Ferdinand back as United look for classic night

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson issued a rallying cry to his team before throwing down the gauntlet to his Porto counterpart ahead of their crunch Champions League quarter-final battle.

United go into Wednesday’s second-leg tie in Porto, where no English team has won in 11 attempts, on the back-foot after only managing a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last Tuesday.

Twice winner of the competition, Ferguson urged his team to draw on classic performances from United’s illustrious European past to give them strength when they visit the Dragao Stadium.

“Hopefully the players will realise the opportunity they have tomorrow. It’s not as if we are going there without a big chance, we can turn it around,” he said Tuesday.

“We all have to be up for it and we’re all going to have to step up to the plate,” he warned.

“I trust these players. They deserve it for their big games in Europe over the past three or four years, for their displays in Milan and Barcelona.”

“There are plenty of European performances we would like to replicate, we’re not short of them. I suppose the one would be Juventus,” the Scot said, referring to the 1999 semi-final in Turin when United came from two goals down to win.

The evergreen Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are the two remaining survivors from that epic win and will be available. Ferguson confirmed that defender Rio Ferdinand will start after missing two weeks with a groin injury.

“The experience and quality will obviously make a difference and gives us the Ferdinand, Vidic partnership which has been the cornerstone of great defensive performances this season,” Ferguson said of his England centre-back.

Porto dazzled United with their sparkling attacking football at Old Trafford and the former Aberdeen boss is hoping their hosts play the same way in the return leg, knowing an open game is probably his team’s best chance.

“It’s a pleasure being involved in Europe and tomorrow will be the same,” the long-serving boss said. “The atmosphere will be fantastic, and we’re playing a good team in a good stadium.”

“It’ll be a good game but I don’t know if it’ll be an open game. That depends on Porto,” he added.

It seems the United boss will have little to worry about as Porto boss Jesualdo Ferreira, who spoke before Ferguson, scoffed at suggestions his team would try to play out a draw.

“I would never tell a team to play below their capabilities. We have our own identity and we don’t know how to play any other way,” said Ferreira.

Ferreira played down the significance of Porto’s home dominance over English teams but backed his players to extend their proud record.

“Only two or three of these players have played against English teams so history has no bearing on this game,” he reasoned.

“There will be over 50,000 people in the stadium tomorrow and I hope not to hear the away supporters.

“The easy way to control emotions is through control of the game, they are together side-by-side. That is what we will do tomorrow,” he predicted.

The former Benfica manager claimed that his players were unaffected by their favourites tag and said they were not scared of FIFA World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be returning to his homeland.

“Our expectations are exactly the same as they were before the first game, our players know what they have got to do,” he said.

“United is probably the best team in the world, but we’ve played well against Ronaldo, and if he is human, so are the rest.”