O'Shea plotting Porto revenge

04 April 2009 14:45
Manchester United have avenged the man who masterminded their 2004 Champions League exit - now John O'Shea is gunning for his former team.The memory of Jose Mourinho dancing down the Old Trafford touchline as FC Porto claimed a notable scalp on their way to unexpected glory has gnawed away at the Red Devils for the past five years.And after Mourinho was sent packing in the last round as United overcame the threat of Inter Milan to reach the quarter-finals, it is Porto's turn to make their return visit."That was a tough one to take," recals O'Shea."Paul Scholes had a goal disallowed that was onside and the sight of Mourinho dancing down the touchline was not a happy one for many people."It was a long time ago so we won't be thinking about it too much but it is one of those things that we want to put to bed."Porto ended their group campaign with three successive wins to leapfrog Arsenal as top-ranked qualifiers and then overcame Atletico Madrid on away goals in the first knockout round.As the Portuguese outfit have the advantage of playing the second leg on home soil, United will need to be wary of Jesualdo Ferreira's men on Tuesday night, with O'Shea acknowledging the visitors' desire for an away goal."Porto might open up against us a bit more because away goals can be so vital," said the Republic of Ireland player."Ideally, we will get an advantage to take into the second leg. Then you look at not conceding an away goal. They are the key factors."Our record at Old Trafford in Europe recently has been great. So we have to use our experience and just keep it going."As United are defending champions and unbeaten on home soil in 19 European games, they will start heavy favourites.Indeed, when the draw was made many pundits suggested it was the easiest tie United could have had.With Villarreal or Arsenal lined up as potential semi-final opponents, it certainly looks on paper a less arduous route to Rome than the scrap between Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and favourites Barcelona for the other final berth.Not that Sir Alex Ferguson and his team are getting duped into believing they only have to turn up to get through.Even with Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic set to return from suspension, there is no way United will allow complacency to creep in."The minute the draw was made, friends started to text me saying they couldn't believe we had got the easy half," said O'Shea."But once you start thinking like that, you take your eye off the ball and we cannot allow that to happen to us."We have to maintain focus and concentrate. I am sure Porto are not looking forward to coming to Old Trafford because of our record but they will still think they can win."[LNB]

Source: Eurosport