The young firebrand versus the elder statesman

Sir Alex Ferguson versus

Jose Mourinho; it has a real ring

to it. It is a clash of style, culture

and personality that promises

to make the first FA Cup Final

at the new Wembley Stadium

something to remember. And I am glad

to say I consider myself close to both

these contrasting managers.

I stood side-by-side with Jose on the

training pitch for six years at Sporting

Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona and he has

recently been up to my house in the

north-east.

Alex and I, meanwhile, have known

each other for more than a quarter of a

century. Indeed, one of my highlights of

the season was being given a private

guided tour of Manchester United’s

Carrington training complex by Alex

to mark his 20th anniversary at

Old Trafford.

These two men are both winners —

but they use different methods to

achieve their success with United and

Chelsea. Jose is the firebrand whose

team are dogged and conservative. Alex

is an experienced elder statesman who

lets young players have their heads.

Jose is around the age Alex was when

he took over Manchester United in 1986

as a fiery fortysomething anxious to

prove himself to the world. It is

hard to believe now that Alex was

known for his "hairdryer" treatment

of those who incurred his wrath.

These days he is steady, composed

and knows how to handle victory

and defeat.

That calm authority helped

United win the Premiership

when they were wobbling.

Panic could have set in among

the players when they slipped

up in a few games and Chelsea kept

winning. Yet there was Alex,completely unperturbed after a 1-1 draw at home

against Middlesbrough. I am sure his

attitude relaxed his players and put a

few doubts among the Chelsea lads.

Sure enough, Chelsea could only draw

with Newcastle 24 hours later and the

odds swung back towards United.

Jose is completely the opposite. He is

like Alex circa 1986. Young, passionate and confrontational. Do

not be fooled, though. Behind the

outspoken and colourful character lies

an extremely shrewd tactical brain.

He has an instinctive grasp of systems

and substitutions, which makes him a

very dangerous customer in a big oneoff

game like this, even if Alex’s side

proved themselves better over the full season. Jose’s football intelligence is why

he is hugely respected by the players.He

may not have played the game

professionally but he still commands

authority. I saw at Barcelona that

Ronaldo, Stoichkov and Figo looked up

to him. You can say the same about John

Terry and Frank Lampard now.

Alex might not rely on the same kind of

detailed tactical expertise as Jose —

although he certainly knows the game

inside out — but his great strength is

decision-making.

Over the years, Alex has been ruthless

in getting things right for Manchester

United. Many have questioned him as

he let Paul McGrath,Mark Hughes,Jaap

Stam, David Beckham, Roy Keane and

Ruud van Nistelrooy go — but he was

correct every time. I wonder if he might

have been a bit more ruthless with

Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack

than Jose has this season.

Alex still knows how to make a stir in

the Press but he chooses his fights

carefully these days, while Jose is prone to explosive outbursts whenever things

go against him. Sometimes, speaking his

mind makes him look arrogant and

foolish, as when he claimed Chelsea

deserved a penalty against Liverpool

when TV pictures showed Alvaro

Arbeloa handled the ball outside the

box.

Alex would never have done that

without having checked the facts first. It

is something Jose will learn and, to be

fair, his reaction to losing the

Premiership showed a greater maturity.

On the playing side, it is ironic that,

while Jose is the more unpredictable

personality, his teams are staunchly

conservative compared with Alex’s

attacking side at United. The Cup Final

could very well be between United’s

brilliance and Chelsea’s doggedness.

Alex understood very early that United

are about entertainment as well as

winning. Sir Matt Busby set the bar as

manager and Alex has raised it. His

purchase of Wayne Rooney — a player

to get the fans out of their seats — contrasts with the similar amount,

£24 million, that Chelsea spent on

buying Michael Essien. Both are brilliant

players, but very different. Alex’s teams

go for the throat, using wingers and

youthful exuberance. Chelsea fight,

scrap and keep battling until the very

last minute.

I had some great ding-dongs with Alex

in the Premiership. Manchester United

beat my Newcastle team 6-2

in one game — Paul Scholes was simply

magnificent — and 5-3 in another. But

United also give you a chance. We won

4-3 on one occasion and 3-0 on another.

Unfortunately, I never pitted my wits

against Jose — I was sacked at

Newcastle shortly after he joined

Chelsea — but I know they would have

been very different types of games.

The first time I met Jose at Lisbon

airport, I told him to keep out the way

when I was being photographed

because he was too good-looking. But it

did not take me long to realise he is

more than a handsome face. He is bright, intelligent and a real student of

the game. He is as passionate about

football as Alex is, and that is saying

something. To be honest, I did not

imagine Jose would be as successful as

he has been. Who could have predicted

a "rookie" could win the Champions

League, UEFA Cup and four consecutive

league titles in Portugal and England?

That is staggering and now he is 90

minutes away from adding the FA Cup

to his collection.

The Final is really too close to call. Jose

will be desperate that his matchwinner,

Didier Drogba, is fit to balance

out the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Without Drogba, Chelsea would not

have been able to fight for trophies on

four fronts this season.

Ronaldo is a typical, young Portuguese

flair player — full of talent and heart.

We are football-mad in this country but

in Portugal, they are not interested in

cricket, rugby, horse-racing, golf or

tennis. Football is their only obsession

and kids there still play on the streets

rather than rush inside to the computer.

Ronaldo represents the spirit of

Portuguese football — and of United.

I know some people are bored with

the big clubs reaching the FA Cup Final

but this is a dream match to open

the new Wembley. The league

table does not lie. These are

the best two teams in the

country, by a distance.

Chelsea are more capable

than anyone of stopping Sir

Alex Ferguson’s men. But if,

and it is a big if, both

teams are at their very

best, I would take

United, with their extra

firepower, to steal the glory.

The Englishmen who hold the key to victory at the new Wembley

We all know about Ferguson

and Mourinho, Drogba and

Ronaldo. But it is fitting that the

first FA Cup Final at the new

Wembley also features some

highly-influential English

players on both sides.

THE STOPPERS

Rio Ferdinand v John Terry

England's top two could

not be more different. Terry loves

tackling and blocking.

Chelsea’s defence wobbled

this season when he was injured

and they started keeping clean

sheets when he returned.

Ferdinand likes being on the

ball, is comfortable coming

forward and can be the

springboard for many United

attacks.

He has eradicated a lot of the

daft mistakes that he was once

prone to but he cannot afford to

lose concentration on Saturday

with Didier Drogba about.

THE CREATORS

Paul Scholes v Joe Cole

Cole is a dribbler, Scholes a

passer. What they have in

common is the ability to cause

panic in opposition defences.

Without Cole Chelsea’s

attack can be a bit predictable.

He loves running at defenders

which creates space for others.

Scholes is on the ball more than

anyone else in the United team

and he still has the quality to do

a job for England. Strikers must

love him; if they make a run,

Scholes will find a way to

thread a ball through.

THE FINISHERS

Wayne Rooney v Frank

Lampard

Not traditional No 9s but both

are 20-goal-a-season men.

Lampard is a midfielder but his

goal tally would shame most

strikers. His energy levels are

remarkable and United will not look forward to picking

him up on one of his

lung-busting runs in

the 90th minute.

Rooney was

always a scorer of

great goals, now he

is showing signs of

being a great

goalscorer. He is

improving and learning

about the art of finishing chances.