The first all-English Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea could be a feast of high quality soccer. Or it could be just another Premier League game.With at least 50,000 fans headed for Moscow, it likely will be a security and logistical nightmare.

United and Chelsea have a wealth of talent to make it a memorable final at the Luzhniki Stadium with the like of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs on one side taking on Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko and Nicolas Anelka on the other.

Despite the Russian setting, however, the teams could turn it into just another domestic game, as if they were playing at Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

The fact that Chelsea beat United 2–1 last weekend to draw level on points at the top of the Premier League adds more spice, even though the domestic title race would have been decided 10 days before the May 21 final.

That means one of the teams will go to Moscow as champion and the other as likely runner-up.
While United have been collecting domestic league and cup titles on a regular basis since Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford in 1986, Chelsea have become a major contender since Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich bought control four years ago.

"We won the Premier League two years running and we've won other trophies and it takes a great side to do that," said Blues captain, John Terry. "But a Champions League trophy would answer a few critics and it is something I am desperate to win.

"Until recently, we were not a club to challenge for everything. We'd win the occasional trophy like the FA Cup in 1997 and 2000, but we were never a problem for the like of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, who have done well over the years. But they've all had to start somewhere and now we're at the beginning of that stage."
Chelsea could top all by beating United in the final of European soccer's most prestigious club competition.

United have been in two finals before and won them both, the last under Ferguson in 1999, when they scored two late goals in Barcelona to beat Bayern Munich 2–1.
Under Matt Busby, the Red Devils triumphed 4–1 over Portugal's Benfica after extra time at Wembley in 1968, 10 years after his young team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes" lost eight players in the Munich air crash which claimed 23 lives.

The accident came when the team were on a stopover after a European Cup game against Red Star Belgrade, and the victims would be remembered when the team face Chelsea in this year's final.
A United victory in Moscow would serve as a tribute to the memories of those stars, who were considered potentially big rivals to the great Real Madrid team that won the first five European Cups.
If United, now owned by Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner, Malcolm Glazer and his sons, is to capture a third title, Ronaldo will need to play a major role.

The Portuguese star has scored 38 league and Cup goals this season. But he has failed to hit the target in his last four, including the two Champions League semi-final games against Barcelona and the Premier League loss to Chelsea. He has gained a reputation for not producing his best performances in the biggest games.

Ronaldo, who has just won his second Player of the Year award in two years from his fellow pros, believes his best is yet to come.
"I'm the top scorer in the Champions League and I hope to score more in the final," he said. "It's normal that when you get a lot of goals, you get a lot of headlines. But all the players are involved in that and we all want to do what's best for the club and we do our best to make sure that happens. As much as I work for the goals, so does Rooney, so does Tevez."

Meanwhile, the English fans who want to get to Moscow to watch the game are already finding that hotel rooms are full and there are very few seats left on scheduled flights.

Getting to Moscow from England by road would be very difficult because of the distance and having to cross borders, so the only alternative appears to be charter flights that get the fans to the city on the day of the game and fly them back after it finishes.
UEFA is holding talks with organisers and officials from both teams in Moscow, and there are hopes that the Russians will waive the need for fans to have to apply for visas if they have genuine tickets for the final.

But there are fears that many fans will try and buy tickets second-hand online or buy them from scalpers.
"I would very much discourage them. There would be absolutely no guarantee that the tickets would be bona fide tickets," said UEFA spokesman, William Gaillard.

"There will be electronic turnstiles, which will reject tickets which are counterfeit. At the same time, every ticket has a number on which it identifies a person, so you will find yourself in a bit of a mess if suddenly you are in possession of a ticket which should not be yours."
Meanwhile, thousands of English football fans face potential travel nightmare getting to Moscow for the Champions League final, reports said Thursday.

Getting Russian visas will likely be complicated for the May 21 match between English Premier League leaders Manchester United and Chelsea, while flights are already booked up and accommodation in the Russian capital risks being prohibitively expensive.
Even the fact that Chelsea are owned by Russian tycoon, Roman Abramovich, will not necessarily ease the situation for the club's fans.

Chelsea defeated Liverpool 3–2 last Wednesday to secure a final berth for the first time.
UEFA officials voiced confidence last Thursday that any travel difficulties for an estimated 40,000 English fans planning to travel to Moscow could be overcomed within the three weeks before the game.

"We have no specific worries or problems," UEFA director of Communications, William Gaillard told Sky Sports Television.
"I think both clubs have developed a tradition of travelling abroad and both clubs are very well organised."
But hopes that visa requirements could be suspended were scotched last week when the Russian Foreign Ministry contradicted Moscow’s Mayor, Yury Luzhkov, who had said fans could attend the match without obtaining Russian entry visas.

And The London Guardian newspaper reported that diplomatic tensions between London and Moscow -- plunged into the deep freeze by the killing of Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006 -- risked complicating the visa arrangements.

"The vast majority of fans will be outraged. This ought to be a sporting occasion and nothing to do with politics," Jon Keen of the Football Supporters' Federation told the daily, adding that UEFA should relocate the final to Britain unless visa problems were resolved soon.
The paper also said fans were struggling to find flights and hotels for the game, with flights to Moscow costing more than £1,500 ($3,000) (2,000 euros).

The Times newspaper, meanwhile, said that English fans would be forced to pay an extra visa charge after the Russian Embassy in London outsourced the job of meeting the expected surge in applications.
It said the British-based Russian National Tourist Office would impose an extra £20 charge on top of the usual £45 fee for a visa for the expected 40,000 applicants.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it would clarify visa arrangements after last Wednesday's Chelsea–Liverpool match, although it insisted its London Embassy "would examine all the visa bids from the supporters in proper time.
"We would also like to stress that our visa procedures are much easier than the demands of the British Embassy for the Russian fans, who want to support their squads in Britain," it said in a statement.