Oletul Galati: Manchester United's little-known opponents

Manchester United’s next two Champions League Group Stage games will be against Romanian side Otelul Galati. Galati are a little-known club, so this is a perfect chance to know more about them.

Founded in 1964, Otelul Galali are nicknamed Oţerlarii, which means Steelers. Otelul is located in eastern Romania, in the largest steel-producing seaport on the Danube. Galati’s stadium has a capacity of only 13,500 and the Champions League match against Manchester United on Tuesday will therefore be played at the National Stadium of Bucharest which can accommodate 55,600 people.

The club qualified for this edition of the Champions League by winning the top Romanian league, the ‘Liga 1’ for the first time last season. They also won the Romanian Super Cup. The side was led to success by their manager Dorinel Munteanu, who is a hero in Romania, having played a record 143 times for the Romanian national team. Munteanu, who had managed five other teams before being appointed by Otelul Galati, has implanted a sense of modesty, determination and ambition within the club. One of his players, midfielder Gabriel Paraschiv, has even demanded a 30% pay-cut because he was not pleased by his performance since coming back from injury.

The two games against Manchester United will undoubtedly be the biggest ever for the Romanian club and their players and this could help them to create an upset, even if they haven’t been performing well since the start of the season. They currently sit ninth position in the Liga 1 and have lost five of their last ten games in all competitions, including defeats against Basel and Benfica in the Champions League.

Let’s take a look at the Galati players who are most likely to pose a threat:

• Gabriel Paraschiv

The 33-year-old midfielder is one of the most influencial players in the side. He is clever on the ball and Manchester United’s midfield players will have to make sure he doesn’t get too many chances to create opportunities for his team.

• Marius Pena

Galati’s leading striker was the side’s top goal-scorer last season. He also became Otelul’s Galati first player to score in the Champions League when he found the back of the net against Basel a few weeks ago.