Silvestre uses pace against old admirer

Should Manchester United lose to Liverpool tomorrow, Mikaël Silvestre will still be able to go out for a meal and enjoy his life away from football. When he was at Internazionale, walking the streets after a defeat was impossible; which is why, should Ryan Giggs ask his advice whether to accept an offer to play at San Siro, the answer will be a resounding no.

"There is no comparison," says the Frenchman, who given Wes Brown's lack of fitness is likely to start at the heart of Manchester United's defence in Cardiff. "After losing at home in Milan you don't go out. When we lost 3-0 against Chelsea at home a couple of years ago, I had some friends over from Italy and they couldn't believe that we were applauded off the pitch.

"In Italy this would never happen, you would drive away from the stadium in your car and avoid the fans. One time we were playing Vicenza and we had stones thrown at us; I wasn't injured but my car needed a repair job. It happens a lot of times, you feel the pressure always. That year they threw a motorbike in the crowd, dropping it down from the second tier of the stand to the first. I would think twice before going back there again. One or two players have asked me and I would say no. If Ryan Giggs asked me, I would say no."

Had circumstances been different, Silvestre could have found himself turning out for Liverpool instead of against them; he had played under Gérard Houllier at youth level for France.

"I could easily have joined Liverpool because Gérard Houllier was the first to speak to me but at the time Liverpool were not a strong side and Manchester United were in the Champions' League. My first game for United was against Liverpool; I signed on the Friday and Saturday morning I was playing at Anfield. If there was anger directed at me, I wasn't aware of it.

"Houllier was a good coach from the tactical point of view; he worked on all the details, especially corners and free-kicks. He was an English teacher, wasn't he? And the way he coached was more like a teacher. We were young and it was good for us."

Nevertheless, Silvestre admits he only felt properly part of Manchester United when, after a shaky spell in central defence, he was shifted to left-back to replace Denis Irwin, where his pace and ability to go forward proved crucial ingredients. In November, after United had made a disastrous start to their Champions' League encounter with Basle, he was moved back to central defence in mid-match and looked entirely comfortable. He says that all United's defenders, except Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville, train in a variety of positions.

When facing Liverpool, Sir Alex Ferguson tended to use Neville in central defence to counteract Michael Owen's pace and, if Brown does not recover from a hamstring injury, the task may well fall to Silvestre with John O'Shea likely to move to the left side of defence.

"Owen is more difficult to stop than Shearer. He's quick with both feet, he can slalom around defenders. If you touch him or go strong on him, he can fall and win himself a free-kick and Murphy can score just like he did at Old Trafford a year or so ago. We have to make sure that does not happen again."