Super Cup can give United perfect start
Monday 25 August 2008
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Ryan Giggs is eyeing United's first continental trophy of the season (©Getty Images)
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Ryan Giggs is determined to bring the UEFA Super Cup back to Old Trafford having been part of the first Manchester United FC team to win the trophy.
Mixed fortunes
The winger played as a substitute when United, as UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners, beat FK Crvena Zvezda 1-0 to land the UEFA Super Cup in 1991. However, his second appearance in the competition followed United's UEFA Champions League triumph of 1999 and ended in a defeat by S.S. Lazio. Giggs is eager to make amends, telling his team-mates to grab the chance of claiming the season's first item of continental silverware.
'A special game'
"Last time we had a league game on the Wednesday and a league game on the Monday – this time we'll be going all out to win it," said the 34-year-old. "You want to have it on your CV, the Super Cup. It's a different setting, it's a special game that you want to win. It's the European champions against the UEFA Cup winners – it may not be as big as Moscow [where United lifted the European crown at Chelsea FC's expense] but it is still something you want to have."
Confidence boost
Giggs, who captains the side in the absence of Gary Neville, believes a victory against FC Zenit St. Petersburg, the UEFA Cup holders, would register United's intent to continue where they left off in May. "You want to win trophies all the time and it gives you confidence early in the season to win a trophy," said the former Wales skipper. "It also gives players who maybe aren't so fit a chance to play games."
Hargreaves return
One such player is Owen Hargreaves, the midfielder who returned to first-team training last week after a knee injury. Hargreaves has also experienced the UEFA Super Cup before, but hopes for better in Monaco on Friday than the 3-2 loss his FC Bayern München team suffered against Liverpool FC in 2001. "It's a one-off game and we'll try to play our best and win it," said the 27-year-old England international. "It's a great chance to win a title in 90 minutes. It didn't feel like such a big game to me [in 2001] but it'll be a different occasion this time and we'll go over there to win it. Hopefully the game will be my first of the season. We'll just see how training goes, because I have felt this problem for 16 months now."
Giggs wish
According to Giggs, Hargreaves is part of a United side with "the potential to dominate football for the next five years". Such has been the development of Sir Alex Ferguson's latest vintage that Giggs – who collected a tenth Premier League crown as well as a second European Champion Clubs' Cup last term – is keen to extend and embellish even further his 17-year playing career. "Last season ended unbelievably for the team and myself," he said. "Hopefully it can get better and I want to be part of that. Players who were perhaps in their first year at the club last season can only get better."
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