MU faces multi-million dollar fright night
Agence France-Presse, Paris
Manchester United face a nervous 90-minute examination at Old Trafford on Tuesday night with at least 15 million dollars and their Champions League destiny at stake.
Two weeks ago, the Hungarian minnows of Zalaegerszegi beat the 1999 champions in the first leg of their qualifying round clash thanks to a last-minute goal from Bela Koplarovic - a strike which could have serious ramifications for the English giants.
Having invested almost 50 million dollars in recruiting England international defender Rio Ferdinand, the Old Trafford accountants need to recoup the investment by seeing the team in the group stages of the tournament, qualification for which is worth at least 15 million dollars.
Progressing further down the road yields more riches - last year Real Madrid stuffed their bank account to the tune of 37 million dollars as they clinched the title.
"This is not how we wanted to start the season and I'm thinking about more than just the finances when I say that," United manager Alex Ferguson said after the defeat in Budapest.
He will be buoyed by the news that Ferdinand could make his long-awaited competitive debut on Tuesday having been injured in pre-season but his strikers will have to get past a familiar face in the Hungarian goal if they are to claw back the deficit.
Sasa Ilic, signed from Charlton, knows all about the testing atmosphere inside Old Trafford.
"Experienced players can always help in these situations," the goalkeeper said.
"Some of my team-mates had never played in any big games until the first leg. But I know from playing in England that, for some teams, coming away from Old Trafford with a 3-0 defeat is a success."
Their shock win in Budapest has made stars of the Hungarian league champions, not least coach Peter Bozsik who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Republic of Hungary.
Shattering the myth of English football supremacy is nothing new to the Bozsik family - his father Jozsef played in the famous Hungarian team which demolished England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953 and 7-1 in Budapest six months later.
But the coach is playing down his chances.
"We've never been the favorites and we'll find it difficult to hold our ground in a hellish atmosphere in Manchester," he said.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, 2001 European champions Bayern Munich have the cushion of a 3-0 lead as they face Partizan Belgrade at the Olympic Stadium.
Goalkeeper Oliver Kahn will be pleased the match is at home - two weeks ago he, along with the assistant referee, was hit by objects thrown from a disgruntled home crowd.
Inter Milan start level at 0-0 with Sporting Lisbon at the San Siro while Feyenoord, courtesy of Japanese international's Shinji Ono's goal, take a 1-0 lead to Fenerbahce of Turkey.
On Wednesday, Newcastle defend a 1-0 first leg lead against FK Zeljeznicar of Bosnia at St James' Park with veteran striker Alan Shearer claiming that Bobby Robson's men have the ability to go a long way in the competition.
"The Champions League is where everyone wants to play. This is where the elite play and every player wants to be tested against the elite," said the former England skipper.
"We have worked our socks off to get into this position and it would be criminal to throw it away now and not get into the league stage after what we achieved last season."
Scottish champions Celtic go to Basel with a 3-1 lead but wary of crowd trouble after around 100 fans of the Swiss side rioted in the city center last week following a league defeat to Lucerne.