I REALLY, REALLY hope I am wrong. But the demise of English clubs in Europe makes me fear for Man United in Madrid tonight.
If it is correct that English football has not moved on over the last five years and that the continentals have not only caught up but overtaken us, United could be in for a lesson at the Bernabeu.
The consensus appears to be that the English Prem is not what it was - and if that is the case, Utd's 12-point lead at the top will count for little tonight.
They may simply be the best of an average bunch in England.
But the beauty of Ferguson is that you can never write him or his team off. Especially with the brilliance of Van Persie and Rooney.
It could be 4-1 to Madrid, but we will only know the truth after 90 minutes. If Fergie has, as he would have us believe, but a Utd team that stands fair judgment against his great teams of the past, we might witness the Miracle of the Bernabeu.
But with Ronaldo, Benzema, Ozil and Alonso coming at them, I still have doubts.
If Fergie pulls off a win or even a draw tonight, I believe it will rank up there as one of his greatest managerial achievements - even up with the 1999 3-2 win at Juve that led to the eventual realisation of the treble dream.
About Me
- Frank Worrall
- is a Fleet Street journalist who has written regularly for The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Mail on Sunday, FourFourTwo magazine, Melody Maker/NME and many other newspapers and magazines. The subjects of his critically-acclaimed books include Gareth Bale, Roy Keane, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Ferguson and Rory McIlroy.