Paul's the boy from Brazil

Four short years ago, the former Manchester United goalkeeper was walking out at the Brazilian Mecca - the Maracana - in front of 60,000 samba-swaying fans at the FIFA World Club Championship.

Rachubka was the teenage talent who could have been United's all-American boy before the words 'Tim Howard' even entered Alex Ferguson's thoughts.

Unfortunately, the United boss was soon to warn the Californian he would never reach number one status at Old Trafford.

So as he tries to re-position himself as the number one goalkeeper elsewhere, Turf Moor will do just fine for now.

Rachubka, who consulted old stable-mates Luke Chadwick and Lee Roche before opting for the switch, revealed: "Burnley is a big club, with a beautiful stadium, just trying to stay in the First Division.

"I want to do everything I can to help them and if that means taking Brian Jensen's shirt, so be it.

"I only met him for the first time in training on Thursday and he seems a nice lad. But I'm here to compete with him.

"That doesn't mean kicking each other because you are there to help each other and do the best you can.

"But it's up to the manager to pick the team on Saturday and I want that to be me."

Rachubka looks back on his Old Trafford experience as a steep learning curve. In his own mind, he had already accepted the task of dislodging the likes of Peter Schmeichel and Fabien Barthez was a thankless one.

So when the inevitable offer came in from elsewhere, notably Charlton in May 2002, the decision was an easy one to make.

He recalled: "As a goalkeeper at United, I had Schmeichel, Mark Bosnich and Barthez all ahead of me. Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and to establish yourself as a number one there at 18 was fairly impossible.

"I got a few chances, like the game in Brazil, but Alex Ferguson was straight with me and said it was going to be very hard. He told me I could try, but he was always going to be looking to buy.

"I said 'fair enough, I would like to try, but I would like to do it on my own somewhere else".

"It wasn't that I didn't want to compete - I just thought I needed games and at United even the reserve team has competition.

"So that was why I went to Charlton, to try and establish myself there. I'm just trying to find a level where I can play and prove myself, and take it one step at a time."

Rachubka may have been born Stateside, but without a trace of any lingering American accent, he explained how he moved to England aged seven and now declares himself an adopted Anglophile, even representing this country at U16, U18 and U20 level.

Full international recognition remains a target, although long term priorities have taken a back seat to re-establishing himself at domestic level since he contracted a worrying bout of glandular fever last summer.

The virus wrecked any hope of snatching the Addicks number one jersey from Dean Kiely on the eve of this season.

And after an extensive rehabilitation, he hopes his spell with the Clarets will allow him to pick up where he left off.

Rachubka explained: "I wanted to compete for a first team place at Charlton after establishing myself as the number two.

"Dean had a great 2002/03 season, and come the start of pre-season, he was suspended for the last game but I got glandular fever. It was a massive disappointment for me because I had worked all the way through the summer and was looking forward to hopefully getting my chance in the Premiership.

"The virus really knocked me back and so I had to start again from scratch.

"I started off doing 10 minutes walking a day and then having the next day off because I just couldn't risk having the virus take over again.

"I was ill for a week, then I had a rest when you can't do anything, and then gradually build it up a notch again. But you can never go too far because you'll end back up at square one.

"Thankfully, I feel completely fine now. I've been training for two months and just want to get games. That's where Burnley come in, and hopefully I can be at my best."