Veron wins his freedom of expression

Considering that his nickname is "Little Witch", perhaps Juan Sebastian Veron should have foreseen that his arrival at Manchester United would upset the Gods. Or should that be Le God? Eric Cantona may be long gone, but his memory is still fresh in the minds of the club faithful. As a result, any player who is touted as the new king of Old Trafford risks falling on his sword.

Had it not been for his strength of character, Veron would almost certainly have been a Premiership failure. But the Argentinian was determined to step out of Cantona's long shadow. As he calmly points out, ahead of today's Worthington Cup final against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, he was not responsible for any of the hype that surrounded his record transfer from Lazio in the summer of 2001. Instead, the fans appointed him as the natural heir to the legendary Frenchman.

With a reputation as one of the best creative midfielders in the game, not to mention a price tag of £28.1m, Veron was seen as the missing piece in Sir Alex Ferguson's post-Cantona jigsaw. However, the expected magic did not materialise, and the new recruit was soon a target for supporters up and down the land – including his own. The Little Witch was being hunted. "I didn't play well last year," admits a relaxed and confident Veron, "so criticism was to be expected. The club paid a lot of money for me, but I didn't perform to the level I knew I could. Under those circumstances, people had a right to be critical."

Having answered his doubters with a series of excellent performances this season (the most recent of which came on Tuesday in the 3-0 Champions' League demolition of Juventus), Veron can afford to be candid about his troubled start in England. "The average fan has an opinion, and is bound to be unhappy if I am not producing the goods," the 28-year-old says. "There were a series of events which all came together to make life a little difficult last year, but this season, I feel better. I can express myself better on and off the field.

"What's most important is that I now know the language a lot more. When you join a group of players who have spent a long time together – a well-established unit who have known each other since they were kids – it is quite difficult, however friendly they are, to integrate. I feel more part of the set-up now and that's made all the difference on the pitch."

Sir Alex is not one for pandering to the stars, even those who have cost him a small fortune, so when the Scot refused to waver in his belief in Veron, you knew the Argentinian would come good. "Seba is a fantastic player," Ferguson says. "He is always looking for the ball and then, when he has it, he drives forward. But what I like most about him is his resilience. Not once last season did his head go down."

Veron concurs with the latter part of his manager's praise: "The criticism annoyed me a little bit but it never affected me," he says. "It was only hurtful when it got personal, like the time I was alleged to have argued with my team-mates and then stormed out after the Champions' League semi-final defeat by Bayer Leverkusen. That was an absolute invention and it angered me."

The same could be said of the persistent rumours linking Veron with a return to Lazio in Italy. "It really gets on your nerves after a time," he admits, "but I never for one moment thought England would not be for me. I want to see out my current contract with United, and I would even consider ending my career here. I needed a settling-in period, a time to adapt to a different language and lifestyle, but I was always going to stay. I've proved my commitment and now thankfully all the talk has calmed down."

Veron admits that his often difficult upbringing in Argentina helped him cope with the most depressing periods of last season. "When I was growing up," he recalls, "sometimes we had enough money to eat well, sometimes it was a struggle to feed the family. That prepares you, and helps you keep things in proportion. You must not make the mistake of confusing football with life and death. There are lots more important things going on in the world." Not in Italy, there aren't. "That's true," Veron laughs, "and in fact my going to Serie A at a young age was a great life experience. Out there, it is sink or swim. I've learned to cope from those situations."

The spotlight predictably focused on Veron last season, but his indifferent form was actually mirrored by several of his team-mates. Paul Scholes, who is winning his battle for fitness ahead of today's game in Cardiff, had an equally poor campaign, and yet the Englishman received little criticism. It is, Veron concedes, the price of fame. "When you're at the top, you are always a target," he says. "Look at Liverpool. People don't realise that you can't just repeat top performances year after year. We saw last season that form can drop from time to time; it's just something that people have to accept."

Easier said than done for a club who won almost a trophy per season in the Nineties, but have found the Noughties altogether more frustrating. Today is United's first final since that memorable night in Barcelona in 1999. "Look," Veron says, "when you come to a big club you know the level of expectation is high. We are well placed in the League and going well in the Champions' League, so let's not talk of pressure. This final against Liverpool is just a really good opportunity for us to start winning trophies again."

And as far as Veron is concerned, the Millennium Stadium is the perfect stage to demonstrate the full extent of his talents. No one will ever erase Cantona's legacy at Old Trafford, but for the man who sports a tattoo of Che Guevara on his right arm, the Veron revolution could start in Cardiff.

Cardiff confrontations

Michael Owen v Mikael Silvestre

Gérard Houllier's delight at Owen's recent return to goal-scoring form (he has found the net in his last two outings) will have been tempered by the news that Silvestre will be fit for today's game. If anyone can cope with Owen's pace it is the young Frenchman, as he so admirably proved during United's 2-1 win in the League at Anfield back in December.

Dietmar Hamann v Roy Keane

Following years of charging around the pitch, not to mention several bouts of surgery, Keane has resigned himself to a more defensive role. That, of course, has always been Hamann's preferred position, so it will be interesting to see who offers the better cover to their defence and, most crucially, who makes the more telling runs from deep to offer support to their forwards.

Sami Hyypia v Ruud van Nistelrooy

If there is one thing Liverpool do well, it is defend in numbers. Equally, though, Van Nistelrooy thrives on trying to break down mean rearguards. If Liverpool are going to keep the United striker quiet, Hyypia will have to mark the Dutchman very closely and prevent him from turning. Easier said than done, as Van Nistelrooy has already scored 30 goals this season.