Posted in News on Aug 05, 2004.
City saw off Columbian side Estudiantil in the Quarter Finals before booking a place in the final with an impressive 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
And they will be joined by the hosts who triumphed on penalties over 1FC Köln in what promises to be a sensational ending to the eighth Premier Cup World Finals.
City coach Paul Power said: "It is amazing to think that out of the eight thousand teams which began this tournament, that City and United would be in the final.
"Playing at Old Trafford will be something very special for all the boys and they certainly used that as an incentive in the semifinal.
"This caps a brilliant tournament for us and everyone involved and I must say this World Finals has been superb from the start. The organisation, the food, the hotels for the boys - it has all been great and I cannot thank Nike enough."
This sentiment was echoed by United Coach Paul McGuinness, who added: “This has been a fantastic experience for the young players and a great opportunity for them to play on the hallowed turf at such an early stage in their Manchester United careers.”
The tournament organised by Nike, the largest of its kind in the world for under-15 players, has brought together twenty teams from all over the world at Manchester United's training complex in Carrington.
Asian hopes of an Old Trafford appearance were high in the first quarter-final but United saw off Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 to progress.
And they were joined in the final four by German side 1FC Köln who stunned defending champions Corinthians of Brazil by netting a late strike to send them through.
With City overcoming Estudiantil in a close encounter, it was left to Dinamo Zagreb to take the last semi-final slot after they shot down PSG 2-1.
The Croatians had been in great form but just one match away from a dream final they were undone by City who scored three first half strikes to fire Power's side to within 40 minutes of Premier Cup glory.
The other semifinal proved a much tighter affair, 1FC Köln defending well and sending the tie into penalties. A miss by the Germans proved crucial with United slotting home all their spot kicks to set up a mouthwatering tussle with their arch-rivals.
However this penultimate day was not only about those dreaming of lifting the Premier Cup.
The remaining teams played off against each other to determine their final ranking in the 20 team tournament.
Kaizer Chiefs, without a win in five games, nearly found the victory they were looking for but just missed out on penalties to MTK Hungaria placing them 20th.
Barcelona's 2-1 win over Alta Loma Arsenal gave the Spaniards a ninth place finish, Kashiwa Reysol finished the highest Asian placed team in seventh while Corinthians salvaged some pride with a 2-0 win over PSG to finish 5th.
With just one day remaining the Premier Cup has already been a great success for all and current Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he has been very impressed with the standard of football from all teams.
He said: ”A lot of the teams have played some great football at times and there have been some very interesting matches. The standard has been excellent.
"Everyone has played their part in making the tournament a real success and I look forward to watching the final tomorrow."
WEDNESDAY RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS
Man United 1 Kashiwa Reysol 0, Corinthians 0 1FC Köln 1, PSG 1 Dinamo Zagreb 2, Estudiantil 0 Man City 1.
SEMI FINALS
Man United 0 1FC Köln 0 (Utd win 4-3 on pens), Man City 3 Dinamo Zagreb 0
PLACEMENT MATCHES
Estudiantes 1 AL Arsenal 2, FC Barcelona 2 Yongin 1, Dalian Railway 0Colo Colo 0 (Dalian win 3-1 on pens), Atlas 1 Inter Milan 0, MTK Hungaria 0 Slavia Praha 1, Chonburi 2 Kaizer Chiefs 1, Kashiwa Reysol 0 Corinthians 2, PSG 3 Estudiantil 0.
FINAL MATCHES
MTK Hungaria 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0 (MTK win 7-6 on pens), Slavia Praha 1 Chonburi 1 (Chonburi win 7-6 on pens), Colo Colo 0 Inter Milan 1, Dalian Railway 0 Atlas 0 (Dalian win 4-3 on pens), Estudiantes 2 Yongin 2(Yongin win 8-7 on pens), AL Arsenal 1 Barcelona 2, Kashiwa Reysol 2 Estudiantil 0, Corinthians 1 PSG 0.
FINAL STANDINGS
20th Kaizer Chiefs, 19th MTK Hungaria, 18th Slavia Praha, 17th Chonburi, 16th Colo Colo, 15th Inter Milan, 14th Atlas , 13th Dalian Railway, 12th Estudiantes, 11th Yongin, 10th AL Arsenal, 9th Barcelona, 8th Estudiantil, 7th Kashiwa Reysol, 6th PSG, 5th Corinthians.
GROUP A
MONDAY RESULTS: Man United 1 Dinamo Zagreb 1, MTK Hungaria 0 Dalian Railway 1, Estudiantes 1 Man United 1, Dinamo Zagreb 3 MTK Hungaria 1, Dalian Railway 0 Estudiantes 0.
TUESDAY RESULTS: Estudiantes 0 Dinamo Zagreb 0, Man United 2 Hungaria 1, Dinamo Zagreb 3 Dalian Railway 0, MTK Hungaria 1 Estudiantes 2, Dalian Railway 0 Man United 1.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1st Man United 10pts, 2nd Dinamo Zagreb 7pts, 3rd Estudiantes 6pts, 4th Dalian Railway 4pts, 5th MTK Hungaria 0pts.
GROUP B
MONDAY RESULTS: AL Arsenal 1 Slavia Praha 0, PSG 2 Kashiwa Reysol 0, Colo-Colo 0 Arsenal 1, Slavia Praha 2 PSG 1, Kashiwa Reysol 1 Colo Colo 0.
TUESDAY RESULTS: Colo Colo 3 Slavia Praha 1, AL Arsenal 0 PSG 2, Slavia Praha 1 Kashiwa Reysol 1, PSG 0 Colo Colo 0, Kasiwa Reysol 1 AL Arsenal 0.
FINAL STANDINGS: 1st PSG 7pts, 2nd Kashiwa Reysol 7pts, 3rd AL Arsenal 6pts, 4th Colo-Colo 4pts,5th Slavia Praha 4.
