MUPC World Finals Group Stages Round-up

SA outfit Rosina Sedibane end tournament on a rosy note with draw against hosts Manchester United, and meeting iconic footballer Quinton Fortune.

Day two of the 20th edition of the Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals began on Wednesday with some fantastic performances from teams who were clearly delighted to play under brighter weather conditions, and which threw up a number of surprising results.

At the conclusion of the group stages, the European contingent are leading the way, taking six of the eight places in Thursday’s quarter finals at 09:30am at the Aon Training Complex, Manchester.

Real Madrid, Dinamo Zagreb and Grasshopper Club Zurich headed up their respective groups with a combined scoreline of 29 goals, 14 of which were from Dinamo Zagreb. Coach Krešimir Gojun  “There are a few enormously influential players in the team and we expect them to go on to become big stars. However, this is a team that works well together. They are all strong, skillful and physical when necessary, but the real strength lies in their team spirit. When things get tough, we play as one, we are a team with a big heart.”

In Group A, Real Madrid glided effortlessly into the quarter-finals, the only team to amass the maximum 12 points, while second placed Ulsan Hyundai held on following a 2:4 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. When South African schoolboy team Rosina Sedibane tied United to a 0:0 draw, the host team dropped to third place, leaving the team from Korea to go on to the quarter finals.

The South African youngsters got off to a rocky start on Tuesday but fought back during their final group matches against San Luis (Chile) and Manchester United (UK).  The team defended well but missed netting the ball on a few occasions.

After their final match against hosts Manchester United, South African footballer Quinton Fortune congratulated the team on reaching the final and experiencing a tournament of such stature.  He indicated that the MUPC has not only been the longest standing youth development tournament in the world, but it was the hot spot for scouts and agents from all over Europe to make their picks.

Fortune, who spent most of Wednesday watching the South African team, encouraged them to appreciate their experience and work harder if they wanted to turn pro.

Group B also had it's fair share of upset.  While Dinamo Zagreb continued to impress with some very assured performances, a resurgent AC Milan dominated play and kept a clean score sheet this afternoon against both Right to Dream and Shandong Luneng to guarantee their place in the final eight.

Group C leaders SC Internacional, delivered confident performances throughout the group stages, giving them ten points and the top spot. The second place was decided in a desperate last minute goal by Arsenal, who snatched what looked to be certain victory away from Onehunga Sports, and a place in the quarter finals from a very disappointed Omiya Ardija .

In Group D, Grasshopper Club Zurich held on to first place with 10 points, just ahead of rivals NK Domzale who reached 9 points following victories over Dallas Texans, Chivas and Saswco.

And so, the quest for the final two teams to play for the MUPC World Championship Trophy at Old Trafford ahead of the Rio Ferdinand testimonial match on to the knockout stages continues.

Real Madrid take on AC Milan, SC Internacional play against Slovenian team NK Domzale. Dinamo Zagreb face the last Asian team in the tournament, Ulsan Hyundai, and Switzerland's Grasshopper Zurich will compete against Arsenal FC, for a place in the semi-final matches played out tomorrow afternoon (Thursday) at 1530 GMT, to decide our MUPC Finalists, 2013.

For the final eight teams from eight thousand who started on the MUPC 2013 road to the Finals, there is still everything to play for.

RESULTS

Group A:

Rosina Sedibane 1:2 Ulsan Hyundai, San Luis de Quillota 1:1 Manchester United, Real Madrid 2:0 Rosina Sedibane, Ulsan Hyundai 2:1 San Luis de Quilotta, Manchester United 0:1 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 2:1 Ulsan Hyundai, Rosina Sedibane 0:1 San Luis de Quillota, Ulsan Hyundai 2:4 Manchester United, San Luis de Quilotta 0:1 Real Madid, Manchester United 0:0 Rosina Sedibane

Group B:

Right to Dream 9:0 Shandong Luneng, Boca Juniors 1:1 AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb 1:1 Right to Dream, Shandong Luneng 0:5 Boca Juniors, AC Milan 1:2 Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb 8:0 Shandong Luneng, Right to Dream 0:0 Boca Juniors, Shandong Luneng 0:4 AC Milan, Boca Juniors 2:3, AC Milan 2:0 Right to Dream

Group C:

Onehunga Sports 0:1 Omiya Ardija, SC Internacional 1:0 Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund 6:0 Onehunga Sports, Omiya Ardija 1:1 SC Internacional, Arsenal 3:1 Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Dortmund 0:1 Omiya Ardija, Onehunga Sports 0:4 SC International, Omiya Ardija 0:2 Arsenal, SC Internacional 2:0 Borissia Dortmund, Arsenal 1:1 Onehunga Sports

Group D:

Saswco FC 0:3 Chivas, Grasshopper Zurich 1:0 NK Domzale, Dallas Texans 0:0 Saswco FC, Chivas 0:1 Grasshopper Zurich, NK Domzale 2:1 Dallas Texans, Dallas Texans 0:3 Chivas, Saswco 0:4 Grasshopper Ckub Zurich, Chivas 0:2 NK Domzale, Grasshopper Club Zurich, 3:3 Dallas Texans, NK Domzale 2:0