Will Sir Alex Ferguson have the last laugh?

Italia
Serie A PodJockey David Schiavone wonders if Sir Alex will have the last laugh
over his former nemesis.

It's
Fergie vs. Jose once more in a bout that has gone well beyond the specified 12
rounds. Sir Alex once again faces a foe who has got the better of him over the
years, beginning at Porto with that famous sprint down the Old Trafford
touchline then continuing at Chelsea where Mr Mourinho caused a full scale
shift in power from the north-west to the south-east. This Manchester United
are a wholly different animal and Fergie will no doubt be looking to overcome
an obstacle he has, so far failed to conquer.

Looking
at the league form of both teams, they appear more or less identical … on paper
anyway. United have a record of 19 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats in 26 games,
almost identical to Inter's 18 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats in 25 matches.
United have scored 46 and conceded only 11, compared to Inter's equally
impressive record of 44 scored and 18 conceded. It seems nothing can really
separate the two on paper.

The form
of both sides is also extremely similar with Inter often scraping wins with
erratic performances and often relying on the enigmatic yet brilliant Zlatan
Ibrahimovic to set them apart from the opposition and lift them from the
quagmire. He has had a plethora of partners this season, from Julio Cruz to
Mario Balotelli and the forever-jaded Adriano. It appears once more that with
Adriano's off field issues hampering his season, and Balotelli's apparent
inability to tow the line, Inter will once more rely on their Swedish talisman.

Coupling
a solid midfield that will no doubt look to provide the ammunition for
Ibrahimovic et al. Inter have built from a solid foundation of Maxwell, Ivan
Cordoba, Christian Chivu and Douglas Maicon. With 18-year-old Davide Santon
impressing in recent games it seems he will start at left back against United,
as he is unable to displace the fabulous Maicon on the right side. Maicon is
the best right back in the world, excellent defensively and a wonder going
forward, he makes the right side his own, and is definately a player United
should fear.

Manchester
United on the other hand posses some very effective weapons of their own, in
the shape of Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov and of course FIFA World Player of the
Year Cristaino Ronaldo. This is a front line that can unlock even the tightest Catenaccio (door-bolt
or padlock) defence. But United's success has not been built on this rapturous
attack but a defence that gives away fewer goals than the military gives away
secrets. Fourteen clean sheets in-fact, beating a record previously set by Jose
Mourinho's Chelsea.

While United go into the tie with
major defensive worries, Vidic is suspended, Neville, Brown and Evans are all
injured, it seems a young back line will be marshaled by Rio Ferdinand. A job
that will bring the best out of him, but one Jose will be keen to exploit.

With the mind games well and truly
underway Jose has the belief in his players, stating, "I have immense confidence we will do it." While Ferguson has
been more complimentary in his view of Jose Mourinho calling him, "one of the best coaches in the world,
amazing" It therefore remains to be seen, which one of these terrific
coaches triumphs … the godfather or indeed the young pretender.

For
more build up and assessment of the Champions League games featuring all the
Italian sides listen to the Italian
Football FanCast, the home of Serie A.

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