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Sir Alex blames bad luck in United’s CL ouster

Comment: 0 February 15th, 2012 by: admin

SIR Alex Ferguson claimed bad luck caused their elimination from the Champions League this season as Manchester United prepared to meet Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday.

The Red Devils’ appearance in the second-tier Europa League are their first outside the CL since 1995 as Ferguson rued not in the hunt this term in the battle for the continent’s Holy Grail.

“I feel we had the ability to go all the way to the final but luck wasn’t on our side,” he told FIFA.com prior to their trip to Amsterdam. “But I think we’ve got the ambition to compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid, and I don’t feel we’re that far away from them. I’m sure we’ll show that soon.”

The Red Devils figured in the CL final three times in the past four seasons but failed this term. They were unable to get past the group stage after losing crucial points drawing and eventually losing to Basel.

They will be tackling Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in a round-of-32 first leg encounter. It will be their first outing at this level of European competition since they saw action in a UEFA Cup tie against Rotor Volgograd of Russia in 1995-96 when they were dispatched on away goals in the first round.

After that, they rebounded in a big way, having 16 straight seasons in the CL. They won the tournament in 1998 and 2008 and were the losing finalists in 2009 and last season.

United face Ajax with renewed confidence because they are in a strong position to retain their Premier League title. After whipping Liverpool 2-1 last Saturday, they are just two points behind rivals Manchester City with 13 matches left to play.

“We’ve had our ups and downs and we’ve been unlucky with injuries,’’ added Ferguson, “but we’re fighting hard to win the premiership against and there’s a lot of merit in that. Obviously I’m optimistic about our chances.’’

Among those expected to shine again for United is veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs.

The 38-year-old playmaker, who has been without injury this season, has made more appearances for United than anyone and will shoot for a milestone on Thursday when he plays his 900^th match for the club.

Giggs earlier announced he would be signing a new contract with United that will keep him with the squad till the end of the season.

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