MANCHESTER United defender Rio Ferdinand has declared himself fit for tonight's Champions League final against Barcelona.
The England centre-back has been troubled by a calf problem and sat out Sunday's 1-0 Premier League win at Hull City despite manager Sir Alex Ferguson saying he wanted him to prove his fitness.
"The injury is fine, I've been training for the la
st couple of days with the team and I feel good," Ferdinand said last night. "I wouldn't start the game if I wasn't 100 per cent fit. I wouldn't do that to the team. I don't see any problems from training for two or three days."
Ferguson bids for a third Champions League success tonight, and back-to-back wins that have not been achieved since the tournament was known as the European Cup.
Ferguson's two previous Champions League wins have come attached with nostalgia given that miraculous comeback in the Nou Camp in 1999 came on what would have been Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday.
Last season in Moscow, United produced the most fitting tribute to the 50th anniversary of the air crash at Munich by lifting European football's biggest club prize once more.
There are other reasons to crave a win this time around, Busby's 100th birthday yesterday for a start.
Yet Ferguson is ready to let his players do the work themselves, knowing if the powerhouses of England and Spain fulfil their immense potential, it could be an all-time classic.
"You had a feeling that night in Barcelona and obviously there was fate attached to last year as well," said the United manager. "That happens. But I think this type of game might be beyond fate. It has the capability to be a fantastic final."
United's performances may have been lacking some of the sparkle from 12 months ago. But they have developed a tenacity and refusal to yield that might well come in handy tonight if they find themselves in the rare position of facing opponents who dominate possession.
"Neither team will want to give the ball away," he said. "That will make it a very interesting game.
"What we do with it compared to our opponents and how long we can keep it will be the deciding factor."
Before the 1999 epic, Ferguson famously warned his players not to leave themselves in the position of being able to see the most prestigious of trophies without being able to touch it.
The Scot is searching for similar inspiring words of wisdom, although so far they have proved elusive.
"These things usually happen to me about three in the morning when I am trying to get some inspiration from the deep chambers of my tiny little brain," he said. "But at the moment nothing is coming out."
Even at 67, it seems Ferguson is not beyond a sleepless night or two.
The full article contains 484 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
