Welcome Back Becks
Seven years since he left Manchester United, the club’s most famous number seven returns to Old Trafford. David Beckham will deservedly be given a rapturous reception for his service to a club that he could have stayed for life had he not married a Spice Girl.
“Golden Balls” and his AC Milan side enter the second leg with renewed hope in overcoming their one-goal deficit as Wayne Rooney struggles to be fit in time for the Wednesday evening kick-off.
His enthusiasm at playing every match has thrown United’s game plan into disarray. It has also made Sir Alex Ferguson look quite silly since he chose not to start Rooney in the League Cup final in order to keep him fresh for this important period.
He instead went on to play in England’s meaningless friendly against Egypt, a match in which the only thing we learnt was that Peter Crouch frightens African defenders. Losing him at this stage of the season is such a big blow and United fans can only hope that he returns a smarter player who exhibits better judgement in his future playing commitments.
Dimitar Berbatov is likely to continue spearheading United’s attack, a role he fulfilled admirably against Wolves over the weekend. He will be supported by Park Ji-Sung and either Nani or Antonio Valencia on the flanks.
The Rossoneri backline had a torrid time dealing with the Ecuadorian winger’s pace and delivery into the box when he came on in the second half of the first leg. He could be the ace up Ferguson’s sleeve should things not be going in United’s favour.
With Michael Carrick’s suspension, Darron Gibson is likely to step into the midfield trio alongside Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher. He will probably be given the thankless task of sticking to Andrea Pirlo like glue and preventing the Italian playmaker from running proceedings in the middle of the park.
Central midfield will be the key battleground for ninety minutes. The less time that Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf are given on the ball, the fewer opportunities are created for Ronaldinho and Pato up front.
Beckham himself has been somewhat restricted as he occupies a deeper position in the middle these days. He has had limited opportunities going forward and playing his trademark pin-point crosses.
United needs to press the midfield and keep space at a premium. By staying patient and keeping men behind the ball, they can then break away using Nani or Valencia’s blistering speed.
Milan know that they must score at least twice to have any chance of progressing. That’s not an impossible task for a side that is bristling with quality and knows exactly what it takes to win the UEFA Champions League.
They will be boosted by United’s defensive injury crisis, which continues to grow like Jack Neo’s mistress list. The latest addition being Wes Brown, who is likely to be out for six weeks with a suspected metatarsal fracture. I wonder if Fabio Capello will close “one eye”, just like Jack Neo’s wife, and still include him in England’s World Cup squad.
All this means that either Rafael da Silva or Gary Neville will occupy the right-back slot. One cannot defend and the other is too old to overlap so you can expect Ronaldinho to be spending most of his time down that flank.
A lot has been said about Milan’s aging players but their experience on the big stage rivals that of any team in world football. They have knocked out the Red Devils in this competition a few years ago, although there’s a small difference this time with the absence of a certain Kaka.
United are still the favourites to go through with their away goals advantage. Playing a European tie in Old Trafford’s unrivalled evening atmosphere, I see Ferguson’s men edging the Italians by a 2-1 scoreline.
No doubt all the attention on the night will be on Beckham, who was a fantastic servant to the club and deserves to give the United faithful one last glimpse of football’s sweetest right foot in action.
So Paul Scholes knows what to do – make a clumsy challenge just outside the box in front of the Stretford End.
Free-kick. Up steps Beckham. He scores but United goes through. All is well in the world – unless you’re Jack Neo.
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