Boss: Best final of the decade
27/05/2011 16:19, Report by N Coppack, A Bostock
Sir Alex Ferguson believes United's development into Champions League final regulars is testament to the club's progress over the last decade or so.
Speaking on the eve of the Reds' third final appearance in four years, the boss said experience and consistency were the keys to the club's success in setting up a Wembley showdown with Barcelona.
"The great quality of this [current United] team is its maturity. You see our record in Europe this year - it's been very good," said Sir Alex.
"We've found a good way of playing in Europe. In some years, we've let ourselves down and not made finals but in general the consistency has been very good and that's come down to playing in Europe every season. That's helped us.
"The progress from 1999 has been tremendous. Since then we've been consistently good in Europe."
While there have been some personnel changes since United last appeared in (2009) or won the Champions League final (2008) - most notably the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo - Sir Alex believes his squad has improved.
"Wayne Rooney's much more mature in terms of his progress in Europe - he's more mature than in 2009. The same is true of other players, too.
"The experience of these two lads beside me is vital to us," added Sir Alex, referring to Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand who joined him at the pre-match press conference.
Sir Alex is of course acutely aware that Barcelona have also improved during a similar time frame and he's therefore expecting a blockbusting clash at Wembley.
"The attraction of two great clubs with great history is obvious. But the success that both teams have had in the last decade has also been enormous.
"It's an appealing final in terms of what could happen in the game - anything could happen. There could be a lot of goals, a lot of excitement, a lot of good football.
"This could be the best final of the decade."
"There could be a lot of goals, a lot of excitement, a lot of good football.
"This could be the best final of the decade."
- Sir Alex Ferguson
Credit: Manchester United (www.manutd.com)
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