Fergie eyes United greatnes

Sir Alex Ferguson believes his current Manchester United crop will join the pantheon of great sides should they become the first to successfully defend the Champions League.

United go head-to-head with Barcelona in Rome on Wednesday night 12 months on from being crowned European champions against Chelsea in Moscow.

No team has successfully defended Europe's premier club competition since it was re-branded in 1992.

"Nobody has retained the trophy," said Ferguson. "But we're good at firsts. We have an opportunity to repeat that.

"It's interesting - unusual - that nobody has retained the trophy since the Champions League started.

"It was done regularly in the sixties and seventies. There were cycles of great teams, like Ajax, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. We have an opportunity to change that. I hope we take it."

Meanwhile, Ferguson believes that United will be driven on to succeed by the feeling that they have under-achieved in Europe during his lengthy reign.

Despite perennially appearing in the later rounds of the Champions League, United have only tasted glory on two occasions - in 1999 and 2008.