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Patrice Evra is ready to join in the booing of
Carlos Tevez if his good friend turns out in Sunday's Manchester
derby. Tevez is a major doubt for the eagerly-anticipated showdown
between United and City at Old Trafford.
With both clubs currently in the Premier League's top four and
City riding the crest of a wave created by their £120million summer
spending spree, there would have been more interest on both sides
of the city, even without Tevez's controversial move from red to
blue.
Despite the South American's change of allegiance, the
friendship Evra struck up with Tevez remains. But, acknowledging
the reception Tevez is likely to get if he does recover from a knee
injury picked up on World Cup duty earlier this month, Evra is only
going to make it worse.
"I have been joking with him about the reception he will get,"
said Evra. "I don't know if the fans will boo him or clap him. He
did a great job at Manchester United. He respected the shirt and
the fans understand that. "But if they boo him I will join in."
As usual, Evra's comments are delivered with a beaming smile.
There has been plenty of laughter between the pair, who formed a
somewhat unlikely alliance with Park Ji-sung during their time
together at United, as they contemplated Sunday's game, the first
time in almost 40 years the two clubs have met on almost equal
footing.
It is clear, despite reaching two Champions League finals and
winning a couple of league titles during his 'loan' spell with
United, Tevez is now firmly in the blue camp. "I have had a message
from him saying they are going to win. I am not so sure," said
Evra. "I just hope he plays. It will be special to play against him
because he is such a good friend. "But he is a City player now and
we cannot let him beat Manchester United."
Evra may not be a Mancunian but he has been around the city long
enough to understand the passion each set of supporters has for
their club. And he could hardly not be aware of the jaw-dropping
impact the Abu Dhabi United Group have had at Eastlands since they
bought the club just over a year ago.
It is why Evra is not alone in believing that match will have
more spice than has been the case for a number of years. "The game
is more special this season," he said. "When we have played them
before they have never been in the top four. "This year it is a big
mission of City's to play in the Champions League. "They have not
lost yet, so they will come to Old Trafford with a lot of
confidence. It will be an amazing game and it is a big challenge. I
hope we are ready."
Sir Alex Ferguson certainly has plenty of options. Ryan Giggs,
Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea were among those not
required to change out of their suits last night, while Wayne
Rooney might not have been too happy to sit out the final half hour
of United's 1-0 win over Besiktas but Ferguson knows he will be
fresh for battle.
And, one thing that should not be much of a surprise given
United's experience on the banks of the Bosphorus is the
atmosphere. Sir Alex Ferguson described the noise made by the
Besiktas fans as the loudest he has experienced in his long
career.
Evra is not about to disagree. "It was an amazing atmosphere,"
he said. "At the end I clapped the supporters because the noise was
just incredible. "If you are not excited to play a game like that
you never will be. "This wall of noise was there from the moment we
began our warm-up right until the final whistle."
