Sport

Alejandro Garnacho set to miss FA Cup final for Under-20 World Cup

One of Man United's most impressive impact players this season most likely won't be back in the country by then.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 25th April 2023

Manchester United starlet Alejandro Garnacho is reportedly set to miss the 2023 FA Cup final after making the decision to travel with Argentina for the Under-20s World Cup.

The young winger has been one of United‘s brightest sparks this season and his unfortunate injury came as a huge blow to the squad that was already growing injury-ridden amidst a busy run of fixtures.

Garnacho last played for United on 12 March and was set to be ruled out for a period of “around six weeks” following damage to his ankle, which saw him leave Old Trafford on crutches.

That being said, Reds were delighted to see that Garnacho was seemingly back in some form of training earlier this month after sharing a picture of himself back wearing boots on his Instagram story.

While Erik ten Hag had given no indication of when the promising Argentine prospect would be once again available for matchday selection, having still missed out on the matchday squad for the semis on Sunday, fans were nevertheless excited at the prospect of having him back for the final.

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However, as per Argentine journalist Damian Villagra, the 18-year-old is apparently going to be joining Argentina’s Under-20s team for the upcoming FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia, starting next month.

The tournament starts on 20 May but runs until 11 June and should his national team even make it as far as the quarters on 4 June, it means he will still miss the conclusion of the FA Cup by a day.

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When international duty calls, it’s hard for any player to say no.

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For context, Argentina are not only the current World Champions at senior level but they are the most successful team at this age group, with six U20s titles to their name.

There is obviously still the chance that ‘La Albiceleste’ don’t make it to the quarters, let alone the final, so Garnacho could still end up flying back to the UK in time; United fans will certainly be hoping so anyway.

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Already reclaiming one of the club’s most popular songs, not to mention registering four goals and five assists in just a short time as part of the first team.

All that being said, it doesn’t look too likely Reds will be singing ‘Viva Garnacho’ at the FA Cup final.

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Featured Image — Alejandro Garnacho/DamianAvillagra (via Twitter)

Sport

Manchester United in talks with Disney over ‘multi-million-dollar documentaries’ deal

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester United talking to Disney Plus about documentary deal

Manchester United are said to be in talks with Disney over a potential deal to create a number of “multi-million-dollar documentaries”.

Just a week or so after the first trailer for their upcoming 99 series on Amazon Prime Video, which will follow their iconic treble-winning campaign – and only a couple weeks after Manchester City dropped their own over on Netflix – it looks like we’re getting more Manchester football media.

As per the report by The Athletic‘s Adam Crafton, the discussion between the footballing icons and entertainment giants centres around the proposal to make multiple documentaries about the club, with a specific focus on Sir Alex Ferguson and the legacy he left behind.

With Disney+ now the third biggest streaming service available, boasting more than 150 million subscribers according to the most recent estimates, and Man United still one of the most instantly recognisable brands on the planet, it goes without saying that the viewing figures would be huge.

Man United and Disney are reportedly exploring a collaboration for multiple documentaries.

The article goes on to detail how the prospective documentaries would also ideally involve “substantial interview time with Ferguson”, the now 82-year-old former manager and footballing legend who won a total of 38 trophies in 26 years as the Man United boss.

Disney would reportedly also be given access to the club’s wealth of archive footage along with key ambassadors and figures from their rich sporting heritage, including former captain Bryan Robson, goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and more.

We’d be surprised if you didn’t see plenty of David Beckham, Gary Neville and other Class of ’92 members involved as well, sitting as arguably the most iconic and foremost serial winners in their history.

As the plans are still in their infancy, Ferguson and his former players would need to formally agree to be part of the documentaries and United would have their say over final edits.

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It is said that the current deal on the table is “in the low seven figures” and is actually lower than the terms originally offered to the club when the idea was first floated a couple of years ago.

There is still no indication as to how many projects could be in the pipeline or when we might see the first released if/when a deal is agreed upon.

As for out on the pitch itself, it’s been a turbulent season for the Red Devils, to say the least, but they have still managed to secure a place in the FA Cup final for the second year running following a game they made difficult for themselves against Coventry City.

Set to be just the second Manchester derby final in history, kick-off has once again been moved to an earlier start time to aid with travel issues and potential crowd problems.

FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans

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Featured Images — Hquan2508 (Wikimedia)/Disney UK/minhquangle87 (Flickr)

Sport

FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans

Danny Jones Danny Jones 2024 FA Cup final kick off time confirmed for 3pm

The start time for the 2023/24 FA Cup final has officially been confirmed with holders Manchester City and challengers Manchester United set to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, 25 May.

It’s a Manc final for the second year running and yet another Manchester Derby this year as City beat Chelsea on penalties to try and defend one of their trophies from last season and Man United did just about enough to scrape through against Coventry City this past weekend.

Logistics and travel arrangements for the conclusion of last year’s FA Cup proved problematic, with the Metropolitan Police stressing that they needed the schedule brought forward to try and help curb crowd trouble – the first time the final had been reverted back to a traditional 3pm start since 2011.

Kick-off times for the knockout tournament have varied for the last three finals, having taken place at 4:45 and 5:15pm in the two years prior to 2023’s first-ever all-Manchester final, but it looks as though the same rationale has been put in place once again.

The kick-off time for the FA Cup final has been confirmed for 3pm.

As per an official statement by the FA, the final has now been officially confirmed as 3pm BST which has been agreed with local authorities, members of the Safety Advisory Group and broadcasters, as well as with the clubs who must take the time needed for fans to travel to and from Wembley into consideration.

While pockets of fighting broke out before and after the game last year, it was deemed that this time would still be the best kick-off time for all parties involved and there will, of course, be an increased police presence in London for the game next month.

Although prioritising safety comes as welcome news, it’ll no doubt prove to be a blow to broadcasters who prefer later kick-offs when eyeing up peak audience numbers; the game is also set to clash with ITV’s coverage of the rugby as the Investec Champions Cup final is also due to start at 2:45pm. 

With last season’s historic FA Cup final being the first time the two sides had met in the final in the entire history of the oldest competition in all of football, it rounded off a massive year of viewing figures for the tournament which has continued to hit record numbers in 2024.

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The game will once again be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and ITV1; ITVX, UTV, as well as STV, and there will no doubt be huge screenings of the game all over Greater Manchester, where an increased police presence is also expected.

With Man City having dropped out of the Champions League, this year’s FA Cup final could see them defend the first of their treble for last season. As for their fierce and historic rivals, this is the second year in a row that both United’s men’s and women’s teams have made it to their respective FA Cup finals.

Is it going to be back-to-back FA Cups for the Blues or are the Reds going to make it two trophies in Erik ten Hag’s first two seasons?

Featured Images — @brentflanders (via Flickr)/FA Cup (via X)

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