Defense

Chiellini – currently plays for Juventus in Serie A, a highly rated centre back. He is younger, and would do well in United’s back four. Might be easy to prey from Juventus do to the clubs poor run this season, especially with the temptation of Champions League action.

Miacon – currently plays for Inter Milan in Seria A, rated as a top right back in the world. Responsible for Inter’s recent success in the Champions League, by holding off many attacks. He is 28, but comes with experience that is needed and relative youth compared to the rest of United’s right back options.

Midfield

Relatively, United’s midfield is fairly solid, there is decent depth with Park, Nani, Anderson,Hargreaves and company. However, there is not one player that has been able to step into the creativity side that C. Ronaldo fulfilled. This is why United should pursue the following players:

Gourcuff – currently playing for Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1, and has demonstrated that he can create play. An attacking midfielder who has an eye for the game, and can anticipate.

Misimovic – currently playing for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, and perhaps one of the few reasons that the club is not doing worse the midtable. Fellow Bosnian international Dzeko, and Brazilian Grafite might be credited with Wolfsburg title win last season, but it was Misimovic pulling the strings.

Ribery – currently playing for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, fast paced and always on the run trying to create play. The French international is looking to move from Bayern this summer, but his price tag is going to be high. Not to mention that the likes of Real Madrid are also in pursuit of him.

Robben – plays for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga as well, and perhaps a more affordable target. Has a fast pace, and a powerful kick with either his right or left leg. The Dutchman saved Bayern against Fiorentia, and helped the club advance past United in the Champions League.

Attack

Dzeko – currently plays for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, and a top rated striker. Last season helped Wolfsburg win the league title, and this season continues to be a scoring threat with 18 goals, 2nd in the league. He does come with a price tag of 40 million, but is youthful and experienced.

Aguero – currently plays for Atlético Madrid in La Liga, and is a dream signing. This striker can play alone, or along side a partner, and loves to go wide. Continues to be a serious scoring threat in La Liga, and could be an easy signing if Atletico Madrid’s financial problems do not improve.

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As part of the deal, which will not become official until July 1, Manchester United said it would play the opening match at the new 45,000-seat Chivas stadium in July, and tacitly confirmed earlier reports that it would also play matches in its first summer tour of the United States since 2004. Other terms of the transfer deal were not disclosed.

Hernández, 21, still must obtain a British work permit, which has often proved to be a dicey proposition for players. He is expected to be an important part of Mexico’s team during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which begins on June 11. Hernández is also the leading scorer in the Mexican league, with 10 goals for Chivas in 13 games.

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Bayern’s victory on away goals, after Arjen Robben’s volley saw a pulsating and ultimately rancorous quarter-final finish 4-4 on aggregrate, means there will be no English club in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in seven years and Ferguson was incensed about the manner in which his team were removed from the competition, despite winning 3-2 on the night. The United manager reported that Rooney would miss Sunday’s Premier League match at Blackburn Rovers after taking several kicks to his injured right ankle but most of his ire was reserved for the way the Bayern players had urged the Italian referee to show Rafael a second yellow card after his 50th-minute pull at Franck Ribéry’s arm.

“They got him sent off,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that and they would have never won if we had 11 men. He [Rafael] is a young boy, inexperienced and there’s a bit of immaturity about what happened but they got him sent off. Typical Germans.”

“That sending off changed the game. I thought they were typical professionals in the way they saw the opportunity and forced the referee. It was only a slight tug at the boy and, Jesus, he was 35 yards from goal.”

“He [Rafael] was having a marvellous game and it’s a tragedy for him but the ref wasn’t going to do anything until they forced him to get a card out. But we’ve seen that before from teams like that.”

Ferguson went on to describe Bayern as “lucky”, asserting that United had been the better team over the two legs.

UEFA has announced that they will not be taking action against Ferguson for his comments.

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The visitors made the most of their advantage and Arjen Robben, the former Chelsea winger, settled the tie with a majestic volley. England, for the first tine since 2003, has no representative in the last four of the Champions League. That outcome had barely been feasible early in the evening.

By the eighth minute, United had scored twice to assume a 3-2 lead on aggregate. The goals arrive effortlessly, yet great deliberation had gone into the shaping of this line-up. There might even have been a tinge of subterfuge to the project.

Wayne Rooney was deemed fit despite having sustained what appeared to be damage to his ankle ligaments in the defeat to Bayern eight days before. His inclusion was not a complete surprise, since rumours of a rapid recovery had been circulating for a little while. Sir Alex Ferguson’s downbeat tone when discussing Rooney’s prospects had simply ensured there would be a fillip for the crowd when the team was confirmed.

The opening reflected that excitement. After three minutes, Rafael knocked the ball in from the right and Rooney laid it off to set up Darron Gibson for the first European goal of his career. He should have been denied it but the Bayern goalkeeper, Hans-Jorg Butt, was peculiarly slow to react as the attempt went past him on his left.

United’s next goal was distinctly more stylish. Antonio Valencia beat the left-back Holger Badtsuber and his cutback was flicked into the net by Nani with the inside of his foot. It was reminiscent of the opener by Joe Cole that set Chelsea on course here last Saturday. Serious harm was done then to United’s prospects of retaining their Premier League title and it was inevitable that there should be consequences.

After championing the readiness of the veteran Gary Neville to cope with the swift Ribéry, Ferguson omitted the right-back, who was not even on the bench. The young Rafael had an impact in his place, although that benefit was wiped away by that red card. Ferguson’s preference for him must have reflected the lack of energy shown by United in their losses to Bayern and Chelsea. Old-timers such as Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs took seats on the bench, while Gibson was brought into the midfield.

The starting line-up also featured Nani and Valencia in an expression of intent, to sweep the play to the visitors with pace on the flanks. Such steps would not necessarily have thrown Ferguson’s opposite number into a panic. Louis van Gaal must have been satisfied of late with his team’s form. Their fragility here must have shocked him.

United were almost carefree. Even when Rooney limped after seeming to land awkwardly he was soon signalling to the bench that he could run off the harm done to his ankle – although it soon emerged that he was in pain. During the interval, Ferguson observed that the opposition were targeting that weak spot and the attacker was replaced in the 55th minute.

Most people would have expected Bayern to be disconsolate by that stage. The tone of Old Trafford had been jubilant when Valencia’s deep cross was lashed past Butt by Nani, who took his second goal with a first-time volley in the 43rd minute. That 3-0 lead, however, was to spread unwise relaxation. Two minutes later a lethargic Michael Carrick did almost nothing to prevent Ivica Olic, the scorer of the winner in Munich, from trimming the lead. Almost immediately, the United goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, did well to reach a curler from Robben that would otherwise have put Bayern ahead on the away goals rule.

The reduction of United to 10 men did not necessarily imply that they would be oppressed constantly. While Ferguson had sent on a defender, John O’Shea in place of Rooney, there was encouragement on the break and Nani, for instance, demanded a good save from Butt in the 63rd minute.

Still, Bayern were heartened and sought the goal that promised to pilot them to the semi-finals. Van der Sar excelled in dealing with a Ribéry drive and a header from Mario Gomez, a substitute, went alarmingly close to the target. There was a sense that these sides cannot help themselves from concocting drama.

The Robben volley that sent Bayern into the lead in the tie was majestic yet United, even when outnumbered, ought to have had him covered as Ribéry dropped a corner kick from the left to the far corner of the penalty area. Once more there was memorable mayhem and surprise in the clash of these clubs, although the suffering was great for United.

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