Ferguson: Had to wait for win
Sir Alex Ferguson feels Manchester United's history has a 'far better ring' to it following the club's UEFA Champions League success.
United lifted the European Cup for the third time in midweek following a penalty shoot-out victory in Moscow over Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The triumph in the Russian capital followed previous wins in 1968 and 1999, and Ferguson is continuing to savour the achievement.
"Your satisfaction is fantastic," Ferguson told Sky Sports News when reflecting on the win. "To win the European Cup is a special occasion and you treasure these things. That's what you hope happens to your career.
"We had to wait nine years to do it again and I suppose it proves it's not an easy tournament to win, so therefore we've gone a long way to eradicating our record of two victories in the Champions League.
"It's now three and that has a far better ring to it. Hopefully we can build on that."
John Terry had the chance to win the trophy for Chelsea in the shoot-out, only for the Blues skipper to slip as his spot-kick struck the post.
United keeper Edwin van der Sar then made a decisive save from Nicolas Anelka, and Ferguson was confident his team would prevail once Terry had missed.
He added: "I don't know if he (Terry) would have taken the penalty kick, or if he was down as one of the first five anyway.
"If (Didier) Drogba had been on the pitch, I'm sure he would have taken one and I'm not sure which other player would have been left out of the first five.
"After that miss I fancied us and I thought Anderson's penalty kick when he knocked the ball back into the net got the fans right up for it. It was at our end and I think that was a wee bit of an advantage to us.
"It was a great moment and I watched it last night. When Edwin van der Sar went to save, he knew he'd won the cup. Halfway across he knew he'd won the cup."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 24th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 17:30 | Rubin Kazan vs Dynamo Kiev |
| 19:45 | AZ vs Olympiacos |
| 19:45 | Arsenal vs Standard Liege |
| 19:45 | Barcelona vs Inter Milan |
| 19:45 | Debrecen vs Liverpool |
| 19:45 | Fiorentina vs Lyon |
| 19:45 | Rangers vs VfB Stuttgart |
| 19:45 | Unirea Urziceni vs Sevilla |
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 17:30 | CSKA Moscow vs Wolfsburg |
| 19:45 | AC Milan vs Marseille |
| 19:45 | Apoel Nicosia vs Atletico Madrid |
| 19:45 | Bayern Munich vs Maccabi Haifa |
| 19:45 | Bordeaux vs Juventus |
| 19:45 | FC Porto vs Chelsea |
| 19:45 | Man Utd vs Besiktas |
| 19:45 | Real Madrid vs FC Zurich |
| Tuesday 8th December | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 19:45 | Atletico Madrid vs FC Porto |
| 19:45 | Besiktas vs CSKA Moscow |
| 19:45 | Chelsea vs Apoel Nicosia |
| 19:45 | FC Zurich vs AC Milan |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Fiorentina 5 - 2 Debrecen | |
| Lyon 1 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Rubin Kazan 0 - 0 Barcelona | |
| Dynamo Kiev 1 - 2 Inter Milan | |
| Sevilla 1 - 1 VfB Stuttgart | |
| Unirea Urziceni 1 - 1 Rangers | |
| Arsenal 4 - 1 AZ | |
| Standard Liege 2 - 0 Olympiacos | |
| Tuesday 3rd November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Bayern Munich 0 - 2 Bordeaux | |
| Maccabi Haifa 0 - 1 Juventus | |
| Man Utd 3 - 3 CSKA Moscow | |
| Besiktas 0 - 3 Wolfsburg | |
| AC Milan 1 - 1 Real Madrid | |
| Marseille 6 - 1 FC Zurich | |
| Apoel Nicosia 0 - 1 FC Porto | |
| Atletico Madrid 2 - 2 Chelsea | |
| Wednesday 21st October | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Bordeaux 2 - 1 Bayern Munich | |
| Juventus 1 - 0 Maccabi Haifa | |
| CSKA Moscow 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Wolfsburg 0 - 0 Besiktas | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Olympiakos FC | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Standard Liege | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | AZ Alkmaar | 4 | 2 |
Bristol City fan Hannah Shine was strutting her as the Soccerette in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Preston North End fan Hazel Fox was strutting her stuff in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Sunderland fan Lucinda Gittins was strutting her stuff in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Rangers boss Walter Smith expects Madjid Bougherra to be available for next week's clash with Stuttgart.
Rubin Kazan successfully defended their Russian Premier League title following a draw with Zenit St Petersburg.
Rangers have been hit by a Uefa fine as a result of the improper conduct of some of their supporters.
Eduardo is aiming to help overcome Croatia disappointment by winning the Premier League and Champions League.
Steven Naismith believes crowd trouble in Gers' midweek draw against Unirea Urziceni tarnished the result.