Manchester United's best chance of reaching last season's Champions League final foundered amid the foundries of the Ruhr when they failed to exploit the injuries which had deprived Borussia Dortmund of the better part of their team for the first leg of the semi-final. So it was rather fitting that United should fly in over the Carpathians yesterday to this eastern Slovak steel town where they will begin their latest quest in the Lokomotivy stadium tonight. Kosice's own stadium is being renovated so the game will be played on the ground of their local rivals before a small but passionate crowd of around 15,000.
Alex Ferguson is confident that the experience his team have gathered in three European Champions campaigns will give them a better opportunity to win the tournament this season. At the same time the Manchester United manager concedes that, with only the winners and two best runners-up of the six groups qualifying for the knockout stage, the task has become decidedly more difficult.
Nevertheless, Ferguson remains confident that "if we score in all our games we'll have a good chance". Considering that his team's next two Champions League games will see first Juventus and then Feyenoord visiting Old Trafford this is a bold statement, especially in view of United's present lack of a natural goal scorer.
Andy Cole was signed from Newcastle to fill this role but so far has palpably failed to reproduce the prolific form he once showed on Tyneside. And even with a full-strength squad Ferguson could have no obvious alternative.
As it is, a lengthening list of casualties looks like forcing him to start tonight's game with Teddy Sheringham, who is recovering from two cracked ribs, on the bench. "There is a risk playing him but it's something we may consider," Ferguson said yesterday.
"I'll make a final decision after watching him in training. He was given three weeks to recover and so far he's only had one, but sometimes you have to take risks in the sort of situation we're in at the moment."
Ryan Giggs, who strained a hamstring against West Ham on Saturday, has been left behind along with Jordi Cruyff, Ole Solskjaer, David May, Ronny Johnsen and the promising young Terry Cooke. Tonight Ferguson is expected to play Paul Scholes wide on the left in Giggs's position while using Karel Poborsky to support Cole through the middle.
This is a match Manchester United can ill afford to lose if they are hoping to win the group. In fact any points dropped to Kosice, ostensibly the weakest team in the section, are likely to count heavily against United in the long run.
Their confidence can hardly have been harmed therefore by finding the opposition in some disarray behind the scenes. Jan Kozak, who last season brought the town its first league championship in nearly 100 years of football, has resigned as coach and tonight the former assistant, Jan Bodnar, will be in charge. But only on a caretaker basis until the club president, Julius Rezesh, returns from a trip to the United States.
Kosice are believed to have lined up Karol Pecze, until recently with Trnava, as Kozak's successor but he will not give them an answer until he has watched Slovan Bratislava play Chelsea in the Cup Winners' Cup tomorrow night. Kosice's explanation for the 43-year-old Kozak's resignation is stress and high blood pressure brought on by the strain of winning the title last season. Kozak, however, felt that elements within the club were out to get him.
For Manchester United therefore it will probably feel a bit like playing Manchester City. Yesterday Ferguson was asked by a Slovak reporter what the reaction would be in England should his team lose to Kosice. "There will be a lot of parties," the United manager replied drily.
With Roy Keane, Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham all on form, defeat for the English champions is unlikely. True, Kosice did eliminate Sparkak Moscow in the qualifiers but, after losing 2-1 in Slovakia, the Russians had several clear opportunities to save the tie before being held to a goalless draw at home in the second leg.
Manchester United (4-4-2; probable): Schmeichel; G Neville, Berg, Pallister, P Neville; Beckham, Keane, Butt, Scholes; Poborsky, Cole.
Guardian Service
