United chasing a trophy hat-trick

IT may only be August, but Manchester United will tonight bid for their third piece of silverware this season.

The Reds, who have won the Vodacom Challenge on their tour of South Africa and lifted the Community Shield at Wembley, are in Monaco for their UEFA Super Cup clash against FC Zenit St Petersburg.

It is the annual showpiece game between the winners of the Champions League and UEFA Cup, but it is one which United could have done without given their punishing fixture schedule.

This weekend’s league game against Fulham had to be cancelled and will be squeezed into a calendar which will see further postponements in December when United contest the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

While it has been a challenging start to the season for Ferguson, FC Zenit coach Dick Advocaat has had problems of his own.

The reigning Russian champions are in sixth place in their league following a chaotic fixture list caused by their UEFA Cup success in May and Russia’s participation in the finals of Euro 2008 which forced their league to shut down.

Between July 6, when the league resumed, and August 10, Zenit played 10 competitive matches.

Advocaat has strengthened his squad in readiness for Zenit’s first appearance in the Champions League by paying a Russian-record 30 million euros for Portuguese midfield player Danny from Dinamo Moskva.

It is widely believed, however, that the capture of Danny will precede the loss of Andrei Arshavin, who has been linked with a move to Tottenham and a number of other top European clubs.