Philip Zinckernagel (L) and David Beckham (R)
Philip Zinckernagel (L) and David Beckham (R)
Ruben Amorim will step out as Manchester United manager at Old Trafford for the first time tonight. The Reds welcome Bodo Glimt in the Europa League seeking a victory to bolster their qualification chances.
United are 15th in the expanded table, three points adrift of a top eight spot that would put them straight into the last 16.
And while the Norwegian visitors are not household names, they are above United in the standings and should not be under-estimated. They are top of their domestic league and are 2023 champions.
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They also possess some English league experience in Philip Zinckernagel who played for Watford and Nottingham Forest. Indeed he made his debut in English football at Old Trafford, starting for Watford in a 1-0 reverse to United in January 2021.
A little under four years on he will be back. None of the XI who lined up for the Reds that day are still at the club and United are undergoing their latest new era. For Zinckernagel, on loan at Bodo/Glimt from Club Brugges, he will be hoping to make an impact at the home of one of his football heroes.
The Dane grew up idolising David Beckham. He was his football hero and he would love nothing more than to find the net in front of a huge Old Trafford crowd just like his hero did on so many occasions.
He perhaps still harbours ambitions of playing in the top flight, something that didn't materialise during his spell with the Hornets. He is now 29 and thriving back at Bodo/Glimt in an attacking midfield role but capable of playing across midfield.
He always had the drive to succeed, as his dad Torben, speaking to The Athletic in 2022, explained: “When he first started playing, he was on it and was always super disciplined. He was always a very talented footballer. He didn’t care about parties and always did the right thing, and followed the rules.
"Then there was a shift in his early twenties when he started to work with his mental coach and they started to instil more perspective on what he wanted to achieve and that changed his game completely, and he only headed in one direction.”
The next staging post in Zinckernagel's career could be celebrating at Old Trafford, even if Amorim and the United fans will hope otherwise.
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