Road to The Treble

In less than 24 hours, Manchester United will take to the pitch in their quest to try emulating their 1999 treble winning season. 3 points clear of Chelsea in the Premier League, in the FA Cup Final which will be played in the newly built Wembly Stadium, United can put one foot on another final appearance if they can beat AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final first-leg at Old Trafford, Manchester. Saying is easier than done. In the last stage of the season, United are suffering from an alarming injury crisis coming to this match. Defenders Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Mikael Silvestre, and Rio Ferdinand, midfielders Kieran Richardson and Park Ji-Sung, and forward Louis Saha are either doubtful or are out of this clash with Milan.

On the bright side of things, United's attacking flair this season is outstanding, so it should be able to cover up the defensive weakness. Lead by young stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and the evergreen Ryan Giggs, it should be no problem, although I won't expecting the previous 7-1 thrashing of Milan's Serie-A rivals AS Roma in the previous round. Not to forget Paul Scholes too.

Ronaldo: United to count on him to lead them past Milan

Milan are also not be underestimated. They boast a quite formidable midfield of Brazilian Kaka, Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf, and Italian World Cup winners Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo. In defense they have veteran Italian Paolo Maldini and his defensive colleague Alessandro Nesta, both in their 30's but are still playing like they are in their 20's. Their attack has reduced slightly by the departure of Andrie Shevchenko, plus former Real Madrid player Ronaldo is cup-tied, although Filipo Inzaghi is not a bad striker too.

Ronaldo has recently been voted the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year, so he will be raring to go. This match also will show how much United have improved since their 1-0 defeats to Milan two years ago, when they are still a very young team.

Tomorrow then, the most important match of the season for Manchester United. For all the fans around the world, stay glued in front of your TV from 2 a.m. onwards. Lets hope they can archieve success. Glory ManUnited!!!

The other semi-final tie is between Premier League clubs Liverpool vs. Chelsea. The final will be held in Athens, May 25th.