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Giggs: We can rule Europe
United have been undoubted rulers of the English game in the Premier League era, but Ryan Giggs believes the continental schooling undertaken by the current squad could see the Reds reign in Europe for years to come.
First up, the wise old Welshman is targeting a second Champions League triumph in as many seasons. The Reds would be the first club to retain the trophy and Giggs feels victory over Barcelona could see the dawn of an era of dominance on the European stage.
“Everything is in place,” he said on Wednesday. “The age of the team is relatively young if you take out me, Nev, Scholesy and Edwin.
"We’ve proved this season that we can get to the final again, and hopefully that gives us the confidence to carry on and dominate. That’s what we’ve done in our own league and we want to do that in Europe. We’ve got everything in place to do that.”
Barcelona will no doubt have similar designs of taking up residence on European football’s throne, and Giggs believes there couldn’t be a tougher final opponent.
“This match determines the best club in Europe this season,” he said. “It’s the two best teams in England and Spain, and also from performances in the Champions League.
"It’s the dream final, two fantastic, massive clubs who play football the right way. Everyone’s looking forward to it, including the players.”
That United have reached consecutive finals is no stroke of luck. The emergence from the harsh lessons of semi-final defeat to AC Milan in 2005 has only made the team stronger.
For Giggs, already into his thirties at that point, it was just a case of putting his faith in Sir Alex allowing the team to evolve.
“We had the players to get to a Champions League final then,” Giggs adds. “But the likes of Wayne [Rooney] and Cristiano [Ronaldo] had just come to the club. They hadn’t matured into the world class players they are now.
"With the players the manager has brought in, we’ve just got better and better since. From the first trophy this team won - the League Cup where we beat Wigan - we’ve gone from strength to strength.
“I just put my trust in the manager. He’s won so much. At that time we were saying the team was evolving and we were trying to get the age of the team down. That takes time. We probably did it quicker than we thought we would.”
Vida: Make it count
Nemanja Vidic says United are determined not to let the chance of making history slip away in Rome next Wednesday.
The Reds are just 90 minutes away from winning a fourth trophy of the season and becoming the first team to successfully retain the Champions League crown. An equally hungry and talented Barcelona side lie in wait at the Stadio Olimpico, but United's Player of the Year feels the experience of having triumphed last season will stand Sir Alex Ferguson's side in good stead.
"There’s always pressure on you when you play in a final. Of course, you want to enjoy the experience and play your game but you’re very aware of what is at stake in a game like this," Vidic told reporters at the pre-final media day.
"You just have to try and deal with the pressure. We won it last season and have picked up great experience from doing that.
"Getting to a Champions League final is not something that happens every year so we want to make the most of our chance and win the trophy."
With an array of attacking talent on display, it promises to be a busy night for both sets of defenders. Vidic is well aware of the threat posed by Barca's front men, but feels United's attackers will give Pep Guardiola's backline plenty to think about.
"Barcelona have some good players, especially up front, so it won’t be easy," admits Vidic. "They have played some good football and scored a lot of goals this season and we have great respect for them.
"But we must concentrate on ourselves and what we’re going to do. We’re not just going to go there and defend; we want to attack them as well.
"We have players that can cause defenders problems and score goals. When we’ve needed goals this season we’ve scored them.
"In some games we’ve been one or two goals down, but have still come back to win. That shows that when we need to score our attackers have produced."
The Catalan craftsman
Sky Sports' spanish football expert, Guillem Balague, tells ManUtd.com why Barcelona are desperate to have Andrés Iniesta fit for next week's Champions League final...
People are billing the Champions League final as a battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are widely seen as the world's two best players.
To my mind, though, the best player is someone who may not even play in Rome - Andrés Iniesta. It would be such a shame if he didn’t make it, because I think he’s been the best player in the world for a few months now.
Iniesta can do things neither Ronaldo nor Messi can do. On the wing he can play almost as well as Messi, and he can also play in the centre. If he scored more goals he would be considered one of the top three players in the world by everybody.
