Manchester United have never had it easy with German teams. It took them until the injury time before United managed to secure a dramatic win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final. After all, the Bavarians came back to haunt United last season, when they knocked-out Sir Alex's side out of the competition.
But like it or not, Fergie will be guiding his team against another German side in the Champions League semi finals but this time around, it will be Schalke. The Royal Blues have literally had a mixed season so far although the decision to bring in Ralf Ragnick as a replacement for Felix Magath has been well received within the team. They have been pretty inconsistent in their domestic duties although scoring five goals at the San Siro certainly justifies their impressive European form.
Nevertheless, here are some of the important aspects that we focused on as Live Soccer TV builds up to the massive clash at the Veltins Arena.
Manchester United And How They Are Lethal With Wayne Rooney On Board
So often has he been described as the 'Next Best Thing' in English football which virtually describes his talent and passion to play football. Sir Alex must have seen something extraordinary in him when he lashed out a huge amount of cash for a youngster in 2004. But there hasn't been too many occasions when Fergie got it wrong right?
The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo prompted the resurgence of Wayne Rooney at club level for United and the level of his performances were so impressive that even the England fans were banking all their World Cup hopes on the former Everton striker. An injury-ravaged ending to the season combining with dismal showings in South Africa placed him in a delicate situation. 'Wazza' was even sent to United States last year, in a bid for him to regain his original goal-scoring form.
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The latter has since found a new lease of life at Old Trafford and seems to be kicking into top form just at the perfect time. But what makes Manchester United's most dangerous player? Probably even Christopher Metzelder has the perfect answer.
The former Real Madrid man seems to have packed himself with lots of knowledge on Wayne Rooney as he said this: "In the return leg against Chelsea, Rooney played as a central striker, a playmaker and sometimes even as a holding midfielder; he dropped deep to lose his markers, he was very agile and we have to defend properly against him when he is between the lines.
To find the perfect word to describe Wayne Rooney's threat would be something difficult to do because he possesses this one-in-a-million Universal threat that allows him express himself at his level best. We all saw what an in-form Wayne Rooney can do when Chelsea faced United.
Frankly speaking, Rooney is the kind of player anybody would love to have on their team simply down to his determination on the field. When he is not attacking, do expect him to be below there closing down the opposition forwards. It's a very fundamental nature of Rooney's game that makes him absolutely lethal on any occasion. And the latter will certainly be a huge part of Sir Alex's plan at the Veltins Arena tonight.
The 'Raul' Factor: Can United Deal With The Former Galactico?
For all we know, Raul could have been forming a deadly partnership with the likes of Rooney, Hernandez and Berbatov in a United shirt right? Yes, the Spaniard was that close of joining the Red Devils last summer before Sir Alex decided that he already had adequate ammunition in the offensive department of his team.
"We do prefer to sign young players as a rule but when you get an opportunity to sign experience 
like that you've got to have a look at it," Ferguson said.
"You can make exceptions for certain players, because experience is so valuable. "We thought the same when we signed Michael Owen, who has been a terrific professional for us, and bringing in Raúl would have been similar to when we managed to get Henrik Larsson for a short time a few years ago.
"We spoke to his agent about a possible move but we already had Javier Hernández by then and, with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen available, we thought we could afford to let the chance pass. If we hadn't had Michael at the club at the time I might well have signed him."
True enough, the Real Madrid legend has been a revelation for Schalke in his first season at the club, scoring 18 goals for the Royal Blues with five of them coming in Europe. But even at 33 years of age, Raul is definitely still a force to be reckoned with. To further justify this statement, please feel free to ask Raul's former teammate, Luis Figo.
While Figo is aware of Schalke's imminent status as underdogs of this clash, he believes that with a player like Raul on the team, anything is possible on any circumstances.
“They are not the best team in terms of quality but they have the ability to surprise you. They are well organised, they play like a team, Raul is very experienced and they are motivated to reach the final.”
The only question that remains would be whether United do have what it takes to stop the Spaniard. After all, Raul has previously scored against the Red Devils during his time with Los Blancos and there will be no need to tell him where the back of the net is. Nemanja Vidic was given a much needed rest in United's last league outing against Everton. Could his return be the perfect boost to stop Raul at the Veltins Arena?
Manuel Neuer: His Chance To Earn A Place At Old Trafford
Times were certainly bad for the German club over the past one week as their talisman Manuel Neuer announced his decision to leave the Bundesliga outfit. While he did not specifically state a club that he will be joining, Manchester United remain as one of the possible destinations for the German International goalkeeper.
The Devils themselves will be having a goalkeeping headache as Edwin Van der Sar prepares for his retirement at the end of the current campaign. And despite being linked to a 'done deal' with David De Gea, Sir Alex Ferguson is apparently a keen admirer of Neuer's capabilities and his international experience with Germany would not do any harm too.
Nevertheless, tonight's game represents the perfect chance for Neuer to showcase his worth and talent to the experienced Manchester United coaching staff. But to be frank, United's downfall would be the only positive alternative in Neuer's chances of joining them. Sounds rather peculiar but that the reality for both him and United as well.
A titanic clash can be expected in Germany later tonight. Despite El Clasico gaining all the attention from Media Organization in recent times, tonight's encounter definitely has the ingredients to be an absolute blockbuster. Will Schalke raise their game to upset all the odds? Or will Sir Alex come up with another of his masterminding tactics to win the game for United? Follow us on Live Soccer TV as we bring you all the relevant build ups to the clash.
