EUROSCENE: IF the current Manchester United side is as strong, hungry and full of self-belief as the side which came from 2-0 down to defeat Juventus 3-2 at the Stadio Delle Alpi in a memorable Champions League semi-final in April 1999, then they need have no fear of this current edition of the "Old Lady" of Italian football when they meet at Old Trafford tomorrow night, writes Paddy Agnew.
If, however, as one suspects, the current Manchester United side is neither quite so hungry nor quite so irresistible as the side of four seasons back, then Alex Ferguson's men will be in for a tough time against a new-look, more modest Juventus that is nothing if not tough and competitive.
The United manager spent Sunday on a scouting mission in Parma, where he watched Juventus climb back to joint top of Serie A with Inter Milan thanks to a facile 2-1 win. Identical goalkeeping errors from Parma's young Sebastien Frey, who failed to come for crosses in his six-yard box, saw Juventus 2-0 up after half an hour through goals from Marco di Vaio and Alessio Tacchinardi.
To some extent, Ferguson's mission may have been less fruitful than anticipated. Having been "gifted" two goals by Parma, Juventus then strolled through the rest of the match, toying with a young Parma side before conceding a 90th-minute consolation goal thanks to a free kick from Parma's young Romanian striker Adrian Mutu.
For the Manchester manager's purposes, it would obviously have been more illuminating had Juventus been pushed harder. Mind you, with this current Juventus, what you see is what you get. In other words, there is no longer the weird and wonderful wizardry of Zinedine Zidane (long since departed for Real Madrid) nor, alas, the attacking thrust of the injured Alessandro Del Piero (out for at least another month).
Instead, you get the tireless hustle and bustle of midfielder Pavel Nedved, the right wing attacking skill of Mauro Camoranesi, the finishing skills of David Trezeguet as well as the defensive solidity of Paolo Montero and Lilian Thuram. Put simply, this Juventus is no pyrotechnical monster but rather a tough, handy unit.
Speaking after Sunday's game, Ferguson was unreserved in his praise for Juventus.
"Parma played well but Juventus clearly dominated them. Thanks to their experience, Juventus were better all round. I was particularly struck by their overall confidence, especially in defence. This is a good team."
Perhaps he offered those thoughts partly out of politeness to his hosts. Perhaps, too, they reflect his genuine admiration for his opposite number, Marcello Lippi.
And there we come to one of the great conundrums of this clash. If it is true that, by comparison with April 1999, Juventus will be without Zidane and Del Piero, it is also true that, this time, they will have Lippi back on the bench. Four years ago, he had been effectively sacked by Juventus in the February of 1999, with Carlo Ancelotti taking over for that season and the next two to come.
Those of us familiar with both Lippi and Juventus have always suspected that, for all their qualities, Manchester United would never have got back from the "dead" in that celebrated 1999 clash if Lippi had been in charge.
Lippi's aggressive will to win is second to no one in Italian football.
Typically, Lippi is making cautious sounds on the eve of this seventh Champions League clash with Man U in the last eight years, and refuses to read much into United's FA Cup defeat by Arsenal on Saturday.
"The defeat against Arsenal just shows how in football a missed chance, like the one missed by Giggs, can change the course of a game," he said. "Man U might have lost but they did so against Arsenal, one of the best teams in Europe. "I have no doubt but that the Man U players will be up for it and keen to beat us. Mind you, for our part, we'd like to put on a good show in their place."
