Manchester United: Diego Forlan reveals staff v player QUIZZES were like 'WAR'

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United squads were famed for their ruthless winning mentality on the pitch and Diego Forlan has lifted the lid on how that spilled over into their quiz nights.

On every away trip in the Champions League, United's players would take on Ferguson and his staff in a squad v management quiz night.

For Forlan, who joined United from Argentine side Independiente in January 2002, quiz nights were 'like war' and both sides never took losing well.

'It was the players against all of the staff. The manager and everyone else was on the other side of the room. It was a war! You could say everything there!' Forlan told ManUtd.com.

'It was really, really funny.'

Many of the questions were focused on England, the UK and British culture and Forlan, along with other international players in United's squad, were largely left stumped.

But the Uruguayan, who scored 17 times for United in 98 games, was the one the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane relied on for world affairs and international general knowledge.

Were the players to make a mistake, handing the victory on that particular night to the staff, hot-head Keane would be keen to ensure nobody forgot in the dressing room later.

Forlan added: 'Many times we won, many times they won. It was a fight!

'But the manager... he didn't want to lose, you know?! The players [even] less. So imagine all the things we could say there in that battle!'

'In the training session, sometimes Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) was playing with Keano and maybe I was playing on the other side, or with them. When we lost, [the quiz] Keano was coming at both of us and it [saying it] was our fault. Always it was our fault!'

It was a dressing room full of winners and while Forlan's spell at United would not go on to be the most successful of his career, he did go on to win the Premier League title in his first season at the club.

A Community Shield followed to kickstart the 2003-04 season and that campaign ended with an FA Cup win in Cardiff over Millwall, albeit without Forlan as he was not involved in the squad for the final.