Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he would relish another chance to
face Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final this season,
admitting the manner of the defeat affected him so much he took
DVDs of the game with him on holiday to analyse.
The Manchester United boss witnessed his side succumb 2-0 to the
Catalans in last season's showpiece in Rome and Ferguson revealed
that some harsh lessons were learnt that night.
''I would love the chance to redress the situation with
Barcelona. Absolutely. I would love another final with them," he
told the Daily Star. "You look at that defeat and you can
look at reasons and excuses. But it's always better to look at the
reasons.
"We're now quite clear about where it went wrong and that's
always helpful. There were valid reasons and so we were able to
move on. I wouldn't go into the reasons for the defeat but I did
take the DVDs with me on holiday and watched the game again.
"We went through everything too, with my backroom staff. The
whole build-up. Everything. Was it the right hotel, was the
training right? So we are quite clear about where we are now with
that defeat.
"I quite like these games. It's not a problem. What went wrong
against Barcelona can be put right. Certainly it will all be put
right. I didn't kick myself over the summer. I have been long
enough in the game to know that you can't win them all.
"Sometimes you just have to accept that bad days come along and
you move on from there. It was disappointing though. You don't like
losing finals of European games. It was the first one I have lost
so it was really disappointing for everyone."
The Red Devils begin their European quest with a trip to
Besiktas on Tuesday and Ferguson is expecting a lively
atmosphere.
"There's a lot to be admired in that, their fanaticism," he
added. "You expect that. The stadium is full at 12 o'clock on the
day. It's amazing how they make that noise but you just have to
deal with it.
"The Champions League is the priority. It's a great tournament,
with all the best players and teams. So there's always the two
challenges for us - the Premier League and the European Cup."