Ryan Giggs v Mehmet Scholl

Ryan Giggs

Now 27, Giggs signed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford the morning after the first leg in which United's collective sense of disenchantment was personified in a curiously muted display from the Welshman. The contract will keep Giggs at Manchester United until he is 32 and it is difficult not to wonder why an intelligent, mature individual would not want to test himself elsewhere.

That was certainly one of the neutral's thoughts as Giggs put pen to paper, although he could counter that familiarity has made people forget his massive contribution to the successful Ferguson years. In Europe the familiarity is understandable: tonight will be Giggs' 57th European Cup game.

Although Giggs often sets the tempo for United at home, a valid question is how many of those matches have definitively belonged to Giggs. That may sound simplistic, but great players do make the difference. Ferguson said yesterday that he doubted Giggs' physical fitness in the first leg but on Saturday Giggs was great when running at Coventry City. Can he intimidate the Germans in such a manner? Giggs needs a big game to reaffirm his credentials.

Mehmet Scholl

Aged 30, Scholl showed at Old Trafford that he retains the sprightliness of youth with his darting angled runs and unselfish roaming behind the Bayern attack. Like Giggs, he has been at his club a long time - since 1992 - and Scholl's creative longevity, and positional flexibility, should be examples to the Welshman. Also like Giggs, Scholl is recently tied to a long-term contract that will keep him at Bayern until he retires - in 2004.

Current German Footballer of the Year, Scholl's impressive movement in Manchester was one of the reasons Stefan Effenberg and Jens Jeremies had an outlet when pressurised in possession. Scholl, as acknowledged by his club president Franz Beckenbauer, is having his best-ever season.

Born in Germany to Turkish parents, Scholl has become a national figure in two countries, winning 35 Germany caps. Perhaps this accounts for his high self-opinion. Once asked why he had not moved abroad, Scholl replied: "Bayern have blocked all offers for me from overseas. They know I am the type of player who can decide games in our favour." Ryan hopes: not tonight, Mehmet.