Poborsky keen to check up on Veron

Born in Trebon, in thickly forested Bohemia, he grew up in the woods and valued a quieter life than the one offered by the celebrities in the United dressing room. "At Old Trafford you had to accept that you were part of a great club and were expected to mix and talk to people," he said.

"That wasn't my style. I wanted a simpler life. I'd rather earn less and be my own person."

Now 31, his tour of Europe has taken him to Benfica in Portugal, Lazio in Italy and now Sparta, where he's team captain and idolised by the locals. Bidding for their ninth Czech title in 11 years, their European experience is limited. Last year they went out of the Champions League in the qualifying stage to Genk before being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by unfancied Turkish team Denizlispor.

"The Champions League is about testing yourself against the best and that's what we're doing," said Poborsky, who sports a much tidier haircut these days. "Chelsea are one of the most glamorous clubs in Europe and I'm thrilled that we have a chance to measure our progress against such a team."

Poborsky, a goalscoring star for the Czech Republic in the win over Holland that clinched Euro 2004 qualification last week, is particularly relishing his midfield clash with another former United star who failed to settle at Old Trafford.

He played alongside Juan Sebastian Veron - and Hernan Crespo - in Rome with Lazio. "I really enjoyed playing with Juan," he said. "He was a great player in Italy and it will be tough playing against him. Technically he's strong and has got a strong on-field presence. I've already told my team-mates how dangerous he can be."

Such are the top-quality options available to Claudio Ranieri that even players of the calibre of Veron and Crespo are not guaranteed starting places. The Chelsea coach has bought 21 players with him and any combination would produce a team capable of beating the Czech champions.

You sense that the stream of new arrivals complicates matters for Ranieri, a coach who places far greater emphasis on the strength of the unit rather than any of the individual parts.

Last night, for instance, on a mellow autumn evening Crespo trained with his team-mates for just the third time, in the 20,000-capacity Sparta Stadium. It was Claude Makelele's second training session. Would he play them? "It's a risk, isn't it?" he smiled.

"Maybe in one or two years Chelsea will be among the favourites, but at the moment we are simply a curiosity in Europe."

Even so, I would expect them to win tonight and add to the misery that accompanied Sparta's first domestic defeat of the season at the weekend.