Print

Mail

wiki links

Ferguson looking forward to semi-final

Manchester United's Argentine forward Carlos Tevez, center, scores past AS Roma's Brazilian goalkeeper Donieber Alexander Marangon, left, during the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford in Salford, England, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP

Sir Alex Ferguson is relishing the prospect of resuming one of the great rivalries in European soccer when he takes Manchester United to Barcelona for their Champions League semi-final in two weeks time.

The English champions booked their place in the last four with a 1-0 win over Roma on Wednesday night, Carlos Tevez’s second-half header enabling them to set a new record for the tournament with their 11th consecutive home win.

It was a performance that fell short of the standards United had set in winning the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico 2-0 a week earlier but, having rested both Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, Ferguson declared himself satisfied with the performance and the return from injury of two of his most experienced defenders, Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre.

By the time of the first-leg in the Nou Camp, Ferguson also hopes to have Nemanja Vidic back alongside Rio Ferdinand in the center of his defense.

“Hopefully we will have a full squad by the time we go to Barcelona,” he said. “We have had some fantastic games with them over the years, matches that represent the way the game should be played.”

United will have the advantage of playing the first leg of their semi-final on Barcelona’s turf and Ferguson promised his side would travel to Catalonia looking to take control of the tie.

“You have opportunities in life to do something special and I think we have something special in this team,” he said.

United should have killed the match by taking at least one of the five clear chances they created in the first five minutes, the most glaring miss coming from Ryan Giggs, who tamely side-footed Owen Hargreaves’ perfectly-judged cross straight at Doni, the Roma keeper.

United were grateful to Edwin van der Sar for keeping out shots from Mirko Vucinic, Mancini and Simone Perrotta but their biggest let-off came when de Rossi blasted his penalty high into the Stretford End after Wes Brown had tripped Mancini inside the box.

United continued to flirt with danger after the interval but, with just over 20 minutes left, the home supporters were relieved of any lingering tension about the outcome of the evening when Tevez glanced a Hargreaves cross past Doni.

The Argentine was rewarded with an ovation that was only slightly less enthusiastic than the one accorded to Eric Cantona when the stadium announcer revealed his presence at halftime.

The United fans were on their feet again with 10 minutes left, but that was only to mark club captain Neville’s entry to the fray.
This story has been viewed 648 times.