Everyone keeps telling him to score more goals. Earlier on in the season he played a one-two with Eto’o, could’ve shot but passed for Eto’o to score instead. When asked why he passed, Iniesta said: “Well, Eto’o wants to be the top scorer in Spain.” A couple of weeks later he did exactly the same with Messi, and when he was asked why he’d done it again, he said: “Well, Messi hasn’t scored for a couple of games.”
He can do it. If he starts scoring then he would be considered by everybody as one of the best around. Paul Scholes is a good comparison to him, as there is more than one similarity. He’s definitely got the vision of Scholes and he can play centre-midfield, but also out wide, because he has the pace that Scholes never had.
He’s the quiet character who isn’t egotistical and works hard for the team. He could go the whole of his life playing for Barcelona, and people might struggle to remember his name, even though he was a great player. Scholes has been the same at United. At some point he was the best player or one of the very best players in European football, but nobody would say that at the time.
Iniesta is so important to Barça's hopes of lifting the trophy. If Pep Guardiola's staff can get him - and also Thierry Henry - fit for Rome, then I'd have to say I fancy them to overcome United.
Sky Sports will be showing live, high definition coverage of Barcelona vs Manchester United (from 18:00 BST on Sky Sports 1 / Sky Sports HD 1 on 27 May). To upgrade to HD call on 08442 411 333.
The views expressed in this blog are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United FC.
Rio ready for Rome
Rio: I'll be ready for Rome
Rio Ferdinand has been told to prove his fitness against Hull on Sunday if he wants to play in the Champions League final against Barcelona. Sir Alex Ferguson is reluctant to risk the £30million centre-half against Barcelona unless he emerges unscathed from the trip to the KC Stadium. But Ferdinand insists: "I'm fine. I trained with the ball and done some running, so I'm doing all the movements I need to. I've not thought about not playing in the final. But this is perhaps the most important injury battle of my career because there's so much at stake." - Mark Ogden, Daily Telegraph
The Sun says United have "bowed to pressure to field a stronger team at Hull", despite Premier League chief exec Richard Scudamore saying Sir Alex has the right to utilise his full squad. Sunderland's Ricky Sbragia says: "Sir Alex will pick a side that can beat Hull."
The Guardian, who last month claimed Cristiano Ronaldo had a deal to sign for Real Madrid, now says politics at the Bernabeu mean Madrid will go for Kaka and Franck Ribery instead. President-elect Florentino Perez doesn't want to go for former bigwig Ramon Calderon's man. Yawn.
Federico Macheda wants to play in his home city next week. "It's a dream I've had many times, me with the champions in my own stadium. I hope it happens, but I don't even know if I'll be on the bench. United have many great players and there's big competition. It'd be fantastic playing for just a few minutes. In Manchester, people think I'm a hero, but I've done nothing and must show my value."
Elsewhere, it's reported that City want to sign Diego Forlan, while Liverpool are prepared to break their transfer record, funded perhaps by the £23m sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Benitez couldn't resist a dig: "We may break our transfer record, but we certainly won't break United's." More yawning.
United beat Real in Zurich
United beat Real Madrid 3-0 on penalties to secure 5th place in the Blue Stars FIFA Youth Cup in Zurich on Thursday.
The prestigious tournament in Switzerland pits some of the best young players in the world against each other in games of two halves of 20 minutes.
United were drawn in Group B with Swiss sides FC Basel, FC Blue Stars, Brazilians Flamengo, and Turkish outfit Fenerbahce.
On Wednesday, the Reds beat FC Blue Stars 2-0, with goals from Febian Brandy and Josh King. Next up for United were Fenerbahce, who proved slightly tougher opponents. Rodrigo Possebon and Brandy twice gave the Reds the lead, but each time the Turkish youngsters levelled.
United's final match that day was against last season's runners-up, FC Basel. The Swiss side took the lead before Possebon equalised, but then Basel turned on the style, hitting four goals to run out 5-1 winners.
The Reds' last group game, on Thursday morning, saw the Reds draw 1-1 with Brazilian club Flamengo, setting up a 5th-6th place play-off with Real Madrid.
The clash ended 0-0 at full-time, but Oliver Norwood, Possebon and Brandy all converted without reply from Real to clinch victory.
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