Europe: Will Fergie Play All Three?
Times: Sir Alex Ferguson knows better than most that there is nothing more important in football than winning, and victory against Sporting Lisbon here this evening would prove particularly special given that it would represent Manchester United’s 100th in European Cup competition.
But as Ferguson sets out, once again, in search of that elusive second Champions League trophy, nothing may give the United manager quite as much satisfaction against Sporting as the sight of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez forming the sort of potent attacking partnership that first had him licking his lips more than three months ago.
A combination of tiredness, injury and suspension has prevented Ferguson from being able to call upon all three players for the same game, a situation made all the more frustrating by his team’s struggles in front of goal.
But as he prepares to unleash a triumvirate at the José Alvalade Stadium that he can only hope will, in the short-term, help to improve a record of four goals from six games, and in the longer term, come to rival the “holy trinity” of Best, Law and Charlton, Ferguson has sensed that the mere availability of those players has helped to galvanise a squad that has still to find its stride.
“We will all welcome them back,” the United manager, who will be without Owen Hargreaves because of a thigh problem, said. “There’s no question when you have got players with that ability, then it bodes well for us.”
The spotlight will centre on all three for differing reasons against Sporting. For Rooney, the game will mark his long-awaited return after 5½ weeks out with a fractured foot, while Ferguson will hope that Tévez, who will be making his Champions League debut, benefits from having the England forward alongside him after a less than convincing start to his United career, during which he has yet to score.
But it is the name of Ronaldo that will be on the lips of most people. Like Nani, who joined United for a projected £17.3 million from Sporting this summer, Ronaldo left the Portuguese club as a little-known but prodigiously talented 18-year-old. Four years on, he returns, for the first time, to the club where he spent seven fruitful years as arguably the best player in the world.
On his two previous visits to Lisbon with United, Ronaldo was the target of a cacophony of boos from Benfica supporters, with the most vitriolic abuse coming in December 2005, when the player reacted with a finger gesture as he was substituted 20 minutes before the end of his team’s humiliating 2-1 defeat and was subsequently handed a one-match ban by Uefa.
United and Ronaldo have come a long way since that nadir but while Ferguson waved away suggestions that the player may get another poor reception this evening, the manager expressed serious concern yesterday that the Portuguese is being unfairly singled out by referees.
Ferguson branded as “ridiculous” Ronaldo’s sending-off against Portsmouth and Alan Wiley’s decision to book him for a perceived dive away to Everton on Saturday – his first match back after suspension – so it was no surprise to see the Scot sink his head into his hands when he was told that Herbert Fandel is the referee tonight.
The German official sent off Roy Keane against FC Porto in February 2004 and Paul Scholes against AS Roma in the Champions League last season - matches that United lost 2-1. “We will have to get on with it, it’s as simple as that,” Ferguson said of Fandel’s appointment, although it was nothing next to his disappointment over Ronaldo’s apparent shoddy treatment at the hands of referees.
“It is a worry for us,” he said. “It is almost as though Cristiano is being punished for his success. There is no question in my mind there is an unfairness about it all.”
Ronaldo ventured that “what the boss says is true”, although Ferguson will doubtless hope that the player lets his feet do the talking, with the same going for Tévez and Rooney.
