ALEX FERGUSON faces taking Manchester United into the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona this evening without half of his usual defence. Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown were both conspicuous by their absence when United trained at Camp Nou last night and the two defenders will need to pass late fitness tests if they are to face Frank Rijkaard's team.
Vidic missed the entire session for treatment of the knee injury suffered in the quarter-final against Roma three weeks ago and he is also suffering from a stomach bug. Brown was able to take part in some light jogging but watched from the sidelines as the first-team bibs were handed out for a practice match.
Ferguson is still hopeful that both players will be available but their inability to train will cause consternation ahead of a game in which he expects United's defence to be put under sustained pressure.
Vidic in particular is hugely important for United, his partnership with Rio Ferdinand being one of the principal reasons why the team have the best defensive statistics in English football.
His place in training yesterday was taken by Gerard Pique, a former Barcelona youth team player, while John O'Shea filled in for Brown at right-back.
The fit-again Mikael Silvestre is also available but playing him would be a major gamble given that he has started only one match since recovering from a serious knee injury that ruled him out for seven months.
Pique's involvement would also worry many United supporters. The 21-year-old is inexperienced at this level and Ferguson intends to give Vidic as long as possible to prove his fitness.
The Serbian international will undergo medical tests today and has indicated that, if he is permitted to by the club's doctors, he would play even if he is not feeling fully fit. That, however, would represent another gamble, with United playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in a match that will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the Premier League.
While recognising the deadly attacking brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and the rest, the real reason for United's success this season is not their 101 goals in all competitions so far. It is their defence, and the debate ends with a look at the statistics.
In the 51 matches Ferguson's team have played in all competitions this term, they have conceded only 29 goals and kept 28 clean sheets. Only five teams have scored twice in a match against them, and no opponents have managed three or more.
Take a bow, then, Edwin van der Sar, Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Vidic and Patrice Evra. Congratulations should also go to their occasional understudies, but the first-choice quintet - with Brown deputising all season for the injured club captain, Gary Neville - have earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the defensive line-up on which Ferguson's long era of success was founded.
Fifteen years ago, when United took the domestic championship for the first time in more than a quarter of a century, their back four and goalkeeper of Peter Schmeichel, Paul Parker, Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and Denis Irwin cost Ferguson just under £6 million (€7.5m). This back five cost £42.5 million (€53m) to assemble.
