Manchester United have breathed a sigh of relief after Rio Ferdinand declared himself fit for tomorrow night's Champions League final. The centre-half has not featured for Manchester United since the semi-final second-leg victory away to Arsenal three weeks ago and his recovery from a calf injury is a boost to Sir Alex Ferguson's side, which the manager says is on the verge of greatness.
"My injury is fine, I've been training the last couple of days with the team – I feel good and I'm glad to be back," Ferdinand said. He is likely to replace Jonny Evans in the centre of defence to restore his successful partnership with Nemanja Vidic, which kept the feted Barcelona front three of Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o scoreless over both legs of their semi-final last year.
Ferdinand insisted he would not risk the team by putting himself forward for selection if he was not 100%. "I wouldn't do that," he said. "There is no way I will play if my fitness was detrimental to the team. Tomorrow is more about the team winning than me playing in a cup final. In any case, I have been working hard with the medical staff and training well. There are no problems. I am fine."
Should United win in Rome tomorrow night it will be the club's fourth European title and their third under Ferguson, equalling the record set by Liverpool's Bob Paisley, but the United manager had bad news for their rivals when he suggested the current United squad's best days are ahead of it.
"[Tomorrow] is an opportunity for us to get that victory that would put us alongside a lot of the great teams of Europe and this particular team is for the future," he said. "It is a young team with the right kind of experience and could do well in the next few years and hopefully tomorrow we can endorse that."
A fourth European Cup success will put United on a par with Ajax and Bayern Munich. However, no team has successfully defended the trophy since the Champions League's inception, and no one the European Cup since Milan lifted back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.
"It hasn't been done," Ferguson said. "We're good at first things, doing things for the first time, and hopefully it is another opportunity for us to do that tomorrow. It is interesting, I think unusual, that nobody has defended it since the Champions League started and if you look over the history, going back to the 1960s-70s it was done regularly – teams going two, three years in a row winning it.
"Cycles of great teams like Ajax, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, of course. I can't give you a reason for it, but we have an opportunity to change that and hopefully we will take it," added the United manager, who said he had given no thought as yet to his team-talk, saying: "These things usually come to me in the night."
However the Scot does not think he will have to instil his team with hunger or motivation, even after last year's success, citing examples in the quarter- and semi-finals where they displayed their desire.
"When the chips were down in Porto they rose to that with a fantastic performance and I think in the second leg at the Emirates, where Arsenal have never lost," he said. "The team showed their capabilities, they didn't go beyond themselves, they played to their capabilities."
Barcelona, meanwhile, are hopeful Thierry Henry and Andrés Iniesta will be fit to play in Rome. Iniesta is recovering from a strained thigh muscle and Henry is bidding to shake off a knee injury. "Today is the last training session and we will see how their condition is," coach Pep Guardiola told a news conference. "I think they will be there tomorrow. I am confident."
source : guardian.co.uk
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