Rodríguez ready to realise ambition

Cynics may scoff at Manchester United FC's styling of Old Trafford as the 'Theatre of Dreams' but you will not find FC Porto wide man Cristián Rodríguez among them.

'Motivating factor' 
The 23-year-old Uruguayan described stepping out at the home of Manchester United FC as being in the realms of fantasy as he looked forward to his team's UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg encounter with the titleholders. "It is the dream of every player to play in a game like this," Rodríguez said. "Playing against the champions is definitely a motivation."

Confidence
Rodríguez is expected to start on the left side of the visitors' attack against United, lending support to six-goal central striker Lisandro. An ever-present for the Portuguese league leaders in Europe this term, he exuded calm as he repeated the word "tranquilo" several times while responding to Portuguese journalists' questions in his native Spanish. His hope must be that Porto will produce a similarly composed display under the Old Trafford floodlights. "The team are working hard and we feel confident," he said. "We have improved and learned from our mistakes and tomorrow we will try to make a start and enjoy the occasion."

Impressive results
Porto's results on their travels back up his thoughts about learning from mistakes. Since losing their first away fixture of this UEFA Champions League campaign 4-0 at United's Premier League rivals Arsenal FC, Jesualdo Ferreira's men have performed impressively, recording 2-1 successes at FC Dynamo Kyiv and Fenerbahçe SK in the group stage before earning a 2-2 draw at Club Atlético de Madrid that set up an eventual away-goals triumph. Add an eight-match winning sequence on their travels in the Portuguese Liga – better than José Mourinho managed with the side – and you can understand why Rodríguez sounds undaunted by the prospect of an evening at the 'Theatre of Dreams'.