WHEN Bruce Rioch became manager of Middlesbrough in 1986, Alex Ferguson had not even begun his glittering reign at Manchester United.
More than two decades later their paths will cross tonight when United travel to Denmark to face Rioch's Aalborg BK in a Champions League clash that they dare not lose.
Their respective journeys to this point in their careers could not have been m
ore different.
While Rioch has been employed by seven clubs since leaving Middlesbrough in 1990, with varying degrees of success, Ferguson has become king of Old Trafford and one of the greatest managers of all time.
Ferguson has won ten Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues and five FA Cups in his 22 years at the helm. Former Scotland captain Rioch has pitched up at Millwall, Bolton Wanderers, Arsenal, Norwich City, Wigan Athletic and Odense.
The 61-year-old was the last manager of Arsenal before Arsene Wenger arrived and while his season in charge was disappointing he will always be remembered as the man who signed Dutch maestro Dennis Bergkamp for the Gunners.
It has been a low-profile existence for Rioch, but tonight he will get the chance to share the spotlight and turn up the heat on European champions United who have begun the defence of their crown poorly.
While Danish champions Aalborg won plaudits for drawing their opening Group E fixture against Celtic in Glasgow with ten men, United struggled to a 0-0 draw with Villarreal at Old Trafford. They desperately need a win to kickstart their campaign.
Rioch can boast victories on his previous two home fixtures against Ferguson's United, one with Middlesbrough and one with Arsenal, and he is relishing the challenge of continuing that record after drawing with Celtic. "We've put the cat among the pigeons already," said Rioch in the build-up to the match at the club's modest 16,000-seater stadium.
Ferguson praised his fellow Scot's marvellous achievements at Middlesbrough. "Bruce must have been disappointed at how things worked out at Arsenal but for me his biggest managerial success was the job he did at Middlesbrough," Sir Alex said. "At the time they were in receivership. I was up there quite a lot trying to buy Gary Pallister and together with Colin Todd, he resurrected a whole club with young players, which was a fabulous achievement."
United, who lost the last time they played in Denmark two years ago to FC Copenhagen, will be boosted by the return to fitness and form of Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Ferguson will make changes from the side which beat Bolton in such controversial circumstances, with one inevitable as skipper Gary Neville has remained at home to rest a thigh strain.
After so long on the sidelines, Ferguson now expects his captain to only be available for one game a week.
The position regarding Owen Hargreaves is less straightforward as the former Bayern Munich man is still troubled by a knee injury which first bothered him before his £18 million move from Germany.
The full article contains 513 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
