Article
Roma fans will be safe in Manchester, says Ferguson
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists Roma fans will be safe when they visit Old Trafford for Tuesday's Champions League clash.
The quarter-final first leg meeting between the clubs in Rome last Wednesday was marred by crowd trouble inside and outside the stadium, prompting United to complain about the treatment of their supporters at the hands of Italian police.
But while Ferguson admitted he was "appalled" by what he saw, he insisted there would be no repeat in Manchester.
"We missed a lot of what was shown on here but there have been one or two photographs I've seen since then and it doesn't look very nice at all," he added.
"I think everyone was appalled at some of the pictures and I think UEFA are investigating so we will await their findings. We hope it's a thorough investigation because that's the only way you can find these things out.
"I don't anticipate any further problems. I think the security at Old Trafford is fantastic and I don't think the Roma fans will have any problems at all. There has never been a history of that, the security and police are excellent and the Roma fans should have nothing to fear."
Wayne Rooney believes Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the best player in the world and identified the winger as the key to United's hopes of progressing.
The Italian club will visit Old Trafford having established a slender 2-1 advantage.
But United striker Rooney is convinced his colleagues are capable of shedding an unwanted club record by overturning a first-leg deficit for the first time ever in the Champions League.
Ferguson's side have exited the competition on each of the five previous occasions they have trailed at the halfway stage of a tie, most recently when they went out to AC Milan two seasons ago.
Rooney admits United will once again face a stern test against Italian opposition but claims his Portugese team-mate Ronaldo is capable of turning the tie on his own.
"When we faced AC Milan a couple of years ago, myself, Cristiano and a couple of the other players were still really young and we were still trying to learn the game and get experience," he said.
"It's different playing against Italian teams, it's like a game of chess really, the game's slower and it's a lot more organised. Here the game's a lot quicker and there is a lot more end to end stuff.
"I've only really faced Italian defences twice, against Roma last week and against AC Milan but with our players and the speed we have, especially at Old Trafford, if we play the way we can do we can cause them problems.
"I think since the Milan game, both me and Cristiano have improved as players and we have matured a lot, especially Critiano who has been winning games on his own.
"This season he has been unbelievable and at the moment he is by far the best player in the world and hopefully he can work some of his magic and get us into the semi-finals."
The defeat in Rome was followed last weekend by a Premiership reverse against Portsmouth that boosted the domestic title hopes of United's main rivals Chelseas.
But Ferguson has denied that the back-to-back losses have increased the pressure on his side and repeated his claim that Rooney's away goal in Rome has put United on top in the tie, even though midfielder Paul Scholes will be missing through suspension.
"I think we are in a good position," the manager said. "Our attacking impetus will be much stronger and more apparent but of course we need to perform well and take our chances.
"Of course we will make chances tomorrow but my experience in some European games is that we have sometimes missed chances, particularly in the two semi-final ties here. So if we can create the chances and take a percentage then I think we have a massive chance."
Louis Saha will join Scholes on the sidelines after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, although Patrice Evra could return to the back-four.
Comments (0)