Fergie makes same old mistake

Filed in archive Champions League on May 2, 2007

I'm no Man Utd fan (except for a brief spell when I was very young and thought Lee Sharpe was the best player ever) but I feel for Alex Ferguson tonight. For some reason I really want him to win a second European Cup/Champions League and this looked like the year for him to do it.

Unfortunately, Fergie made exactly the same mistake tonight as he made facing AC Milan in 2005. Two years ago, he gambled on Ruud van Nistelrooy's fitness, rushing him into the starting line up for the second leg. RVN was rubbish that night and United lost. Tonight he gambled on Nemanja Vidić, rushing the big defender back. He was similarly rubbish, or if not rubbish then definitely unfit. Kaka roasted Vidic more than once tonight, and United lost.

Now we have a repeat of that brilliant 2005 Champions League Final to look forward to when Milan face Liverpool in Athens. Not the all-English final we wanted, but also not the all-English final Greek police wanted to avoid.