UEFA Champions League 2011: Wayne Rooney Will Lead Manchester United to Glory

With the first set of UEFA Champions League fixtures on Tuesday, the hunt for the world's biggest club trophy has begun once again. Unlike last season when Barcelona cruised to victory, Wayne Rooney will lead Manchester United to glory in 2012.

Rooney's goal in the UEFA Champions League Final in May had Manchester United tied with Barcelona at halftime. He didn't receive enough support from his teammates in the second half and the Red Devils eventually lost 3-1.

The emergence of young stars like Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez and Tom Cleverley should go a long way in solving that problem. While L'equip blaugrana are the favorites to maintain the crown, the Red Devils are more than capable of unseating the Spanish super team.

Manchester United should have no problem navigating its group. Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati are no match for Sir Alex Ferguson's powerful squad.

The run toward the final begins now, more than eight months before the final. For United, it begins with a trip to Lisbon, Portugal to take on Benfica. While Rooney and Co. are favored to pick up the win, they aren't overwhelming favorites, so a draw wouldn't be a major shock.

That said, Ferguson will stress the importance of getting off to a quick start. Any slip-up in the group stage could force the long-time manager to overextend his team instead of resting some starters.

Rooney already has eight goals in four Premier League games and might be in the best form of his life. Maybe the new hair gave him that extra boost of self-confidence he needed.

Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid are fully expected to be three of the four semifinalists. Two of those three teams will have to play each other depending on the draw, while the remaining team will play a (comparatively) weaker squad.

If the Red Devils' youth movement continues to produce good results and David de Gea gets over his jitters by the business end of the tournament, they'll have a good shot to win it all.

But, as always, a lot will depend on Rooney. If he can maintain his current form throughout the entire season like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, the Old Trafford warriors should do just fine. He just needs to avoid the slumps he's been prone to in recent seasons.

There's always a lot of pressure on Rooney to perform, so when he goes even a few games without scoring it becomes a major story. Consistency is the key, especially while the younger players continue to grow and learn from the big-game experiences.

Barcelona is the favorite, but don't sleep on Manchester United. They could very well sneak up and steal the show.