SOCCER/UEFA Champions League: Alex Ferguson will cherish the commemorative piece of crystal that has been engraved in his honour by the League Managers' Association, but he will check the inscription finishes with the words "to be continued . . ."
Eighteen years at Manchester United have given him fame, wealth and power, but when he clocks up his 1,000th game as manager tonight Ferguson will not disguise his disappointment that only one of those has been a European Cup final.
On the day that Ferguson joins one of his predecessors, Matt Busby, and Crewe's Dario Gradi as the only three managers to take charge of 1,000 games at the same club, it would be churlish to question United's record on the Continent - were it not for the fact the current manager raised the issue himself last night.
Ferguson not only spoke enviously of the achievements of clubs such as Real Madrid, Milan, Ajax and Bayern Munich, but winced when it came to analysing United's failure to win Europe's premier club competition more than twice after trying for the best part of 50 years.
"In terms of the history of our club we are entitled to expect the same level of success that Bayern, Ajax and Milan have had," he said ruefully, referring to three clubs who have won the trophy 14 times between them. "I divorce Real Madrid from that argument because their record in the European Cup (nine wins) is quite exceptional, but as for the other powers in Europe we should be matching them."
Ferguson also failed to mention the four-time winners Liverpool and Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, champions in two of the three seasons in which they participated. Their achievements make United's look even more inferior and, going into tonight's match against the leaders of Le Championnat, Lyon, Ferguson is acutely aware of the allegation of unfulfilled potential.
"It's difficult to say we have underachieved," he countered. "We've had some fantastic performances in Europe. Yes, sometimes we have disappointed in the later stages of the competition, but at other times we have genuinely felt very lucky.
"Losing the semi-final to Borussia Dortmund (in 1997) was an absolute travesty.
"When I first came down to England we were banned from Europe, and that has played a big part. That gap was terribly detrimental to English football. In the 1980s England had the dominant teams in Europe, but because of that void it has taken a long, long time to get back to anything approaching that."
Nevertheless, Ferguson could cite that United have reached the competition's knockout stages for a record seven consecutive years, a pattern of success that will almost certainly continue this season given their position of strength in a modest qualifying group.
They can even lose tonight and still progress if Fenerbahce fail to defeat Sparta Prague, but there is an added incentive to beating Lyon and winning Group D. In the next stage the draw is structured so that group winners cannot face each other.
That means United would miss, say, Juventus and they should, theoretically, face weaker opponents.
Ferguson has seen enough, however, of Paul Le Guen's talented side to realise United will face a team that could emerge as one of the surprise packages. Lyon could regard themselves as unfortunate not to defeat United at Stade de Gerland in September, taking a two-goal lead into half-time and generally outplaying them, largely due to the contribution of the former Arsenal forward Sylvain Wiltord, only for Ruud van Nistelrooy to score twice after the interval.
"We will be much better than when we first met," Ferguson promised, identifying Rio Ferdinand's return from suspension and Wayne Rooney's transfer from Everton. "They surprised us in the first match, but since Rio has returned he has been sensational. Wayne's still young but the future is all his and he's already shown what a talent he is."
Ferguson is expected to restore Gabriel Heinze, Gary Neville and Cristiano Ronaldo to the team after they sat out Saturday's win over Charlton. Louis Saha is ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-1-1): Carroll; G Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze; Ronaldo, Keane, Scholes, Giggs; Rooney; Van Nistelrooy.
LYON (4-5-1): Puydebois; Reveillere, Diatta, Cris, Berthod; Govou, Essien, Diarra, Juninho, Malouda; Wiltord.
Referee: K Nielsen (Denmark).
