Showing posts with label manchester United. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manchester United. Show all posts
I was reading this interview of Diego Forlan in which he talks about his Anfield heroics during the 2002–03 season.
Forlan was (always) an occasional goal scorer in the United shirt. The fans dubbed him "Diego Forlorn" and "Diego Birtles" because of his 27 game goal drought. But he instantly became a fan favourite when he scored two goals against Liverpool in a 2–1 victory at Anfield.
Just like Dimitar Berbatov has been applauded by (almost all) critics for his amazing performance in the 3-2 victory against the Kops, Forlan too enjoyed such recognition.
Recalling his Anfield heroics, Diego Forlan says,
Gary Neville was the first to come up to me after the game as we celebrated. He looked me in the eyes and said, "They’ll never forget you here after that." Today, I realize, Gary was right.
Forlan scored 17 goals from 95 appearances for Manchester United, before he was transferred to Villareal.
Here are all the 17 goals of Diego Forlan in the Red shirt. Needless to say, the two goals at Anfield were his best.
Manchester United will host a sponsored run around Old Trafford stadium on July 11, 2010 for hundreds of youngsters to raise money for their essential equipments.
An initiative that will provide a chance to raise cash for sports clubs across Manchester happens to fall on the final day of World Cup 2010. The event will take place before the Netherlands take on Spain in the World Cup 2010 final at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
The sponsored run is divided into three categories with the under 8's kicking it off. It will then be followed by over 8’s and then open age youngsters who will run inside and outside of Old Trafford stadium.
This is a nice initiative by Manchester United which will allow the youngsters to collect cash for their essential equipment.
On Monday morning, Sir Alex will take his 22 man squad to America to begin their pre-season tour.
Manchester United have settled their dispute with French club Le Harve over Paul Pogba's controversial move to Old Trafford in October 2009.
The disputed ownership of Paul Pogba became a major concern when Le Havre accused Manchester United of illegally poaching the 17-year-old Frenchman from their academy. However, the Red Devils had done the deal in a professional manner and had not broken any rules.
The case was then taken to FIFA when Le Harve requested them to intervene in this matter. FIFA too, declared their verdict in United’s favour and allowed Pogba to play for the Red Devils.
The two clubs have finally reached an agreement, but no details of it have been released by either club. The Ligue two side did say that - "Le Havre and Manchester United are satisfied to have reached an agreement regarding Paul Pogba's integration to the Manchester United squad."
Paul Pogba made his debut for United's Under-18 side against Crewe Alexandr. Hopefully, he should rise through the ranks at Manchester United and not face a similar situation as faced by Zoran Tosic who was signed as a promising youngster but ended up leaving the club and signing for CSKA Moscow this week.
Ryan Giggs did it and so did Gary Neville. It was only a matter of time when Paul Scholes followed his teammates by signing a one-year contract extension with Manchester United. But it was easier said than done.
Sir Alex Ferguson had to sweat to convince Scholes to stay at Old Trafford for at least one more year. He had made his mind on retiring from club football at the end of last season but his manager made him change his mind.
Sir Alex Ferguson had to sweat to convince Scholes to stay at Old Trafford for at least one more year. He had made his mind on retiring from club football at the end of last season but his manager made him change his mind.
Sir Alex Ferguson later revealed that he talked Paul Scholes out of retiring; something his national team manager Fabio Capello couldn’t do. Scholes signed a new one-year contract with Manchester United, keeping the 35-year-old at Old Trafford until June 2011.
Sir Alex said:
Sir Alex said:
I did speak to him. He'd intimated that he may retire at the end of the season. I said, I'll decide when you retire.....look, Paul, you can play there's no question of that. Your ability's there, there's no deterioration in your actual play.
When you get to his age, and the same goes for Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, there's deterioration in the physical aspect of it. That's natural. We all face that. But in terms of his ability, there's no deterioration whatsoever.
