The Sunday Times - 22nd November 1998
Hugh McIlvanney

BARCELONA'S hopes of crowning their centenary season with triumph in the European Cup may seem to have expired but Manchester United know there is still a danger that the corpse could get up and give them a severe kick in the credentials. A defeat at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night would, at the very least, put a serious dent in United's belief that they have a right to their status as betting favourites to win the trophy. What is much more worrying, however, is the knowledge that a victory for the great Catalan club will resurrect the possibility that they, and not their English rivals, will progress from Group D of the Champions League into the quarter-finals.

Such a development would require an improbable permutation of results across the entire breadth of the competition, with successive failures by Alex Ferguson's team at the core of the sequence, but the risk is real enough to ensure that United will be competing fiercely in midweek for the kind of scoreline that will bury Barcelona. The contest for survival in their group is so delicately poised that it has produced an intriguing anomaly in the bookmakers' odds. Barcelona are 25-1 to win the group but only 20-1 to win the tournament. Obviously the discrepancy can be traced to the fact that if the Spanish champion's advance it will almost certainly be by finishing second in the section to Bayern Munich.

With each facing two more fixtures, unbeaten United have eight points, Bayern seven and Barcelona four. Assuming that both Bayern and Barcelona will pulverise Brondby, it is clear that the final placings will be decided by what happens when the Germans visit Old Trafford on December 9. They will surely go there with 10 points and, if United have lost at the Nou Camp, anything short of victory next month will leave Ferguson once again tortured by disappointment. Equally, a win for United in Manchester would kill Barcelona. Even if they ended level with Bayern on 10 points - and that total was the requirement for qualification as one of two best second-place finishers from the six groups - Bayern's wins in Munich and Spain would give them the edge.

This is one case in which mathematics can quicken the blood and if there are any languid pulses around the Nou Camp on Wednesday mine will not be one of them. Ferguson is believable when he says that the acceleration of his heartbeat will have nothing to do with dread occasioned by memories of the 4-0 drubbing inflicted on his men in the same magnificent setting four years ago. He is satisfied that United have matured tactically and psychologically since that humiliation, supporting the claim with references to the disciplined but positive performance that would have brought them three points in Munich on the last day of September had Peter Schmeichel not succumbed to a brainstorm to give Bayern a desperately late equaliser.

"We won't be intimidated in Barcelona," he said last week. "Some of our lads are still learning but as a team they are big-game players now and challenges like this match and the following one against Bayern at Old Trafford should bring the best out of them. What a group this is! I think it's tremendous to be going head-to-head with the likes of Barcelona and Bayern. If you don't relish that, you shouldn't be a manager. Just think what the atmosphere will be like at our ground on December 9.

"We all know the Bayern game is liable to decide everything about qualification for the quarter-finals but if we could win in Spain it might put us through. We'll go there determined to get a result. A draw would finish off Barcelona but, barring a miracle for Brondby that night, it would leave us still needing to beat Bayern. So what we want is a win. I'll be looking for the same attitude and concentration as we had in Germany. Barcelona have good ability and if they get their rhythm going they will hurt you. But if we apply our strengths properly we'll be all right."

It was failure to sustain application of those strengths that prevented United from turning their comprehensive first-half superiority into the crushing of Barcelona at Old Trafford in September. Cautious passivity after the interval encouraged the opposition to regroup around the organising influence of Rivaldo in midfield and they found enough of that telling rhythm to save a point from a memorable night. Ryan Giggs, who naturally made a key contribution to United's rampant phase in that match, will be missing on Wednesday. The small fracture on the outside of his left foot has healed sufficiently to let him jog but he is probably two weeks away from fitness.

Giggs's damaging absence may be balanced, from Ferguson's point of view, by the injury that is expected to deprive Barcelona of Luis Enrique's remorseless energy in midfield. "Enrique is a player who would always give you concern," said the United manager. "Like Roy Keane, he has a marvellous engine and he can shunt up and down the pitch all day. His forward runs are always a worry. We won't be heartbroken if he is on the sidelines."

With Philip Cocu removed by suspension, Barcelona will have to rearrange the personnel within what is usually a 2-3-2-3 formation. Ferguson thinks that in front of their impressive goalkeeper, Ruud Hesp, they will use another of the six Dutchmen on their playing staff, Michael Reiziger, as a deep defender alongside Alberto Celades (injury, according to late reports, has ruled out Abelardo). He expects them to have Gbenga Okunowo further forward on the right and Sergi on the left, presumably with the teenager Xavi as anchorman in between. Barcelona like to deploy Rivaldo on the left side of their attack but the Enrique and Cocu complications may cause their coach, Louis Van Gaal, to move the Brazilian back to operate in a creative partnership behind the forwards with his fellow countryman, Giovanni. That would leave a front line of Luis Figo on the right, Sonny Anderson in the middle and Boudewijn Zenden wide left. Patrick Kluivert was signed too late to be eligible for the Champions League.

