Gary Neville Set to Miss Even the Bench Mark for Champions League Final
Manchester United's club captain could be final 'victim' this time as Sir Alex Ferguson faces agonizing decision against Barcelona
Gary Neville is among the players who face the possibility of not even getting a place on Manchester United's bench for the Champions League final, despite lifting the Premier League winner's trophy at the weekend in his position as club captain. Sir Alex Ferguson faces a straight choice between Neville and Rafael da Silva as he whittles down a 30-man squad into 18 names, a process the manager has admitted he is "dreading".
Park Ji-sung was among the players who watched last season's final from the stands, a decision Ferguson admitted "almost broke my heart", and the manager has some more difficult choices as he works out his strategy to face Barcelona in Rome next week.
In terms of his starting line-up the biggest issue is whether to use Cristiano Ronaldo as a center-forward or bring in Dimitar Berbatov or Carlos Tevez, both of whom were substitutes in the second leg of the semi-final at Arsenal. Ferguson, however, says the hardest part will be deciding which seven players to name on his bench and who will take no part at all. Federico Macheda, United's young player of the year, should brace himself for bad news while Daniel Welbeck, tipped by Ferguson to make England's World Cup squad next year, will probably be squeezed out.
"There are obviously going to be several players left disappointed," said Ferguson. "Hopefully the ones who don't make it will remember we wouldn't have reached the final without their contribution and each and every one who has played in the competition should remember they are as deserving as those selected for the final. The Champions League involved six group games and a further six at the knockout phase to reach the final and we have had 20 players involved. The Champions League will not be won or lost by the players on duty on the final day."
That, however, is unlikely to be of any consolation to the players who do not make the cut. Park described his omission in Moscow last May as the worst disappointment of his professional life, although the South Korean has been promised that he will not suffer the same fate again at the Stadio Olimpico. "He deserves his place in the squad," said Ferguson. "Whether he starts, I still have to make that big decision about what the team is going to be, but he will not be left out this time because it almost broke my heart last year."
Informing Neville that he has to watch the game in his club suit may be just as difficult for Ferguson given the defender's influential position within the club. Neville, however, is now 34 with a long history of injuries and Rafael might be a more logical back-up for John O'Shea on the grounds that he has more pace and agility to combat Barcelona's speed of movement. A clue will inevitably be found in United's game at Hull City on Sunday, when Ferguson intends to rest players who may be used in Rome.
The other selection issues are made easier for Ferguson on the basis that five of his players have already been ruled out of the final, the luckless Ben Foster being the latest to go into a period of rehabilitation following an operation to cure a thumb injury. Foster, who will be sidelined for at least nine weeks and will miss England's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra, would have been Edwin van der Sar's understudy on the bench but that place will now go to Tomasz Kuszczak. Owen Hargreaves, Wes Brown and Fabio da Silva are also injured while Darren Fletcher's red card against Arsenal in the semi-final ended his chances of playing.
"That's the sour note," said Ferguson. "It's a bitter disappointment for Darren, particularly considering the type of player he is. He's a gentleman, really. He's very pragmatic, neither up nor down, his temperament is wonderful and he showed that when the referee gave him the red card. You could see the way he retained his dignity. He knew he was missing the final and yet he just trotted off quite calmly. It took a lot for the kid to do that."Champions League final squadPossible team (4-3-2-1): Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Carrick, Giggs, Anderson; Park, Rooney; Ronaldo
Subs: Kuszczak, Evans, R da Silva, Scholes, Nani, Berbatov, Tevez
Injured: Foster, Brown, F da Silva
Suspended: Fletcher
In the stands (possible): Neville, Macheda, Welbeck, Gibson, Possebon, Eckersley, Petrucci, Amos
Not in 30-man squad: Hargreaves
Park Ji-sung was among the players who watched last season's final from the stands, a decision Ferguson admitted "almost broke my heart", and the manager has some more difficult choices as he works out his strategy to face Barcelona in Rome next week.
In terms of his starting line-up the biggest issue is whether to use Cristiano Ronaldo as a center-forward or bring in Dimitar Berbatov or Carlos Tevez, both of whom were substitutes in the second leg of the semi-final at Arsenal. Ferguson, however, says the hardest part will be deciding which seven players to name on his bench and who will take no part at all. Federico Macheda, United's young player of the year, should brace himself for bad news while Daniel Welbeck, tipped by Ferguson to make England's World Cup squad next year, will probably be squeezed out.
"There are obviously going to be several players left disappointed," said Ferguson. "Hopefully the ones who don't make it will remember we wouldn't have reached the final without their contribution and each and every one who has played in the competition should remember they are as deserving as those selected for the final. The Champions League involved six group games and a further six at the knockout phase to reach the final and we have had 20 players involved. The Champions League will not be won or lost by the players on duty on the final day."
That, however, is unlikely to be of any consolation to the players who do not make the cut. Park described his omission in Moscow last May as the worst disappointment of his professional life, although the South Korean has been promised that he will not suffer the same fate again at the Stadio Olimpico. "He deserves his place in the squad," said Ferguson. "Whether he starts, I still have to make that big decision about what the team is going to be, but he will not be left out this time because it almost broke my heart last year."
Informing Neville that he has to watch the game in his club suit may be just as difficult for Ferguson given the defender's influential position within the club. Neville, however, is now 34 with a long history of injuries and Rafael might be a more logical back-up for John O'Shea on the grounds that he has more pace and agility to combat Barcelona's speed of movement. A clue will inevitably be found in United's game at Hull City on Sunday, when Ferguson intends to rest players who may be used in Rome.
The other selection issues are made easier for Ferguson on the basis that five of his players have already been ruled out of the final, the luckless Ben Foster being the latest to go into a period of rehabilitation following an operation to cure a thumb injury. Foster, who will be sidelined for at least nine weeks and will miss England's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra, would have been Edwin van der Sar's understudy on the bench but that place will now go to Tomasz Kuszczak. Owen Hargreaves, Wes Brown and Fabio da Silva are also injured while Darren Fletcher's red card against Arsenal in the semi-final ended his chances of playing.
"That's the sour note," said Ferguson. "It's a bitter disappointment for Darren, particularly considering the type of player he is. He's a gentleman, really. He's very pragmatic, neither up nor down, his temperament is wonderful and he showed that when the referee gave him the red card. You could see the way he retained his dignity. He knew he was missing the final and yet he just trotted off quite calmly. It took a lot for the kid to do that."Champions League final squadPossible team (4-3-2-1): Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Carrick, Giggs, Anderson; Park, Rooney; Ronaldo
Subs: Kuszczak, Evans, R da Silva, Scholes, Nani, Berbatov, Tevez
Injured: Foster, Brown, F da Silva
Suspended: Fletcher
In the stands (possible): Neville, Macheda, Welbeck, Gibson, Possebon, Eckersley, Petrucci, Amos
Not in 30-man squad: Hargreaves
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