Spalletti shows United front

Luciano Spalletti insists that he can’t complain after Roma were drawn against Manchester United in the Champions League.

The Giallorossi will face the Premiership club in the last eight and the tactician believes that his men can do well if they play with the same determination shown against Lyon this week.

“The result of the draw doesn’t really make any difference, all the clubs left are strong,” said Spalletti after the draw in Athens.

“PSV Eindhoven were maybe slightly weaker, but they all have important qualities and proved their personality so far.

“Manchester have a great tradition and are used to playing at these levels, they are a strong and talented side,” continued the former Udinese boss.

“We must behave like we did with Lyon and must be convinced of our potential.”

Roma’s sporting director Antonio Tempestilli is also optimistic and believes that Roma can progress to the semi-final, where they will meet Milan if the Rossoneri succeed in defeating Bayern Munich.

“Manchester are one of the strongest sides in Europe, but also Lyon were favoured against us and in the end we managed to progress,” said the Giallorosso to Sky Italia.

“A semi-final with Milan? I don’t want to think about it, first we have to focus on this round with Manchester.”

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is also remaining cautious even though his side will start the tie in pole position.

"We respect Roma's result against Lyon, they have great players like Daniele De Rossi and Amantino Mancini,” he noted.

"Obviously we do not look beyond this game. We must concentrate on this match and we are looking forward to it.

"We have never played Roma before. That is the great excitement in Europe, playing teams you've never met."

Totti wants Lyon heart

Roma captain Francesco Totti has called for a Lyon repeat when the Italian side come up against Manchester United in the Champions League.

The capital city club was paired with the Premiership outfit in today’s quarter-final draw and the World Cup winner is looking forward to his first Old Trafford visit.

“It’s a hard draw. Manchester United are one of the teams who can win the Champions League,” said Totti to the club’s website.

“However, it won’t be easy for them either, it’s a very stimulating tie. Let’s hope we can show the same determination we put in the two legs with Lyon.

“It will be my first time at Old Trafford and I’m looking forward to the game.”

Totti is also aware that the tie will see his side come up against some of Europe’s top players.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is an excellent midfielder,” he added. “Ryan Giggs has experience and Wayne Rooney knows how to do everything.

“They are a strong club that rarely fails in this competition, but we believe we can do well,” added Er Pupone.

Teammate David Pizarro has accepted that the clash will be a challenging one, but is confident that the Giallorossi have the qualities needed to offer a good performance.

“I will not be available for the first leg through suspension and I am disappointed about that. Playing against Manchester United will be difficult, but anything can happen in football,” he said.

“We are lucky to have the opportunity to play such an exciting match,” added the Chilean playmaker.

“The Manchester representatives smiled when we were drawn against them? Let’s focus on playing, Lyon were also favoured against us and we know what happened...”

Platini pushes for Euro changes

UEFA President Michel Platini suggests forcing Italian, English and Spanish sides trying to qualify for the Champions League to face each other.

In the current system, rankings are used so that teams from the top three Leagues are paired with weaker clubs, making it on paper a relatively simple task to reach the tournament proper.

"It's not about disturbing England, Italy or Spain, but about finding a balance,” insisted the former Juventus star.

"Perhaps teams from bigger countries, who have four and three qualifying teams, should play against each other.

“My problem is that the two English, Spanish and Italian teams in the final qualifying round do not play against each other, they play against smaller teams.”

There have been warnings that the dominance of these three Divisions was going to be discouraged in the future of the Champions League.

"We want to add some of the other countries to the competition and to do that we have take some of the others away,” continued Platini.

"I'm not sure that the fourth clubs from Spain, Italy and England are more important than the Champions of Poland, the Czech Republic or Denmark."

Although the proposed changes, if they are voted in, would not be implemented until at least the 2009-10 season, it is set to prove very unpopular with the G-14.

Currently the top two teams from Serie A, La Liga and the Premiership automatically enter the Champions League group phase. Third and fourth go through a qualifying round, where failure will see them re-routed to the UEFA Cup.

This season Chievo stumbled at the qualifying stage, while Inter went out in the second round to Valencia. Milan and Roma are through to the quarter-finals, where they will face Bayern Munich and Manchester United respectively.

Roma's Tonetto: Dream to play George Best's Man Utd
tribalfooball.com

Roma defender Max Tonetto admits it's a dream come true to be facing Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinals.

"My debut in the competition was one of the most exciting things ever," he said. "Walking on to the pitch and hearing the Champions League anthem is something that I have always wanted.

"It will be great to face Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo and I am looking forward to playing in George Best's stadium."

Roma-Man U ticket battle

Fans queued overnight as the Stadio Olimpico is sold out for Roma’s Champions League clash with Manchester United.

The first leg will be in the Italian capital on April 4 and in less than one day all 50,000 tickets have been snapped up.

Another 22,000 went to season ticket holders who had an option to get their hands on the seats first, but other supporters queued around the city at the various sales points.

There was controversy, as some of the booths opened their doors as early as 8.30am to prevent public order problems, while others waited until the official 10am start.

“We are very sorry if some people felt they were treated differently to others, but we can assure we did everything we could to ensure the fans received their tickets,” said Roma de facto President Rosella Sensi.

Meanwhile, there is more fan trouble on the horizon as new anti-violence laws demand strict controls over banners.

As of today, supporters must lodge a written request to the clubs at least seven days before a game if they are to bring in a banner. This will include details of the size, material used, content and photographic evidence.

“The Curva Sud will go to Rome with its banners, then we will decide what is the best course of action,” explained Milan Ultras leader Giancarlo Capelli ahead of this weekend’s Olimpico match.

“It is true the deadline has passed, but up until today we did not know who was meant to receive the request. We will not give in.”

There are other problems linked to the new guidelines, as it could see the end of Italian football’s legendary choreographed symbols covering an entire end of the stadium.

“With these rules, each individual fan group is forced to present a written request, so there is the risk we won’t be able to get together and organise the choreography we planned for Tuesday against Bayern Munich,” added the Rossoneri supporter.

Inter fans are taking the news even worse, as their Ultras groups warn it is possible the Scudetto party choreography will have to be binned.

Juventus and Torino supporters have taken a different approach. They are preparing a photographic book showing the banners and where they will be positioned in the stadium.

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