THE best efforts of Alex Ferguson to lessen the inevitable circus atmosphere that attended David Beckham’s return to Old Trafford inevitably ended in failure last night.
However, the tie presented far more intriguing and complex sub-plots than the presence on his old stomping ground of the former England captain, lauded and afforded a warm welcome by the United public when he appeared as a second-half substitute.
One of the more interesting issues thrown up by United’s 7-2 aggregate victory was the performance of Beckham’s best friend, the best man at his Hollywood-style wedding, Gary Neville. The right-back spent so many years coming through the Old Trafford ranks positioned, literally and metaphorically, behind Beckham but last night, Neville could consider himself one of the game’s big winners.
Neville it was who delivered the inch-perfect cross, after 12 minutes, onto the head of Wayne Rooney whose finish extended United’s aggregate lead to 4-2 and killed off any hopes Milan might have been entertaining of staging an unlikely comeback.
But Neville’s experience was crucial at the back where he spent much of the game shepherding Ronaldinho, like him a player whose best years are surely behind him but who had shown, with an early header that bounced wide of the United goal, that he could still make an impact.
Neville, 35, performed well against Ronaldinho, whose number "80" on the back of his shirt may have referred to the number of pounds he has added to his waistline since his heyday. Nonetheless, as he had proved in United’s 3-2 first leg win, Ronaldinho still needs to be treated with respect and this Neville did convincingly.
The last three seasons or so have largely been write-offs for Neville, injuries limiting the veteran defender to the point that it seemed only a matter of when, and on what terms, he would announce his retirement. This summer, the smart money dictates, will finally see him end his long and successful association with the club.
Yet, it was hard last night not to imagine that Neville’s career – fitness permitting – may yet have one or two memorable chapters to run. On this form, or more accurately with Rooney in this form, it would take a brave man to bet against United returning to the Champions League final. If that is the case, Ferguson showed last night that he believes Neville a steadier bet than Rafael, the young Brazilian badly exposed in the first leg and, unless Wes Brown has recovered from his broken foot by that stage, the start would surely belong to Neville.
More interestingly, perhaps Neville is also now pressing for the most unlikely end to the season, and his career, in the form of a call-up to Fabio Capello’s squad for the World Cup.
Neville’s last game for England came at Old Trafford just over three years ago, a 1-0 friendly defeat to Spain, the last of the 85 caps he has amassed over the 15 years since he made his international debut as a fresh-faced 20-year-old.
Glen Johnson is back to fitness with Liverpool and is obviously the main, if not only, contender for the England right-back position but, in terms of cover, where does Capello turn? Brown is out for at least six weeks with his injury, Owen Hargreaves makes his own comeback from seemingly interminable injury problems in United’s reserves tonight (thurs) and there the list turns to jack-of-all-trades James Milner.
Neville has his critics, for his attitude off the pitch as much as on it, but for the 65 minutes he was on the field last night it was not hard to imagine that English football may not have seen the last of him just yet.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, March 11, 2010
