Sir Alex Ferguson can seal his legacy in Moscow

And so finally, he's got another shot at it.

Another shot at the one that keeps him awake at night.

Another go at winning the big one, the one he knows will cement his place in the history of the game he loves so much.

After all these years of trying, one more chance to go with the opportunity he got in Barcelona nine years ago.

The opportunity he got and the opportunity he took.

That's why when Sir Alex Ferguson stared disaster in the face last night, disaster backed down.

United's season did not fizzle out in defeat here as so many had begun to fear it would. Instead, the Champions League-Premier League double is still on.

Because on a nerve-jangling night at Old Trafford, Ferguson banished the Champions League semi-final curse that has afflicted him for so long. Even though United were outplayed by a vibrant Barcelona side, they inched past them to take their place in what will be the first all-English final.

For Ferguson, it means the opportunity to cement his place in history and become one of a select few managers who has won this competition twice.

If United overcome Chelsea or Liverpool in Moscow three weeks from now, his critics will no longer be able to damn him with the faint praise.

They will no longer be able to say his legacy was incomplete because United's victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona was his solitary success.

He has the chance now to put himself in the same bracket as men like Ottmar Hitzfeld, Carlo Ancelotti, Helenio Herrera and close the gap on Bob Paisley.

Ferguson knows that now this psychological barrier has been negotiated, United should be the favourites when they walk out at the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21. It's a chance to make up for lost time, to create the European dynasty he hoped would follow United's victory in the Nou Camp.

European competition is the one arena where there are still grey areas in Ferguson's greatness. It's the one part of his glorious reign where contradictions and doubts seep through.

It has a special place in United hearts because it is so closely associated with the pioneering achievements of Sir Matt Busby.

And yet it is also the solitary weak point in the fortress of their dominance of English football in the last 15 years.

Because Ferguson has only won it once in his 22 years in charge, the club's failures in Europe are a consolation prize for their domestic rivals.

Liverpool fans sing about winning the competition five times with particular relish when they visit Old Trafford.

Former Scouse favourite Robbie Fowler once responded to baiting from the United crowd by holding five fingers up to them to drive home his point about their inferiority.

The manager's record in Europe means that his decisions are bound to come under more scrutiny when the big nights roll around.

And the absence of Wayne Rooney against Barcelona raised more awkward questions about why Ferguson risked him at Chelsea on Saturday when he was already carrying an injury.

Those questions multiplied in the opening 10 minutes when United could hardly get a kick. Barca played through them and around them, looking a class above Ferguson's team in the same way AC

Milan had done in the semi-final second leg in the San Siro last season.

Lionel Messi was untouchable in those early stages and came within an inch of winning a penalty straight from the kick off when he was hacked down by Scholes on the edge of the box.

Then Scholes struck out of nowhere and colour flooded back into their pale faces.

But United continued to wobble and Messi continued to dazzle. If it was a nervous night, it was magnificent, too. A real clash of European aristocrats.

A night when it became obvious that if Ronaldo's the closest thing we've had to George Best, Messi's got to be closest thing we've had to Diego Maradona.

In the stands, Ferguson winced and writhed each time United missed an opportunity to put the tie out of reach.

But it didn't matter. Barcelona could not find a way past and Ferguson has his date with destiny.