Poll: Could Rio Miss The Champions League Final?

By: Wayne Farry | May 20th, 2009

The main news coming out of Alex Ferguson’s press conference today was quite grave. Simply put, the words from Sir Alex were that if Rio cannot prove his fitness against Hull this Sunday then he won’t play against Barcelona on 27 May. Rio hasn’t played since the CL Semi-Final Second Leg victory against Arsenal and has been out for the past three weeks with a calf strain.

On Sky News, Ferguson said that Rio will hopefully “start training with the squad tomorrow (Thursday)”. Personally, I had no idea how bad his injury was. I would have thought he’s been training with the squad for the last few weeks, just prepping himself for the CL Final. But to hear that he hasn’t even been involved with senior training says a lot itself. So basically, if Rio can’t prove he’s totally fit after a swift run-out against the Tigers on Sunday, then he almost definitely miss the CL Final next Wednesday.

So, if Rio has to miss it – and I hope to a God-like entity he doesn’t – who would you like to see take his place? The obvious candidate is Jonny Evans. The youngster has played thirty four games this season and has had to slot in beside Vida and Rio on many occasions. He’s played well on the whole, but has sometimes looked out of his depth, hardly surprising for a twenty one year old though. He seems to be Fergie’s first choice replacement:

“I’d have no problem with it. I wouldn’t be bothered one bit about selecting Jonny for the final. He has had a fantastic season, the kid. He is 21, and he’s much like Gerard Pique – they grew up together here. It’d be a fitting tribute to our Academy if both players played in the Final. It’d be a nice touch.”

Then there’s Gary Neville, who has also played centre back this season. Now I wouldn’t usually recommend playing Nev in CB but maybe this would be different. First of all, Barca don’t have any huge aerial threats when it comes to their attack. Most of their players are small, slight and nimble, but besides Toure, Eto’o (to an extent) and Keita they don’t have much going on upstairs, and any aerial problems will probably be dealt with by Vida anyway. Also, you can’t beat experience like Neville’s. He has played in the big games and knows how to handle the pressure. And after missing the success of last season through injury, I’d say he’ll be more than ready to make up for it.

There are other candidates too. But really, Evans and Neville are the only ones worth taking into account.

Of course, I still pray that Rio will indeed be fit, he’s such a valuable asset and it will be a huge boost to have him beside Vida at the heart of the backline. But if the Gods look down upon us in anger and he isn’t fit, who should replace him? Then again, maybe your a risk-taker and you’d rather have Rio play for sixty minutes than not at all. Would you risk him for the CL Final? And finally, bear in mind that in the EPL and CL, United have a better record without Rio this season than with him.