry Maguire was subbed off. His feet are always impressive and he always looked one of the more likely players to make something happen. The final finish and end product weren't quite there today, but that's to be expected in such an unusual friendly situation. 6 MANUEL UGARTE - 6 Advancing the ball much quicker than he has been since joining United. Played a few nice sweeping passes out wide to try and get the wing-backs in behind. United fans will be hoping they see more progression from his next season JACK MOORHOUSE - 6 Looked comfortable on the ball every time it came to him. Clearly very confident in possession and looking to make things happen from central positions. Unfortunately there was only 30 minutes to look at the 19-year-old, hopefully he will get a chance to shine against Hong Kong later this week. RASMUS HOJLUND - 2 If there was ever an example of how important confidence is then the first half of this match showed it. As much as some people might tell you differently, Hojlund is definitely better than the level he was facing today. However, he didn't show it. The out-of-form striker was regularly losing possession and rarely got into a position to even receive the ball in a dangerous position, never mind scoring. He's better than that, but with his confidence so low you won't see it any time soon. 6 SUBS SHEA LACEY (for Moorhouse, 31min) - 7 Silky footwork and a willingness to get forward, Shea Lacey looks like he could be a bright spark for the future at Old Trafford. When teams find themselves in dire situations it's often academy prospects that step up and shine - think Bukayo Saka at Arsenal, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham at Chelsea and Pedri and Gavi at a cash-strapped Barcelona. That's not to say that Lacey will follow in their footsteps, but he looks like he has enough talent to have a crack at breaking into this struggling United side. That said, he did only play 14 minutes. 6 BRUNO FERNANDES - 8 Even when the best players aren't trying they still manage to show their class. Bruno Fernandes wasn't trying to force the issue like he normally has to in this Man Utd team, but still managed some classy moments and silky touches - notably a Rabona pass to Alejandro Garnacho. The debate will run on in the coming weeks about if Fernandes is going to leave for Saudi Arabia. It's safe to say that if he does leave, United will be losing their best player by some margin. ALEJANDRO GARNACHO - 6 He's been told he can leave the club - but not before being made to play 45 minutes of painfully dull football in 30 degree heat in Kuala Lumpur. A few decent runs in behind, but most players didn't want to play this game - never mind one that is very unlikely to be coming back after the summer break. JONNY EVANS - 5 Didn't cover himself in glory when the All-Stars got their goal, leaving his young centre-back partner Godwill Kukonki to cover the goalscorer all alone. Evans is essentially using this tour as a farewell tour given his impending exit from the club. TOBY COLLYER - 7 Collyer has been one of the Carrington stars that has been in and around the first team for a while, and it's obvious why. He looks like he's ready to make a more regular step up to first team football and could be a part of the squad rotations under Amorim next season. It's not just his confidence on the ball, but his ability to help win it back too. AMAD DIALLO - 6 Amad knows he's been one of the few bright sparks for United this season and he played like it too. It wasn't his usual display of blistering pace and hard work, but rather a tame effort to help the team while avoiding injury. Not his best, but not his worst. CHIDO OBI - 5 Much has been made of the goal-scoring youngster since his high-profile move from Arsenal this season. While he found himself in a few good positions throughout the second half, Obi was often unable to get the ball out of his feet quick enough to get off a meaningful shot. Once he sorts that out he could be really dangerous. JIM THWAITES - 7 At just 17 years old, Jim Thwaites had to be the one to prevent United from falling to a 2-0 defeat to their minnow opponents. The youngster bust a lung to get back in the final minute and pull off a sensational slide tackle to prevent a certain goal. Jayden Kamason, Daniel Armer, Sekou Kone, Tyler Fletcher, Godwill Kukonki, Tom Heaton, Tyler Fredricson.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Misfiring Fernandes flops for Manchester United in Europa League final defeat