Whatever their opponents' line-up, United should recognise that their best chance of prospering lies in exploiting their capacity for vibrant, high-tempo aggression. Sophisticated negativity is never their strong suit. Their own defence can be too easily penetrated to allow them to regard sitting back and soaking up pressure as a sensible option. Given that a draw in Spain would have only the most limited worth, they should go for the throat, especially since they proved two months ago that they are confronting a team vulnerable to such tactics.

Paul Scholes's recovery from calf and hamstring problems will reinforce their ability to deliver sudden, incisive thrusts and there will be some compensation for the lack of Giggs in the increasing effectiveness of Jesper Blomqvist, whose physical competitiveness is a conspicuous asset. Dwight Yorke continues to delight his manager and Barcelona would be a good place for Andy Cole to produce the passages of decisive action that would do infinitely more for his reputation than all the words he foolishly directed at Glenn Hoddle last week.

Ferguson has thought long and hard over the past few days about the pros and cons of risking his latest prodigy, Wes Brown, on a tense night in one of the world's great football arenas. In addition to all-round technical excellence, Brown has the physique to help counter Barcelona's acknowledged menace in the air. But experience counts for far more among defenders than it does with forwards. The raw attacker who loses concentration may escape with temporary embarrassment, whereas a similar lapse at the back can be disastrous. So the inclination would be to rely on the veteran Denis Irwin and the young but fairly seasoned Philip Neville in the full-back positions, flanking the centre-back pairing of Gary Neville and Jaap Stam.

However, Ferguson has been troubled by the impact on Philip Neville's confidence of falling out of favour with England. He struggled miserably against Blackburn last weekend and yesterday's 3-1 loss at Hillsborough was hardly the ideal context in which to demonstrate his readiness for Barcelona.

The renowned depth of United's squad should be emphasised again by a decision to put Nicky Butt on the bench just a week after he figured in England's defeat of the Czech Republic at Wembley. David Beckham, who reminded us thrillingly against the Czechs that nobody else in the English game is in his class as a long passer of the ball, will share midfield responsibilities with Keane, Scholes and Blomqvist. It need hardly be said that the most significant presence of all is that of Keane. When keeping his suspect temperament in check, he has the talent and authority to shape football's most demanding occasions. This one should be made for him.

In spite of having won the Spanish league-and-cup double for Barcelona last season, Louis Van Gaal is more accustomed to abuse than homage in Catalonia. He deserves sympathy, but some of us will put it on hold this week.

Awaydays: United's best and worst in Europe

1963-64 S Lisbon 5 Man Utd 0
Cup Winners' Cup (qf, 2nd leg)

A 4-1 first-leg victory had the United faithful purring 'job done'. An hour into the away leg, United were five goals down to a rejuvenated Sporting Lisbon. Fixture congestion was blamed for United's tired performance. A few days earlier they had lost an FA Cup semi-final to West Ham

1990-91 L Warsaw 1 Man Utd 3
Cup Winners' Cup (sf, 1st leg)

United led the way as English clubs returned to European competition. Legia Warsaw had knocked out Sampdoria and prodded United into life by taking the lead on 35 minutes. Brian McClair pounced to level. Further goals from Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce secured the win

1965-66 Benfica 1 Man Utd 5
European Cup (qf, 2nd leg)

The birth of 'El Beatle' and possibly United's greatest ever team performance. Kick-off was delayed 20 minutes so that Eusebio could receive the European Footballer of the Year award. It took George Best, El Beatle, only 12 minutes to give the visitors' a 2-0 lead to set up a stunning victory

1994-95 Barcelona 4 Man Utd 0
European Cup (Group B)

Billed as a battle of the giants. In reality became a battle among Barcelona's World Cup stars to see who could score in front of a 114,432 crowd. Gary Pallister started the rot, putting through his own goal. Romario (Brazil), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) and Albert Ferrer (Spain) ran in one each

GROUP D

		P 	W 	D 	L 	Pts 

Man Utd	 	4 	2 	2 	0 	8 

Bayern Munich 	4 	2 	1 	1 	7 

Barcelona 	4 	1 	1 	2 	4 

Brondby 	4 	1 	0 	3 	3