Anderson: Barca Is My Cup Final

Anderson can't wait for United's Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona, labelling the tie the most important of his life.

The Reds travel to the Catalonian capital next Wednesday for the first leg of their last four tie, before hosting Frank Rijkaard's side at Old Trafford six days later.

Anderson, who has become an integral member of United's squad since signing last summer, is relishing the challenge of testing himself against one of the world's best teams.

"It is like a final for me," he declared. "Playing against Barcelona is the most important game of my life - it is like the final of the Champions League.

"In fact, I think it is a sort of final as we are the two teams with the best record in this season's competition."

The Brazilian midfielder says he is loving life at Old Trafford and admits he's never worked as hard in his career.

"You have to think about football 24 hours a day here," he says. "We have a great squad, but the one difference is that you work a lot more here. I have never worked so hard before as the training sessions are very tough.

"I joined United straight after playing in the Copa America with Brazil and the contrast was difficult, but that is normal. It was the same when I went to Porto. Cristiano Ronaldo has helped me a lot to adapt and others like [Patrice] Evra, [Michael] Carrick, [Wes] Brown and [Gerard] Pique have all made life easier. I'm very happy."