Source: Daily_Mail
Fletcher must prove he can dish out lesson to AC Milan playmaker Pirlo
[LNB] [LNB]Main man: Darren Fletcher[LNB]It was the night of May 2, 2007and as the rain poured downat the San Siro, ManchesterUnited were being swept outof the Champions League. [LNB]Failing haplessly to defend a3-2 lead from the first leg oftheir semi-final againstAC Milan, United weresoon 2-0 down andthe game wasbeing lost in thecentreof midfield. [LNB]Milan's trio ofClarence Seedorf,Andrea Pirlo andGennaro Gattusopassed the ballaround Roy Keane andDarren Fletcher withembarrassing ease thatnight. [LNB]The match ended 3-0and United's race was runfor another year. [LNB]'We were much, muchbetter than them thatnight,' reflected Pirlorecently. [LNB]'After the first legwe were sure that themidfield was where wewould hurt them and that isthe way it proved. Keanewas a great player comingtowards the end, whileFletcher was a young player. It was hard for them.' [LNB]Keane will not watchtonight's rematch. HisIpswich team are away atPeterborough. [LNB]Fletcher,though, will be in the eye ofthe storm again. Pirlo andGattuso are expected toface him once more andthey will find the Scot agreatly developed player. [LNB]'We have seen theimprovement in Fletcher,we don't need this gameagainst AC Milan to seethat,' said United managerSir Alex Ferguson at the SanSiro last night. [LNB]'He is agrowing player. He hasimproved each year. It's a wonderful thing tosee players improve in theirmid-20s and we have a lot ofplayers like that, who keepimproving. [LNB] 'There is a maturity in theheart of our team now andplayers like Fletchercertainly embody that. Wefeel it has happened overthe past two years, awayfrom home. [LNB]'There's a distinct changefrom when we were hereand lost the game in thephysical aspect in particular. In the last game, thephysical part was, withoutquestion, the real reasonfor our disappointingperformance.' [LNB]Combative: Fletcher has developed into United's midfield enforcer[LNB]Seven of the United teamwho faced Milan in the SanSiro three years ago couldplay tonight. The sum ofthese parts, though, isexpected to be different. [LNB]Fletcher is sure to beimportant. Until the recentexplosion in the form ofWayne Rooney, the Scot wasbeing talked about asUnited's most importantplayer this season. [LNB] Despiteproblems with an ankle, hehas played 21 times in the Barclays Premier League andwill not miss many gamesbetween now and the end ofMay. Rightly or wrongly, the26-year-old has beenidentified as United's enforcer. [LNB]Arsenal manager ArseneWenger started it with hiscomments in the wake of histeam's 2-1 defeat at OldTrafford earlier in the seasonand Fletcher has had toendure the consequences. [LNB]Certainly there is more toFletcher's football than theoccasional hard tackle, but hisreputation will not harm himtonight. If the likes of Gattuso something of a fading forceat 32 become drawn into aphysical confrontation withFletcher it will enable creativeplayers such as MichaelCarrick and if he plays Paul Scholes to do their work. [LNB]Influential: AC Milan star Andrea Pirlo [LNB]'I love the big games,' saidFletcher. [LNB]'I get excited beforethem and not a bit nervous. Idreamed about playing inthese games as a kid so I'mdetermined to make the mostof them, determined to testmyself to my full ability. [LNB]'I don'twant to sound big-headed,but I've never come upagainst anyone who has tornme to shreds. The only time that hashappened has been in trainingagainst Roy Keane and PaulScholes. [LNB]'I do enjoy the biggames, I really do.' [LNB] One big game Fletcher wasdenied access to last seasonwas the Champions Leaguefinal against Barcelona inRome. An unjust red card inthe semi-final defeat ofArsenal cost Fletcher dear.[LNB] Hehas not forgotten. [LNB]'It was hard for me last seasonbut we want to win thiscompetition for everyone,'said Fletcher. [LNB]Heartache: Fletcher missed last year's Champions League final after seeing red in the semi-final against Arsenal[LNB]'The mostdisappointing thing about lastseason was that we didn't doourselves justice in that final.' [LNB]With Ryan Giggs absent with abroken arm and Carrick onlyjust returning to somewherenear his best form, Fletcherwill be one of Ferguson'ssenior players tonight.His attempts to subdue theinfluential Pirlo, 30, will beimportant as much of Milan'soffensive play will passthrough the talented WorldCup-winning midfielder.[LNB]A fuss has been made aboutDavid Beckham tonight but interms of his influence on thefield, the former Englandcaptain may find himself alittle way down the list. [LNB]Milanwill look to Pirlo and Unitedwill turn towards Fletcher.This time we can expect thecontest to be a little moreeven.[LNB] The Becks factor! The less you see of David Beckham the better he gets...Real Madrid target Nemanja Vidic is going nowhere, claims Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson David Beckham won't let emotion stand in the way of booting Manchester United out of the Champions League AC Milan v MANCHESTER UNITED: Rio returns but Vidic is ruled out Huntelaar out to impress Man United as Fergie plots swoop for AC Milan striker [LNB]
