Thursday, March 18, 1999

Manchester United last night totally confirmed that they are now, for the first time in 31 years, mature enough and strong enough to win Europe's most prized competition.

They warmed their hands against Inter Milan's test of fire and, just as their manager predicted they would, extinguished the Italian flame of hope with a big bucket of water in the shape of a classic counter-attack goal.

And that, perhaps above all the other alluring claims of this match, was what marked United down as a seasoned European team.

As the blue-and-black cacophony shrank and then stilled altogether, to leave only the sound of English voices singing 'We shall not be moved,' the abiding impression was that United had just done to dangerous opponents what top-class Continental sides have become accustomed to doing to the best England can offer.

They rode their luck a little, they defended responsibly and as a unit, but when the opportunity beckoned to sucker-punch opponents who thought they were on the rampage that opportunity was taken.

It came with barely two minutes officially left on the clock. Gary Neville's deep cross was headed back by Andy Cole and there was Paul Scholes, the substitute, proving that there is no substitute for class.

Inter were broken, the home support in the stadium poured out in an instant and Manchester United had also ended their miserable Italian run, having lost all six of their previous matches in the country.

At 1-0 down Alex Ferguson's team were already going through, but that Scholes goal made it all the sweeter, all the more complete a performance.

The manager had predicted that this would be a rough ride - and it was, rude, rumbutious and extremely rough.

There was gamesmanship, there was downright cheating, but bolstered by an outstanding display of refereeing by Gilles Veissiere, coupled with one of Henning Berg's finest displays in a United shirt, there never seemed any threat to the impression that the Italians were going out.

Although the four-pronged attack of Ryan Giggs, Cole, Dwight Yorke and David Beckham was unusually low key for much of the tempestuous evening, a sufficient number of United's players rose to the occasion.

Peter Schmeichel made some splendid saves, none better than his instinctive block of Ronaldo's best effort just after half-time.

Berg was all muscular resistance and in one instant, when he cleared a devilish cross from Javier Zanetti with a balletic overhead kick at high speed, the Norwegian produced possibly he most remarkable moment of the match.

And Irishman Roy Keane, on St Patrick's Day, played with such firm assurance and finesse that his only slip, when Nicola Ventola scored only three minutes after coming on as substitute for Ronaldo, can be forgiven.

The significance of the result, beyond qualification for United's second Champions Cup semi-final in three seasons, lay in what manager Ferguson had said about the Italians.

He was correct to point out that this country has produced the benchmark teams of the last 10 or so years and that any success in knocking an Italian side out of Europe in the quarter-final is a notable success.

Context lies in the fact that in 540 minutes of football played in Italy against teams like Juventus and AC Milan over the last four decades United have only scored once before last night.

Inter are an unenviable team at the moment, shorn of good coaching leadership, in the throes of change and torn apart by egos. But they have a collection of individual talent which is close to being unrivalled anywhere else in the world and which can be pulled together to paper over the cracks in emergency situations.

Such was the case last night. There was a spell of seven jaw-dropping minutes in the first half when Inter tore at Schmeichel's penalty box again and again until it seemed that they must gain a reward.

If they had done, or if Veissiere had been conned by some of the outrageous gamesmanship, the quarter-final could have unravelled and then come apart altogether for United.

Instead, the storm was weathered and more first-class experience was notched up to this team who are still young but now mature.

Inter's Benoit Cauet is the least feted of the French midfield musketeers in Italy but his rapier pass in the 15th minute still started the chaos when it allowed Ivan Zamorano to slash through the defence.

The Chilean did go round Schmeichel's dive but then heaved himself forward, like a lemming off a cliff, with such enthusiasm that the French referee was waving away penalty claims before Zamorano even hit the ground.

Two minutes later the same striker wriggled away from Berg only for Schmeichel to deny him with a fine save.

Berg's amazing overhead clearance came next and was followed by a wonderful right-footed drive from Zanetti after he dummied Giggs on the edge of the box.

But the Argentinian, who scored so tellingly against England in St Etienne during the World Cup, this time had to watch the ball thump back off the far post.

It was a niggle, for the play-ers, their manager and even the confident travelling fans, that United were a little too cavalier in treating the chances prior to Scholes' goal.

Giggs and Ronny Johnsen, initially preferred to Scholes in order to stem the supply of passes to Ronaldo, set up Cole nine minutes before the break but the striker's effort soared over even though the feed had found him close to the goal-mouth.

Beckham hit the target with a couple of gentle free-kicks during the evening but he only served to prove that his vicious trademark is still short of its normal level.

Then, several times before Ventola actually scored for Inter, crosses from both Beckham and Gary Neville were allowed to go begging in the home box.

The normally fearsome partners Yorke and Cole each received rough-house treatment but that alone did not explain their slight lack of cutting edge last night, particularly set against their remorseless form of recent weeks.

But the luck which Ferguson had claimed, on Tuesday, his club both needed and deserved finally arrived.

When a second goal would have been absolutely calamitous, Ze Elias missed a chance which a schoolboy would have scored, Zanetti scorched a drive just past the post and then substitute Francesco Moriero made Schmeichel dive full length to turn his shot on to the post with only five minutes left.

All night there was a hail of fruit thrown at the visiting players whenever they tried to take a free-kick, corner or throw-in. But, in the end, it was Inter who slipped on the United banana skin.

No manner of gamesmanship by their fans, players or pre-match character assassination by coach Mircea Lucescu was enough to throw this new, mature United off the scent of their ultimate goal - the Champions Cup.

Inter Milan: Pagliuca, Bergomi, Colonnese, Ronaldo (Ventola, 59), Zanetti, Baggio, Simeone (Ze Elias, 32), Cauet, West, Zamorano, Silvestre. Booked: Bergomi, Ze Elias, Cauet, Colonnese.

Manchester United: Schmeichel, Neville G, Irwin, Johnsen (Scholes, 76), Stam, Beckham, Cole, Giggs (P Neville, 81), Keane, Yorke, Berg. Booked: Johnsen, P Neville.

Referee: Gilles Veissiere (France).