LONDON, May 18: The last little piles of sawdust have been swept away, the builders have being paid off and the two biggest acts in the country have been lined up for the grand reopening.

Few places did football as theatre as well as the old Wembley but now, finally, an FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United offers Norman Foster's magnificent new arena the opportunity to start establishing its own treasure trove of tradition and memories.

Of course, if all had gone to plan on the reconstruction front, that honour would have fallen to Liverpool and West Ham 12 months ago.

But few will dispute that it somehow seems right that the two best teams over this season should be occupying centre stage on Saturday.

“We always wanted to be there for the first one,” reflected United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, earlier this week. “I can remember last year when we got knocked out, hoping that it would be delayed.”

Ferguson has rarely flinched in the face of any sort of challenge in a career that has made him the most successful British football manager of his generation.

But the Scot readily admits that he will be peering through his fingers if Saturday's historic match ends up being resolved by penalties.

When Patrick Vieira's final kick in an Arsenal shirt clinched victory over United in the 2005 final, the first to be decided in a shoot-out, it was the fourth time that Ferguson had watched his players suffer the agony of defeat in that fashion.

Never has he seen one of his sides pluck the winning ticket from a spot-kick lottery, and in the build-up to Saturday's match, Ferguson did a good impersonation of a man who believes it might never happen.

“You know my record with penalties — diabolical I think you'd say,” he said with a smile. “We just have to hope it does not get to that stage.”

After a season in which the youthful sparkle of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney has dovetailed perfectly with the Indian summers being enjoyed by Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, United's ability to deliver a spectacle worthy of the day is not in doubt.

Chelsea's creative edge has been blunted for long periods by the injuries that have plagued them in this campaign. But the return of Joe Cole in recent weeks has restored some of the creative spark to Jose Mourinho's side, who will not require any sharpening of their appetite after the chastening experience of handing over their Premiership crown to their opponents on Saturday.

Neville and French striker Louis Saha apart, United will be close to full strength. With defensive lynchpins Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic fully recovered from recent injury problems, Wes Brown is resigned to being shunted out of the centreback slot he has occupied of late to provide cover for Neville at right-back, with Ireland's John O'Shea expected to start on the bench.

Chelsea's injury losses appear to have greater signficance, Mourinho being obliged to do without Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and, most importantly, centreback Ricardo Carvalho, arguably the club's outstanding performer this season.

Nigeria midfielder Mikel John Obi may also miss the opportunity to adorn the Wembley stage while Arjen Robben will be restricted to a cameo role at best.

“We have too many injuries,” the Chelsea manager complained. “But even if we have to have one or two kids on the bench, I believe the players will give everything to win the game.” —AFP