Giggs : We can rule Europe

United have been undoubted rulers of the English game in the Premier League era, but Ryan Giggs believes the continental schooling undertaken by the current squad could see the Reds reign in Europe for years to come.

First up, the wise old Welshman is targeting a second Champions League triumph in as many seasons. The Reds would be the first club to retain the trophy and Giggs feels victory over Barcelona could see the dawn of an era of dominance on the European stage.

“Everything is in place,” he said on Wednesday. “The age of the team is relatively young if you take out me, Nev, Scholesy and Edwin.

"We’ve proved this season that we can get to the final again, and hopefully that gives us the confidence to carry on and dominate. That’s what we’ve done in our own league and we want to do that in Europe. We’ve got everything in place to do that.”

Barcelona will no doubt have similar designs of taking up residence on European football’s throne, and Giggs believes there couldn’t be a tougher final opponent.

“This match determines the best club in Europe this season,” he said. “It’s the two best teams in England and Spain, and also from performances in the Champions League.

"It’s the dream final, two fantastic, massive clubs who play football the right way. Everyone’s looking forward to it, including the players.”

That United have reached consecutive finals is no stroke of luck. The emergence from the harsh lessons of semi-final defeat to AC Milan in 2005 has only made the team stronger.

For Giggs, already into his thirties at that point, it was just a case of putting his faith in Sir Alex allowing the team to evolve.

“We had the players to get to a Champions League final then,” Giggs adds. “But the likes of Wayne [Rooney] and Cristiano [Ronaldo] had just come to the club. They hadn’t matured into the world class players they are now.

"With the players the manager has brought in, we’ve just got better and better since. From the first trophy this team won - the League Cup where we beat Wigan - we’ve gone from strength to strength.

“I just put my trust in the manager. He’s won so much. At that time we were saying the team was evolving and we were trying to get the age of the team down. That takes time. We probably did it quicker than we thought we would.”