Sir Alex Ferguson diplomatically ducks the David Beckham question

Seven years to the day since Sir Alex Ferguson kicked a stray football boot into the face of David Beckham, it was probably inevitable that there should be so many questions about the relationship between the Manchester United manager and the man he once witheringly described as "dressing like Gary Glitter". This was always going to be the case from the moment these two iconic clubs were drawn against one another but the reality tonight is that Beckham, much as it goes against everything he stands for, may have to settle for being a subplot to the main drama. Just because the former England captain agreed to face the microphones yesterday it does not automatically mean he will be in Leonardo's Milan starting XI and, even if he is, there is a legitimate case to be made that he might be more concerned about the pace and penetration of Patrice Evra than the Frenchman will be with handling a player whose smouldering desire to impress is undermined, three months short of turning 35, by the occasional inability of his legs to keep up with his football brain. Ferguson was too diplomatic to say as much but he will be far more concerned, for example, by the capacity of Pato to expose any lingering rustiness that might be afflicting Rio Ferdinand two games into his comeback from a three-month lay-off with back issues. The United manager has such misgivings about Ferdinand's condition that he was not even able to guarantee the England international would start and, when the tricky subject of Nemanja Vidic's fitness was raised, his irritable tone brought back memories of how he used to struggle to conceal his exasperation when discussing Louis Saha's habit of pulling out of key games. His frustration was understandable because the significance of Vidic's absence cannot be overstated on nights such as these. Ferguson lamented that United were missing "one of the best centre-backs in the world" and Jonny Evans may have to justify all the accolades that have come his way if United are to emerge in a favourable position for the return leg at Old Trafford in three weeks. Milan, though, are far from impregnable. Pato aside, there is little pace in midfield or attack, where Ronaldinho tends to flicker only sporadically these days. Pato, too, is having a relatively quiet season, even if Ferguson was at the San Siro to see him score in Friday's 2-1 defeat of Udinese. One curiosity was that Ferguson did not mention him once during a press conference in which he was not afraid to divulge his opinion that Internazionale are "a stronger side than Milan". The strength of Serie A's third-placed side comes in the form of what Ferguson described as "big-match experience". Others have contested that Milan are too old and that their combined years actually represents a weakness. "Dinosaurs" is one word that has been applied in the Italian press. Beckham himself has been described as a "waxwork model". Yet Milan versus Manchester United is not just a football match, it is an occasion and Ferguson believes United's opponents have a considerable advantage in terms of their medal collections. "They have maybe five or six players who have won the European Cup twice and, if you look at Clarence Seedorf, he has won it four times with three different clubs," he said. "You can't buy that kind of experience. That's their main advantage. But we have experience, too." The improvement of Darren Fletcher was cited as evidence that United will be much better prepared than when they lost 3-0 here in the second leg of the semi-final in May 2007. Ferguson also eulogised about Wayne Rooney's improvement from three years ago. "His form in the last few months has brought him to the highest point of his career. The word 'world-class' is misused but in the case of Rooney he's got to the point where you have to consider him one of the best players in the world." And Beckham? Naturally, this was the first question. "That's three seconds," Ferguson exclaimed. "Bloody hell!" But he was noticeably reluctant to linger on his former player, certainly compared with the eulogy he reserved for Cristiano Ronaldo. Beckham, he said, had "good experience" but that was just about all he was willing to offer.