Wanted desperately: a system that allows Manchester United to create a cornucopia of chances, plus a Bruno Fernandes who does not go missing precisely when this one-man Ruben Amorim outfit needs him - in a major European final. Cumbersome, toothless and lacking flair: this has been Amorim's 3-4-3 formation since he took over in early November, and was Fernandes on Wednesday night, alongside the (again) impotent Rasmus Højlund, plus the anonymous Mason Mount, Amad Diallo and too many others in United colours. Advertisement Related: Brennan Johnson strikes to clinch Europa League glory for Tottenham In a Europa League showpiece impossible to predict, 'control Bruno Fernandes' was surely Ange Postecoglou's mission statement to Tottenham in this 54th final of Europe's second-tier competition. Except what happened here at a San Mamés, nicknamed 'The Cathedral' by its Athletic Bilbao brethren, answered the call in a different way. The captain self-combusted by ceding possession awfully in an error that presaged a winner credited by Uefa to Brennan Johnson, despite it appearing to be a Luke Shaw own goal. A simple, tapped Fernandes pass was intercepted by Pape Sarr near the centre-spot, United were turned, and when the same player eventually crossed – from the left – a combination of handball by Shaw and André Onana's muddle put Spurs in fantasy land. Advertisement A simple law of United is if Fernandes is not a factor then Amorim's men seriously struggle. His ineffectiveness was the prime reason why the sides' three previous clashes this season ended in victory for Postecoglou's men, with an aggregate score of 8-3, although he was sent off in September's miserable 3-0 loss at Old Trafford, with the opening, 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford featuring a Fernandes clip on James Maddison that had him sent off (a red card later rescinded). When Postecoglou posited there were 'a couple of key players we have to shut down' one was obviously the Portuguese. So, even better, Fernandes was stymieing himself: the errant ball to Sarr was not the first or last, as he seemed to suffer by being fielded alongside Casemiro in central midfield by Amorim rather than in his more regular No 10 berth. Spurs' strike arrived on 42 minutes so the question was: would United's head coach execute a rejig by introducing Manuel Ugarte to partner Casemiro? The answer, astonishingly to this observer, proved in the negative. Fernandes's numbers in the continental club game's second-tier tournament had read as uber-lethal: seven goals and four assists this term in a total of 27 and 23 for a record 50 contributions throughout his career. But, as he said: 'It will only mean something if I can go all the way and lift the trophy'. Advertisement After the break, Fernandes's task was to yank his men back into the contest as payback for the error, and to ease the memory of United's 2021 Europa League final disappointment in which he also failed to perform. But, again, an early free-kick he sought to arrow into Spurs' area from the right failed to beat the first man – Yves Bissouma – and at this point Fernandes and his team seemed mired in quicksand, unable to escape from the morass of their dull, unimaginative play. Here, for a countless time, we saw the searing issue with Amorim-ball: it does not engineer nearly enough chances. Even when Fernandes – who else? – did finally threaten to unlock Guglielmo Vicario's goal, it was via a low-slung free-kick the keeper beat away: route-one stuff. It was a rare moment of quality as, next, Fernandes produced more carelessness, this time handing the ball to Johnson who launched a rapid Spurs attack. Each of these club's previous European finals were defeats – United's the 12-11 penalty shootout reverse to Villarreal in the 2021 edition of this competition; while Spurs were on the wrong end of a 2-0 Champions League loss to Liverpool two years earlier. To avoid going down again, Amorim threw on Joshua Zirkzee for Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho for Mason Mount – a 71st-minute desperate throw of the dice from the head coach. Advertisement To false 9 or not to false 9 had seemed, pre-match, the piercing question for Amorim due to Højlund's toothlessness. Yet to make a move the head coach had made only once before would be bold (when fielding Kobbie Mainoo in February's 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace) and in naming the Dane, Amorim could also point to how six of his paltry 10 finishes were in this competition. But no – Højlund was as blunt as Fernandes and the rest of United and so Amorim's Class of 2025 follows Ole Gunnar Solskjær's of 2021 by failing to etch their names in the club annals. Only those of 2017, 2008, 1999, 1991, and 1968 have seized European glory, and sent their fans home delightedly clutching a lifetime memory. When asked for his best offering in this tournament, Fernandes had been clear: 'I hope that my favourite moment is still to come. I hope that there's an even better moment than all of them I've had so far: lifting the trophy. That would top the lot.' Now, though, a long summer of soul searching awaits the 30-year-old and you have to wonder if Fernandes might consider a move away should United's one world-class talent attract a bid from an elite team.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Misfiring Fernandes flops for Manchester United in Europa League final defeat
