As we draw nearer to Manchester United’s game against AS Roma on Thursday, reports on the game are starting to pile up, with some remembering the 7-1 drubbing the Italian side suffered at the hands of a then Sir Alex Ferguson managed Red Devils.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Patrice Evra, Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney secured a memorable victory, which has been said could be fuel for revenge for the Italian club’s current captain Lorenzo Pellegrini.
One man who remembers the fixture very well is Ferguson himself, who sat down briefly (over the phone) with Gazzetta dello Sport to discuss a few subjects, most of which involving that game and Roma.
Comparing the 7-1 to a musical masterpiece, he explained ‘each player proposed the best music they could offer and all together they composed a sublime symphony’, before adding that ‘whoever directs the orchestra cannot fail to be enchanted by what is happening’.
Recalling that then Roma manager Luciano Spalletti still joined him for the customary glass of wine after the game, which Ferguson described as a ‘demonstration of a strong personality’ and the sign of a ‘true sportsman’, the former Manchester United manager was also asked about Francesco Totti.
The question? Did he ever try and take him to Manchester.
His answer: “We liked the player and we would have liked to include him in our script, but when we expressed out interest, it was immediately clear that Totti did not want to leave Rome. He was deeply attached to his city. After all, his CV is clear: Totti only wore the Roma shirt in his career”.
Another one that got away, or simply stayed away, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try.
Sometimes, players just love where they are.
