Martin Samuel: Can Manchester United retain the European Cup?

Sometimes footballers are so busy playing that the details pass them by. Take Rio Ferdinand. Outstanding defender, probably the long-term captaincy choice for England and Manchester United but not so hot on football history.
Ferdinand said if this Manchester United team are to be regarded as great they must retain the European Cup. A tall order, that. Ferdinand, understandably, is too busy starring in record books to read them.
Keeping club football’s greatest prize in its modern incarnation would not mark United as great, but as the greatest. No team have managed it since the Champions League format was introduced in 1993 and the last team to win the competition in consecutive seasons was AC Milan in 1989 and 1990. Real Madrid won three Champions League titles in five seasons between 1998 and 2002, but none was retained, while Milan, Ajax and Juventus returned to the final a year after winning the trophy, without success.
The previous four defending champions (Milan, Barcelona, Liverpool and FC Porto), far from conquering all, were each knocked out in the last 16. There is nothing wrong in Ferdinand reaching for the stars, but unifying the European and domestic titles in one season already puts United among the greats; to do so again would afford them a unique place in sport’s firmament.
So can Manchester United retain the European Cup? E-mail your responses below.
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