Wanted desperately: a system that allows Manchester United to create a cornucopia of chances, plus a Bruno Fernandes who does not go missing precisely when this one-man Ruben Amorim outfit needs him - in a major European final. Cumbersome, toothless and lacking flair: this has been Amorim's 3-4-3 formation since he took over in early November, and was Fernandes on Wednesday night, alongside the (again) impotent Rasmus Højlund, plus the anonymous Mason Mount, Amad Diallo and too many others in United colours. In a Europa League showpiece impossible to predict, 'control Bruno Fernandes' was surely Ange Postecoglou's mission statement to Tottenham in this 54th final of Europe's second-tier competition. Except what happened here at a San Mamés, nicknamed 'The Cathedral' by its Athletic Bilbao brethren, answered the call in a different way. The captain self-combusted by ceding possession awfully in an error that presaged a winner credited by Uefa to Brennan Johnson, despite it appearing to be a Luke Shaw own goal. A simple, tapped Fernandes pass was intercepted by Pape Sarr near the centre-spot, United were turned, and when the same player eventually crossed – from the left – a combination of handball by Shaw and André Onana's muddle put Spurs in fantasy land. A simple law of United is if Fernandes is not a factor then Amorim's men seriously struggle. His ineffectiveness was the prime reason why the sides' three previous clashes this season ended in victory for Postecoglou's men, with an aggregate score of 8-3, although he was sent off in September's miserable 3-0 loss at Old Trafford, with the opening, 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford featuring a Fernandes clip on James Maddison that had him sent off (a red card later rescinded). When Postecoglou posited there were 'a couple of key players we have to shut down' one was obviously the Portuguese. So, even better, Fernandes was stymieing himself: the errant ball to Sarr was not the first or last, as he seemed to suffer by being fielded alongside Casemiro in central midfield by Amorim rather than in his more regular No 10 berth. Spurs' strike arrived on 42 minutes so the question was: would United's head coach execute a rejig by introducing Manuel Ugarte to partner Casemiro? The answer, astonishingly to this observer, proved in the negative. Fernandes's numbers in the continental club game's second-tier tournament had read as uber-lethal: seven goals and four assists this term in a total of 27 and 23 for a record 50 contributions throughout his career. But, as he said: 'It will only mean something if I can go all the way and lift the trophy'. After the break, Fernandes's task was to yank his men back into the contest as payback for the error, and to ease the memory of United's 2021 Europa League final disappointment in which he also failed to perform. But, again, an early free-kick he sought to arrow into Spurs' area from the right failed to beat the first man – Yves Bissouma – and at this point Fernandes and his team seemed mired in quicksand, unable to escape from the morass of their dull, unimaginative play. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Here, for a countless time, we saw the searing issue with Amorim-ball: it does not engineer nearly enough chances. Even when Fernandes – who else? – did finally threaten to unlock Guglielmo Vicario's goal, it was via a low-slung free-kick the keeper beat away: route-one stuff. It was a rare moment of quality as, next, Fernandes produced more carelessness, this time handing the ball to Johnson who launched a rapid Spurs attack. Each of these club's previous European finals were defeats – United's the 12-11 penalty shootout reverse to Villarreal in the 2021 edition of this competition; while Spurs were on the wrong end of a 2-0 Champions League loss to Liverpool two years earlier. To avoid going down again, Amorim threw on Joshua Zirkzee for Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho for Mason Mount – a 71st-minute desperate throw of the dice from the head coach. To false 9 or not to false 9 had seemed, pre-match, the piercing question for Amorim due to Højlund's toothlessness. Yet to make a move the head coach had made only once before would be bold (when fielding Kobbie Mainoo in February's 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace) and in naming the Dane, Amorim could also point to how six of his paltry 10 finishes were in this competition. But no – Højlund was as blunt as Fernandes and the rest of United and so Amorim's Class of 2025 follows Ole Gunnar Solskjær's of 2021 by failing to etch their names in the club annals. Only those of 2017, 2008, 1999, 1991, and 1968 have seized European glory, and sent their fans home delightedly clutching a lifetime memory. When asked for his best offering in this tournament, Fernandes had been clear: 'I hope that my favourite moment is still to come. I hope that there's an even better moment than all of them I've had so far: lifting the trophy. That would top the lot.' Now, though, a long summer of soul searching awaits the 30-year-old and you have to wonder if Fernandes might consider a move away should United's one world-class talent attract a bid from an elite team.
