Plain sailing for Giggs

By Adrian Clarke
 
Ryan Giggs admits he was delighted that Manchester United FC avoided Italian giants AC Milan in the draw for the first phase of this season's UEFA Champions League, as his side were paired with Olympique Lyonnais, AC Sparta Praha and Fenerbahçe SK.

Giggs' relief
The 2002/03 winners narrowly missed out on being ranked as one of the eight top seeds, but remain one of the favourites to lift the trophy in Istanbul next May. FC Barcelona, Celtic FC and Ukrainian outsiders FC Shakhtar Donetsk have the dubious pleasure of tackling Carlo Ancelotti's Serie A champions in Group F, much to Giggs' relief.

'Pretty pleased'
"If we'd had a choice, we'd have chosen to miss AC Milan, so I was pretty pleased with how the draw turned out," the winger told uefa.com. "Lyon, Sparta and Fenerbahçe are all good sides that we respect, but we have to be happy at avoiding one of the European big guns.

Quiet campaign
"Hopefully we'll progress to the latter stages and that's when you expect to have to face the biggest clubs in Europe," he added. "The games between United and other huge clubs get so hyped-up it's unbelievable. We prefer to qualify in a slightly quieter way if it's possible, before getting involved in those high-profile ties."

Confidence restored
United's shock exit to eventual winners FC Porto last season was the first time in a decade that Sir Alex Ferguson's side had failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. But after cruising past Romanian side FC Dinamo Bucuresti in the third qualifying round, confidence has been restored, and Giggs says the 1998/99 winners are now confident of enjoying yet another long run in the competition.

Seasoned competitors
"Thankfully we have plenty of experience in the Champions League, so we know exactly what it's all about and what we need to do to be successful," said Giggs. "We have a stronger squad this season than last year, and once we get all our injured players back fit and Rio Ferdinand returns from his ban, you won't find many better sides around."

Fenerbahçe factor
Both Lyon and Sparta are new opponents for United in the Champions League, but the English giants did meet Turkish side Fenerbahçe back in 1996/97. A professional performance from United secured a 2-0 win on Turkish soil, but they suffered a rare home defeat at Old Trafford in the return match, going down 1-0.

Istanbul pressure
Giggs was injured and played no part in either of those matches, but he knows how difficult a trip to Turkey can be. "The one trip that we won't fancy is Fenerbahçe away," he admitted. "Turkey is a long trek by plane and it's hard to get results over there. The fans are very intimidating too. I remember it wasn't an easy experience for the lads when they played over there a few years ago.

Title contenders
"Actually all of the away fixtures promise to be very difficult, but that's always the case in Europe," continued Giggs. "You must pick up maximum points at home in the Champions League and then hope to nick results on your travels. That said, we've got enough about us not to be worried by any opponents. We have the ability to go all the way."
 
Ryan Giggs's personal website is at www.icons.com