Aimar plots Roman ruin

By Carlos Urrutia

With three sides tied on five points after three games in Group A in the UEFA Champions League, it will take some inspired play to break the deadlock.

Danger man
As Valencia CF prepare to play AS Roma at the Mestalla stadium on Wednesday, coach Rafael Benítez will be hoping that the improbably gifted Argentinian midfield player Pablo Aimar will be the man who makes the difference.

Cautious approach
The 23-year-old, who joined the club in a €24m deal from CA River Plate in January 2001, was rested for this weekend's 4-0 league victory over Rayo Vallecano. He should, therefore, be at full fitness for the visit of Roma, but despite his side's 1-0 win in Rome on Matchday 9, Aimar was urging caution ahead of the return leg.

No overconfidence
"We didn't see the good team they have last week," he told uefa.com. "There were a lot of injured players in their squad, and they are more dangerous than it might have seemed last Tuesday. We can't be overconfident about them for the match on Wednesday."

Home comforts
With no points from their second group stage games so far, Roma are in dire need of a win, while, with three games remaining, Valencia have the comfort of knowing that they have two home games left. "If we win those two matches at home we'll be very close to qualifying," said Aimar. "But I'd rather take it step by step, and think only of the Roma game."

Two-pronged assault
Level on points with second-placed Real Madrid CF in the Primera División, Valencia's chances of a spectacular league and Champions League double are very much alive. Asked to choose which of the two titles he would rather win this season, Aimar was understandably reluctant to make a firm decision.

'A devastating night'
"It's like asking someone who they love more - their father or their mother," he said. "We would like to win both of them, of course. But, if I had to choose, I would say the Champions League. We still haven't won it, and I remember the 2001 final in Milan as a devastating night."

Bitter memory
Valencia lost that final on penalties against FC Bayern München after a 1-1 draw at the Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. Aimar was substituted a minute into the second half, and he will be hoping that, should Valencia reach another final in 2002/03, he will be able to demonstrate his sumptuous passing and elegant running to greater effect.

Maradona fan
The prospect of reaching the final is all the more tantalising, as it would give Aimar the chance to eclipse the achievements of his footballing hero, Diego Maradona, whose only significant achievement in European football was winning the 1989 UEFA Cup with SSC Napoli.

'My hero'
"Maradona is my hero, of course," said Aimar. "Very few Argentinian players will say anything else. I was six years old when I saw him win the FIFA World Cup in Mexico - he taught us to beat our hearts to the rhythm of the national team shirt."

Mutual respect
The feeling of respect is mutual, with Maradona having once described Aimar as "the only current footballer I would pay to watch". Roma defenders would do well to pay similarly close attention as they take the field at the Mestalla stadium on Wednesday.