United's new signing Beto Naveda last night relived the tragedy which changed his perspective on derby football forever. The 28-year-old striker will go into Saturday’s SPL clash with Dundee desperate to continue the good start he made with last week’s goal at Motherwell. However, as he freely admits, after what he experienced in his native Argentina he is never going to subscribe to the Bill Shankly wisdom which has it, "Football is not a matter of life or death-It’s more important than that." "Though I love derby football, I know the most important thing is that everyone involved is safe and not in fear of their life," said Naveda. "Derbies will produce passion wherever they are played but in Argentina things are much more dangerous. "Robberies and guns are not uncommon and even with crowds of up to 80,000 at the games no-one who goes to the match can truly say that they are safe.

"I was with Boca Juniors three years ago when our fans killed two River Plate fans in the streets after a bad home defeat and it made me wonder if this was a country where I should be playing my football. "Of course, a lot of fuss was made about the deaths and how the violence had to stop. In the end, though, there is not that much they can do, for it is the not just the problem of football, it is the problem of the country. "Argentina is a dangerous place where a lot of people die before their time. It is sad but is also true. "I have a wife and a young child so for me the most important thing is to be safe and I am pleased to be in Dundee because I can see that things are good here. "You look around the stadium and there are none of the fences you would expect. Back home you could not have that for the fans would simply run on to the pitch when something happens that they do not like."

Buenos Aires is not the only hot-spot that Naveda has played in, having had a spell in Jerusalem with Hapoel, fierce rivals of Jan Telesnikov’s Beitar. "What is happening in that part of the world just now is terrible but my own experiences were all good ones there," he said. "The football was enjoyable and of a reasonable standard with Telesnikov (the former Dundee United regular) a very strong mid-fielder for Beitar. "Naturally, the fans got more excited when it was time for the derby game but again it was nothing like Argentina." Telesnikov famously struggled to settle in Tayside because of the lack of a Jewish community in the city, a problem that Naveda should not encounter thanks to Saturday’s opponents, Dundee ! "Beto Carranza and Walter Del Rio are my friends from Boca and I also know the other Argentinian players at the club, which is definitely a help to me," said the striker.

"Claudio Caniggia, of course, if one of the greatest players that our country ever produced, there is nothing I can say about him which others have not already done. "I wish them all well but they are not who I am concerned with at the moment. I am a United player and my job is to help the club win games. "We have good players here but things will not be right until we get the victories we need to move us up the division." ©The Courier