Veron tailor-made for Manchester United

There were signs Juan Sebastian Veron might find his spiritual home at Manchester United even if that did not become apparent until the Argentine joined the English premier league champions this season.

For a start, the midfield maestro's father Juan Ramon etched the family name in dark letters at Old Trafford with a goal for Estudiantes de La Plata that consigned United to defeat in the World Club Cup 33 years ago.

Now La Brujita, son of that wizard of the wing, is the man on whom manager Alex Ferguson is pinning his hopes of bringing the European Cup and then the world club crown to United in his swansong season.

Ferguson's way of making a player feel like he is the man -- Eric Cantona in the mid-1990s, Ruud van Nistelrooy for a whole year despite a serious injury -- has left Veron with a debt of gratitude.

And the Argentine has the means -- a wealth of footballing talent -- to pay it back handsomely.

The player now challenging Zinedine Zidane and Figo for the title of the world's best footballer was depressed last season, his integrity called into question by the case of his allegedly false Italian passport.

Ferguson was not put off by the scandal and made Veron know United would wait for him while the Italian courts determined whether the Argentine was involved in the case.

The United boss had good reason to bide his time. In the previous 1999/2000 season Veron had helped then Lazio coach Sven Goran Eriksson orchestrate a brilliant Serie A-winning campaign.

Veron, who was cleared, said: "They put their faith in me and that's something that impressed me. I value that highly.

"Probably few would gamble (in those circumstances) on a player, a person to come and work in this enterprise. That's another of the many things that astonished me about United," he said in an interview with Reuters at the club's Carrington training complex outside Manchester.

When Veron was on the verge of signing for United he told the Argentine daily Clarin: "It was always clear to me -- my priority was to play for Manchester (United). I even gave up a more favourable contract that Inter (Milan) were offering me.

"Now I can't wait. This club has great players like Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, it's a club with big ambitions.

"I will feel that my dream has come true when I put on the shirt of Manchester (United)."

MATURITY

The move to one of football's greatest clubs has slotted perfectly into the well-managed career of Veron -- arguably the best player produced by Argentina since Diego Maradona -- since it comes as he approaches maturity as both a player and a man.

As a kid Veron was a bit of a tearaway who cared only for the ball and going out with girls.

He left school early much to the chagrin of his parents, who had secured a comfortable middle-class lifestyle in La Plata on the back Juan Ramon's success with Estudiantes and later Junior de Barranquilla in Colombia.

But Veron was fortunate to have Carlos Bilardo, Argentina's World Cup-winning coach in 1986 and his father's Estudiantes team mate, as one of his mentors and knew from an early age that he was good at football.

A free spirit, Veron was easy going when it came to deciding on his first move to one of football's biggest institutions from Estudiantes, where he began his career in 1993.

"River Plate or Boca Juniors, I don't mind," the 20-year-old said when asked which of Argentina's big two he would rather play for.

Boca, where Bilardo was coach, won his signature and Veron spent half a season playing alongside a 35-year-old Maradona at the Bombonera, where both will turn out again for the legend's testimonial on November 10.

But then the choices followed thick and fast and Veron does not appear to have made a false step once.

His Italian career, starting with a move to Sampdoria as a 20-year-old in mid 1996, went from strength to strength with him becoming increasingly influential in the engine room of his club sides.

The UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999 and the Serie A title with Lazio in 2000 followed, but the goals dwindled as Veron played in a deeper midfield role. GOALS

Spurred by the Manchester United school of attacking football, a dynamic roving Veron has already found the net four times, from a variety of angles, barely a third of the way into the English premier league season.

His best return in Italy was in his first season with Sampdoria when he scored five.

Forever trying to improve, Veron said: "I don't think a player has a ceiling. Here, as the months go by, English football will give more to my game and I can score more goals than in Italy because the (more open) game in England is like that."

Veron has heard about United's unique history, the legend of the Busby Babes and the tragedy of the Munich air disaster that wiped out more than half that brilliant young team.

"For the history that Manchester United represents in England and in the world, I'm proud to be a part (of the club). There are many (players) who would like to wear the shirt of Manchester United," Veron said.

"Outside England, people don't see that history, but in the last 10 years (United's) image has grown a lot," he said. "I've also got the anecdote that my father played against them in 1968."

A settled 26-year-old with partner Florencia and their two small children, Veron can see himself at United for a long time -- something unthinkable in his younger years of itchy feet.

"Because of my way of being, perhaps I needed to change, but I feel really comfortable here, and I don't see why I shouldn't see out my (four-year) contract," he said.

With recent United star Eric Cantona the man to emulate, Veron could soon be writing his own important chapter in the illustrious history of his new club and help open the door to more Argentines coming to the premier league.

"I hope I can help make it possible for more Argentine players to come here because not many know what it's really like."