Carrick prospers under Mr Motivator

'Fills you with confidence'
"Fantastic" is how Carrick describes the 66-year-old Scot, whose first continental trophy came fully 25 years ago when he led Aberdeen FC to victory over Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. Signed by Sir Alex from Tottenham Hotspur FC in 2006, Carrick has established himself as the metronome in United's midfield, benefiting from the self-belief gained by working under Old Trafford's long-serving manager.

Trust
"He is fantastic - he trusts the players an awful lot which fills you with confidence and that helps you go out and play your football on a matchday to the highest level," Carrick told uefa.com. "He is there if things don't go right and he knows how to react to things. All in all, he has a lot of trust in the players and lets us do our job. His experience is huge and he knows what to say and when to say it. As players, when someone of the calibre of the manager is giving you advice, you certainly listen and you know it is the right thing."

'Very confident'
Carrick, who has missed only one of United's matches en route to Moscow, said the English champions are "very confident" of beating final opponents Chelsea FC. "It's going to be a battle, it is going to be a test for both teams and whoever plays best on the night is going to do it, but we believe that if we play as well as we can, we can beat anyone. We are very confident going into the game." Asked whether we could expect a similar contest to last May's attritional FA Cup final between the sides – low on drama and decided by Didier Drogba's extra-time goal – the 26-year-old replied: "I suppose it depends on how the game starts really." The game might open up, he explained, "if someone gets the first goal pretty early on".

Friend turned foe
A tight match may prove an unavoidable consequence of a final between two rivals who know each other only too well. This applies to Carrick more than most. Like his captain Rio Ferdinand, the England midfielder is a former team-mate of Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Joe Cole at West Ham United FC, having won the FA Youth Cup alongside Cole in 1999. "I still speak to Coley quite a bit," he said of his friend turned foe. "Playing in the youth team with Joe all those years ago, who'd have thought we'd be playing against each other in the Champions League final, but it is great. We are fighting to come out on top."