Sir Alex hails English power
The Premier League is now indisputably leading the way in Europe, according to Sir Alex Ferguson.
United are one of four English teams in the hat for Friday’s Champions League quarter final draw (12:00 GMT), along with one side each from Spain, Germany, Italy and Turkey. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are also still involved and Sir Alex believes that demonstrates the quality of English football.
“I think the Premier League is the strongest in Europe,” he told MUTV. “For a spell it was the Spanish league – I remember about seven or eight years ago they had three teams in the semi-finals and Spanish football was really strong, but I think the English game has now reached that level.
“You expect three of the four English teams to be in the semi finals this year, unless they are drawn against each other [in the quarter-finals]. We now have a 40% chance of being drawn against an English team, which is a measure of the quality of this division.”
United have never experienced an all-English tie in the Champions League, but the manager is relaxed about what Friday’s draw has in store, which will also reveal potential semi-finals opponents.
He said: “Once the format changed and three or four teams from each country were allowed into the competition, it was inevitable that they would face each other at some point, so I’m always geared to playing against an English team. It doesn’t matter who we get in the quarter-finals. Knowing who you’ll get in the semi-finals as well is an incentive, but we’ll take what we get.”
