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It’s the eve of an historic first ever all-English Champions League final and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is irked at being asked whether Cristiano Ronaldo will move to Real Madrid. Chelsea’a Avram Grant, meanwhile, is dodging questions about his own future.
Despite the significance of the final (early Thursday AEST) in Moscow, the questions just won’t go away and the two rivals managers are tired of answering them.
A Spanish reporter, getting a rare chance to question the United manager, is keen to know whether Ronaldo, who has scored 41 league and cup goals this season, might move to Madrid next season.
Ferguson, who has been dealing all season with questions about Ronaldo’s future, fired back with a sideways version of one of his regular digs at the English media.
“You get some idiots in this place don’t you?” he said at a news conference ahead of the final. “If you want to have a bet on it, I’ll put a big bet on with you.”
Grant’s future at Stamford Bridge has been the focus of speculation almost from the time he took over from Jose Mourinho in September.
Chelsea’s unimaginative, colorless play seems to have reflected his glowering demeanor from the bench and even the Blues fans have jeered him. Yet Grant has taken the team close to a Premier League title and also a Champions League final in his ninth months in charge.
Asked whether he would be around next season even if Chelsea won the Champions League, Grant sidestepped the question.
“If it’s a normal season for Chelsea we are on vacation now,” he replied, reflecting that the season would usually be over by now.
“This is the most important game in the world. I am not the most important man here. You have to recognize the owner, the players, the staff and the supporters and ask questions about the final and not me.”
The final, the 53rd in European soccer’s most prestigious competition, has significance beyond whichever team wins it.
The fact that two English teams have made it to the final suggests that the Premier League could be taking a stranglehold on European soccer.
For the second season in a row, three English teams made it to the last four. Premier League clubs are in the final for the fourth year in succession.
“The way it’s turned out, with the quality Manchester United have in their team and the quality we have in our team, what a huge bonus it is for English football,” said Chelsea captain John Terry. “I think it’s a great thing and everyone should enjoy the moment. It’s a big big plus for the Premier League.”
Now English soccer, backed by the financial power of the Premier League, dreams of emulating its dominance of three decades ago when its clubs captured what was then called the European Cup six seasons in a row.
The fact that this final is in Moscow, the furthest east it has ever been held, has created a logistical headache.
Some 40,000 fans have flown in from England after the Russian government waived the need to get visas so long as the supporters had genuine tickets.
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