Stam starts the mind games 22 February 2005
The Milan centre-back Jaap Stam, who returns to Old Trafford tomorrow night for the first time since he was unexpectedly sold, showed yesterday that he learnt something from his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, when he kicked off the pre-match mind games by claiming that Chelsea have left Manchester United irretrievably behind this season. "The gap is very big between Chelsea and the rest - this is their year," the Dutchman said. "United have come from behind a couple of times but it doesn't look like happening this time." Despite proving himself one of the best defender's in United's history, Stam was sold to Lazio in 2001 following the publication of his autobiography, in which he accused United of having illegally approached him before he was signed from PSV Eindhoven. And although he professed bewilderment at the time, now his thoughts are only positive. "It will be really nice to go back to Old Trafford because I haven't returned since my departure," he said. "My move to Lazio happened so quickly that I never had a chance to say goodbye to a lot of friends. I was settled at Manchester United - I had even just ordered a new kitchen." Stam's return may only be on the bench if the Milan coach, Carlo Ancelotti, goes for a back four with Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini in the centre. Milan travel to Old Trafford without their top scorer Andrei Shevchenko, who has undergone surgery after fracturing his cheekbone during Saturday's 1-0 win over Cagliari, and Ancelotti may be forced into a tactical rethink. The Milan coach has to decide whether to play with Jon Dahl Tomasson and Hernan Crespo together up front or to elect for a more conservative line-up, with Crespo as a lone striker. "We have several possible solutions but I will have to consider them," he said. "Shevchenko is an important player for us but my only consolation is that without him we have still managed to play well." While Shevchenko will be missing, his United counterpart, Ruud van Nistelrooy, may return from injury. However, Ancelotti was unconcerned. "It means little," he said. "Our intention is not to adapt to their play but to play our game." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/6iY7fA/5WnJAA/Y3ZIAA/GtUolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Please use [email protected] for general discussion. To unsubscribe send a blank message (from the email account in question) to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Join as a full member of IMUSA today: http://www.imusa.org/join.htm Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/imusa/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
