Andy Mitten talks to Deportivo La Coruna's in-form striker Roy Makaay as his team prepares to meet Manchester United for the fifth time in 15 months
Roy Makaay, who was once hailed as the new Marco Van Basten, will be the principal threat to Manchester United's unbeaten home record in the Champions League when they meet Deportivo La Coruna tonight.
The Dutchman is the top scorer in Spain's La Liga, with 10 goals, and already has eight in Europe this season, so it is hardly surprising that he is confident of victory at Old Trafford.
His confidence is not misplaced. This will be the fifth time Deportivo have faced United in the past 15 months and, with two wins apiece, the Spaniards are certainly not daunted by a trip to the Theatre of Dreams.
"We know that we can win against United, just as we did twice last season," the 27-year-old striker said. "We have players who can always score and we just need to create chances.
"We know that it will be difficult at Old Trafford but Manchester still have injuries and key players like Roy Keane missing. They are quality players and even a team with the strength of Manchester will miss them.
"If we play our game and play to our strength, which is playing as a team, we can beat any opposition. We have beaten Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Milan, Juventus and Manchester United in the last year, so we don't fear big names."
He is Deportivo's most in-form player, a fact not lost on Alex Ferguson, and his Champions League goals have been scored in formidable settings.
His hat-trick in Bayern Munich's Olympic Stadium to secure a 3-2 victory and his winning goal in Deportivo's 2-1 victory over Milan in the San Siro have sent his profile soaring.
While most of the media glare was on his team-mate Diego Tristan last season, Makaay has overcome knee and ankle injuries to become a regular starter in Javier Irureta's often rotated starting XI. Like Tristan, he is a player of many qualities.
Quick and opportunistic, he is strong in the air and scores with both feet.
Now both strikers will benefit from the support of the sublimly talented playmaker Juan Carlos Valeron,who is fit again.
Makaay's international career has suffered due to Holland's striking riches. His limited appearances mean he has played just 10 minutes alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy, whom he describes as "a problem for any defender", but he is expected to feature more prominently at the highest level.
Although he began his career at Vitesse Arnhem, where he scored 19 goals in 1996-97, he has spent most of it in Spain. He had two seasons at Tenerife, spurning the advances of Barcelona to join Deportivo in 1999.
In his first season there he hit 22 goals to help the Galician side become Spanish champions for the only time.
Makaay has set his sights high in the Champions League. "We've reached the quarter-finals in the past two seasons and we want to go further this year," he said. "We're very ambitious but people have to understand we are not as big a club as Manchester.
"In the last 10 years Deportivo have grown bit by bit, but we don't have the history or the money that Manchester has. Manchester can spend a lot of money on the best players when they need to - it's not like that here."
