And about today's game from Flying Kiwis.
Copenhagen had some incredible support in the stands at the Etihad Stadium and at times they drowned out the home support despite only having a fraction of the numbers. So you knew they were gonna turn it up for the return fixture. The atmosphere at Parken was nuts – a crowd that included Marko’s family once more... as well as old Ole Academy coach/mentor Declan Edge. Stammers was one of six FCK players in the starting line-up aged 20 or younger. Manchester City blessedly left Erling Haaland on the bench... although Stamenic was up against a midfield trio of Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne. No mercy.
If Stamenic looked a tad nervous in the first meeting, here he looked fully comfortable. Knew what he was doing and he did it well – the UEFA website lists him as completing 36/37 passes for a 97% success rate (other sources differ, the definition of a ‘pass’ can be subjective, but they’ve all got him at >90%). That’s big time, especially as passing was one of the things he slipped up with a week earlier. He wasn’t madly ambitious or anything but that’s all good it’s what his position demanded. Be an option. Keep the ball moving. It was an assured performance well beyond his years.
Marko Stamenic: “It was another tough game against one of the best teams in the world. I think we can leave the stadium proud of ourselves and our team. We fought to the very last minute. It means everything to me [to be the first NZer to play men’s UCL for 15 years]. Football is my life and I want to be playing among the best players in the world. I'm so grateful to be able to play against arguably one of the best teams in the world.”
Copenhagen had some incredible support in the stands at the Etihad Stadium and at times they drowned out the home support despite only having a fraction of the numbers. So you knew they were gonna turn it up for the return fixture. The atmosphere at Parken was nuts – a crowd that included Marko’s family once more... as well as old Ole Academy coach/mentor Declan Edge. Stammers was one of six FCK players in the starting line-up aged 20 or younger. Manchester City blessedly left Erling Haaland on the bench... although Stamenic was up against a midfield trio of Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne. No mercy.
If Stamenic looked a tad nervous in the first meeting, here he looked fully comfortable. Knew what he was doing and he did it well – the UEFA website lists him as completing 36/37 passes for a 97% success rate (other sources differ, the definition of a ‘pass’ can be subjective, but they’ve all got him at >90%). That’s big time, especially as passing was one of the things he slipped up with a week earlier. He wasn’t madly ambitious or anything but that’s all good it’s what his position demanded. Be an option. Keep the ball moving. It was an assured performance well beyond his years.
Marko Stamenic: “It was another tough game against one of the best teams in the world. I think we can leave the stadium proud of ourselves and our team. We fought to the very last minute. It means everything to me [to be the first NZer to play men’s UCL for 15 years]. Football is my life and I want to be playing among the best players in the world. I'm so grateful to be able to play against arguably one of the best teams in the world.”
Up Next: Away to Brøndby, and maybe Joe Bell if he gets picked, at 1am on Monday (NZT)