Failure makes Fergie more determined
Reuters - Thursday 28 May 2009, 10:02
ROME - Manchester United's failure to
retain the European Cup may have been greeted with delight by
their fiercest rivals but it might be their worst possible news.
United's 2-0 defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League
final in Rome on Wednesday has merely strengthened manager Alex
Ferguson's resolve to take his club back to the heights of the
European game and achieve the success he craves.
PHOTOS: Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United
Ferguson had spoken in the weeks leading up to the game how
he wanted to secure United's place in the pantheon of Europe's
great clubs like Real Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich
by retaining the European Cup and starting his own cycle of
European success.
Asked afterwards whether he still had the hunger to do that,
the 67-year-old Scot turned on the questioner with a tirade few
can equal and demanded an apology for the impertinence of the
enquiry, which he duly got.
Ferguson went off into the Roman night devastated by the
nature of United's defeat -- but also thinking of how to improve
things.
The loss was especially painful because for the first 10
minutes, until Barcelona scored, Ferguson could glimpse the
mountain top.
United started the match far better than Barcelona and if
they had carried on the same vein could have dominated the game
and become the first team to retain the title in the Champions
League era. Instead Barcelona scored first and took control.
Ferguson's attempts to change the outcome in the second half
by bringing on Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes
failed and before departing he admitted United were beaten by
the better team.
"I think we've done well to get to final. We had to win it
to change the pattern of the teams defending the trophy. Losing
the first goal was decisive for us, we couldn't recover from
that," he told reporters.
"It could be it was an off night, it could be it was too big
a mountain to climb after going behind."
ABSENT FRIENDS
The absence of holding midfielder Darren Fletcher, who was
suspended, also proved pivotal to the outcome because without
him United failed to take a grip on the midfield.
More important than that though was the absence, in spirit
if not in body, of some of United's usual match-winners like
Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and even Cristiano
Ronaldo, who failed to dominate Barcelona.
Ferguson spoke at length about his team have matured and
developed this season after winning the Champions League last
year, but on this evidence, new blood might be needed sooner
rather than later.
There is little fuel left in the 35-year-olds Giggs's engine
while Scholes, who replaced his fellow veteran after 75 minutes,
also failed to make any impact.
Wednesday was a step too far for United this season, which
has not exactly been a failure after winning the Club World Cup,
Premier League and League Cup.
But that is not enough for Ferguson, which is why everyone
else should be even more on their guard next season.
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