If there are any who know how to win a Manchester derby, it's Salford's owners. David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt all belong to Manchester United's golden generation, who under coach Alex Ferguson won everything that can be won at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.
Together, they have a multitude of derby wins against local rival City, and on Saturday, they get the chance again, when their Salford from the English fourth division League Two visits Premier League giant in the FA Cup.
No matter how the match ends, you can't see it negatively. We should see this as an opportunity to celebrate how far we've come, says the team's coach Karl Robinson according to news agency Reuters.
Taking advice from icons
The Neville brothers, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Nicky Butt bought the club together with businessman Peter Lim in 2014, and a documentary series was also made about the venture on BBC. It was six years before Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over and started pumping money into Wrexham, and subsequently helped the team back to the professional league system.
Salford initially climbed four divisions in five years, but has been stuck in League Two since 2019. The same year, David Beckham became a co-owner, and last year, Gary Neville bought out Peter Lim.
United legends were a major reason why Karl Robinson took on the coaching job a year ago. Both Scholes and Giggs are often on site to check out the team's training.
Just listening to small things like when they tell about some of their biggest matches in their careers and how they handled them. It's the kind of thing you can implement even in League Two, says Robinson.
Uncertain City form
And maybe you can shake up the reigning Premier League champion Manchester City, who have shown uncertain form during the winter. Salford has six straight wins, all without conceding a goal.
A sensation would put the team on the football map.
We will always play in the shadow of two of the world's biggest football clubs, Manchester City and Manchester United, with all their successes and enormous supporter crowds around the world, says Karl Robinson.
But this match has made people wake up and they realize: "You're doing okay after all".
