Manchester United’s Paul Scholes insists that the risk of missing a second Champions League final will not have an impact on the way he plays in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Milan.
A booking in the second leg of United’s semi-final win over Juventus in 1999 meant Scholes missed the final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
Uefa’s system of two bookings for a suspension also leaves Gabriel Heinze and Cristiano Ronaldo on tenterhooks, but Scholes is unconcerned by the possibility of missing another final due to suspension.
“I won’t let the bookings situation bother me,” he insisted.
“It is just another game and another chance to get to a Champions League final, so I don’t think of it as being more important to get through because of what happened to me last time.
“It is a major tournament, one that every team in Europe wants to be involved in and it still feels the same as the semi-final in 1999. We all want to get there and we all want to win it if we do.”
Seven years ago United travelled to Juventus following a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, while this time around United start a goal ahead on the back their 3-2 first-leg victory.
“It will help having been there before because we know what we are facing,” continued Scholes. “What happened a couple of years ago was a big disappointment, but the likes of Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are a couple of years older now.
“The goal we scored in the last minute of the first game certainly gave us a boost and I suppose there is a possibility it might have disheartened Milan a little bit. I can’t really see that happening though. It is going to be a very tough game and I just hope we can do a bit better than we did last time.”
