Ferguson: Barça can play beyond everyone (FIFA article)
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1583454.html
Sir Alex Ferguson has worked wonders throughout his 25-year stint in
the Manchester United hot-seat, during which time he has become one of
the most highly regarded managers in history. Though nearly four decades
have elapsed since he started his memorable career in the dugout with
unfashionable Scottish outfit East Stirlingshire, the 70-year-old shows
no signs of slowing down and is currently supervising yet another
impressive domestic campaign.
Discussing a range of topics,
including the Red Devils' latest Premier League title challenge, their
shock UEFA Champions League exit, where they rank among the best sides
in Europe and the club’s focus on youth, Ferguson sat down for an
exclusive interview with FIFA.com.
FIFA.com: Sir Alex, how do you think your team’s been performing this season?
Sir Alex Ferguson: We’ve had our ups and downs and we’ve been unlucky
with injuries. We’ve had a lot of them, which you don’t expect, and
we’ve got people like Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher out for the
whole season. You can replace your best players for a game or two, but
you really notice the difference over a longer period, and that’s what’s
happened to us. Even so, we’re fighting hard to win the Premiership
again and there’s a lot of merit in that. Obviously I’m optimistic about
our chances.
Has the team suffered because you’ve not been able to rotate players?
These days it’s very, very hard to use the same players for every
match. The game’s so fast now that players suffer a lot more muscle
fatigue and need more rest. You’re talking about players who run 13 or
14 kilometres every game – a lot more than in the past – and you have to
keep your whole squad in the best possible shape.
Barça have still
got that magical ability to play a game that’s beyond everyone else.
When Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are on song, they’re just
unstoppable.
Sir Alex Ferguson
There are two new title challengers in England this season. Do you think the Premier League is more competitive now?
There’s always been competition. The difference now is that instead of a
big four, with us, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool a little further
back, we’ve got a big six, with Tottenham, who’ve finally become
competitive, and Manchester City, who’ve spent a lot of money. That’s
made the path to the title a lot tougher.
Does Manchester United’s surprise UEFA Champions League exit still hurt?
It was a massive disappointment because my feeling is that if we’d gone
through, we would have gone on to the final. For me the problem was the
home game against Basel. We were 2-0 up and then missed four or five
clear-cut chances. We ended up losing our concentration and though we
managed to salvage a draw, it was a bad result for us. It left us having
to go and get at least a point in the return game. And though we
dominated the match, we didn’t score, and when that happens you don’t
deserve to win.
Basel did cause you problems, though...
Yes, they did. The thing is you’ve always got to dictate the pace when
you’re a big team like us. The sides competing in the Champions League
now are much better on the break than they used to be. A few years back
opponents would send two or three players into our half whenever they
got on the ball, but now it’s five or six, and at pace too. I think
that’s one of the biggest overall improvements we’ve seen in the game
recently.
You came off second best in last year’s final against Barcelona. Is there anything you could have done differently that night?
I don’t regret anything we did because they were the better side. The
first two goals were entirely avoidable and maybe with a bit of luck we
could have won the game, but when the other team’s that bit better than
you, then there’s not much you can do about it.
Do you think that Barcelona and Real Madrid are ahead of everyone at the moment?
I still think Barcelona are the best team in Europe, although Real
Madrid are closing the gap on them. The lead they’ve got in the league
shows that. They might be on the same level as them soon, but for the
moment Barça have still got that magical ability to play a game that’s
beyond everyone else. When [Lionel] Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are
on song, they’re just unstoppable.
Your club has this
remarkable ability to stay at the top despite spending very little on
transfers. Is that a deliberate strategy?
We decided a few years ago
to create a structure with young players, like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano
Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson, and we also knew we had some talented
youngsters coming through the academy, like Danny Welbeck and Tom
Cleverley. All we’ve had to do since then is just build things around a
few young players. With that as our strategy we’ve not had to spend huge
amounts of money to stay competitive because we’ve already got the
talent at home.
Do you feel then that despite the setback in Basel, Manchester United are still able to compete with the European elite?
Like I said, I feel we had the ability to go all the way to the final.
Luck wasn’t on our side, but I think we’ve got the ambition to compete
with Barcelona and Real Madrid, and I don’t feel we’re that far away
from them. I’m sure we’ll show that soon.
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