FERGUSON AND WENGER PREDICT EURO 2004!
Friday 30 April 2004
The two most successful managers in the history of the Premiership have swapped their place in the dugout and picked up a pen and pad to write exclusively for Nike's new, must read football magazine 'Goodbye Hoof, Hello Nutmeg!'.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, who some would say have agreed on little during their intense rivalry for the Premiership, have decided to agree on something, the Euro 2004 winner. They both predict that France will recover after their failure at the World Cup in 2002 and will win. Sir Alex believes they will triumph against Italy in normal time and Arsene believes France will beat the Czech Republic on penalties after a 1 - 1 draw.
Both managers predict the crunch game between England and France in the group stages will be a draw. Whilst they disagree when England will exit the tournament; Sir Alex believes England will be knocked out by Portugal in the QF's and Arsene predicts the Czech Republic will beat England on penalties in the SF's.
Sir Alex Ferguson
On Portugal
'I think Portugal will do really well. They've got Rui Costa and Luis Figo, big game players. Figo has also got that kind of pride, he'll want to do well. What you've got to think is that those two they're now that 31, 32 and it's their last chance. Cristiano Ronaldo will light the tournament up. What an absolutely fantastic chance the boy's got, at 19 years of age.'
On England
'As for France and England, bloody hell! It's the worst game France could have to start off with, because England won't be afraid of them, I think England may get a draw there. I think the battle between Gerrard, Scholes and Vieira may well determine the outcome of the game. Rooney won't be afraid of it either. I just wonder whether he keeps his freshness for a young lad. Michael Owen, you would hope, has no more injuries. If he were to get another injury before the Euro Championships he'll struggle. It would destroy him in terms of pace and penetration, and without him, England have absolutely no one who can penetrate.'
On The Final
'I think France will win it because there's more goals there, they can select five strikers of really good quality - Cisse, Henry, Trezeguet, Saha and they've got Wiltord and Marlet as back up. That's some selection! That's the area you wonder about the Italians, whether Cassano is the only one they've got and has to play all the time. France will win the tournament because they've got the individuals to win major Championships.'
Arsene Wenger
On The European Championships
'When you look at this group you realise how difficult the European championship is. In my opinion, it is more difficult to win than the World Cup.'
On England
'The hunger will be there to wipe out the disappointment of the World Cup. I feel as well that England is the up and coming national side, they are where France was a few years ago. They have not won a major trophy for a long time, but now I think England could be just getting to a stage where they have a team capable of something. It will depend, in my opinion, on how well Owen and Rooney can do. Rooney is audacious, and he won't be burned out because he was on the bench at the start of the season. Don't forget that many of these players will go into the tournament with 60 games, so a guy with Rooney's talent who can come in with 25 games, he could be unstoppable.'
On Thierry Henry
'However I still think that Thierry Henry will be the player of the tournament. The only negative side is that if he is, it will not be a surprise, and if he isn't, it will be a big surprise. There is so much expected from him, there is big pressure on his shoulders.
He'd be a good sub though, he plays all of his games with heart, and that's practically the only thing I like about the guy. 