Sir Alex stressed on the experience of Scholes and explained why he's such a big asset to the club. He praised Scholes’ decision to focus his energy purely on club matters when he quit the England scene following Euro 2004 even though he had yet to reach his 30th birthday.
Paul Scholes has spent his whole career at Manchester United. He has won the UEFA Champions League twice and the Premier League nine times. I hope he wins his 10th Premier League title next season and helps us to get it back from Chelsea.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United for Real Madrid last season for a record breaking fee. Though his form has been consistent for the Spanish side, but with the change of their manager, I wonder whether we can bring Ronaldo back to OT.
Real Madrid have announced the sacking of Manuel Pellegrini, paving the way for Jose Mourinho to take up the vacant Bernabeu hotseat. Its only a matter of time when the Special One will be unveiled as the new manager of Real Madrid.
Jose has special admiration for some of his Chelsea and Inter players and may bring them to Madrid. In such a case, its going to be difficult for Ronaldo to cement his place in the team.
Moreover, Jose and Ronaldo were never in awe of each other when they were in the Premier League. I remember, Jose saying that he would like to add Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry to his Chelsea side then.
The Special One is known to be a firm believer in the importance of team work. He issued a stern warning to Real Madrid 'Stars' saying that there are no stars in his team. His message to the players of Real Madrid was, "If I train them, they are not stars, the star is not the coach, the star is the team. If they all accept this like when I was at Porto, Chelsea or Inter, the victories will come."
There's no doubt that both Ronaldo and Jose have huge egos and if Ronaldo isn't treated like a star, he's surely going to move on. So can Sir Alex bring CR7 back to OT?
Sir Alex generally doesn't like to pay extravagant prices to bring stars to Manchester United. However, he had said that he would spend $60mn to bring Ronaldo back to OT. I hope his contract has a buy-back clause. If it is there, then Ronaldo might be "The only" signing that Sir Alex has been referring since last week.
What say folks? Can we bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the Theatre of Dreams?
The departure of Ben Foster to Birmingham City has provided him with an opportunity to do better for himself. His exit from Old Trafford has also done good for Ben Amos, who becomes the third keeper for Manchester United.
Ben Amos is a talented young goalkeeper who has been capped by England at youth level. More detailed bio of Amos can be found here.
Amos, 20, has made just one first-team appearance (vs Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup third round in 2008/09), although he has consistently impressed for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reserve team this term.
Sir Alex Ferguson was planning to loan Amos next season so that he could get more competitive football. But with Ben Foster gone, he intends to keep Amos at OT. Sir Alex said, "He will now be our third keeper. He's very talented and has a good future ahead of him."
A keen learner, Ben has his sights set on regular first team involvement. I doubt whether he'll play for the first team next season. VDS and Kuszczak would definitely be the main stoppers. Also Sir Alex is looking for a long term replacement of VDS and has been linked with many keepers.
It's a matter of time that he brings a new goalie at OT. But Amos is young and will definitely get his chances to play at the top level for Manchester United.
Wayne Rooney who limped off in yesterday's last league game of the season against Stoke will be fit for the World Cup, according to Mike Phelan.
Manchester United assistant-boss said, that Rooney will be fit in time to play a full part in England's World Cup campaign. This news comes just a day before England coach Fabio Capello announces his 30-man provisional World Cup squad.
Capello has been concerned about Rooney ever since he got injured in the Champions League game against Bayern Munich. His ankle injury saw him leave the Allianz Arena on crutches. The entire nation (and their coach) were highly worried about Rooney's prospects of making it to South Africa for WC 2010.
Mike Phelan provided a much needed positive news by insisting that Rooney will be fit to do himself justice in South Africa. He said,
He should be okay. All the phone calls and all the worries we can dispel straight away. He should be fine. It is just a precaution and he will be looking forward to his World Cup.
Sir Alex Ferguson also added confident words by saying, "Wayne has aggravated his groin again. I don't think it is serious. I think he will be okay for England."
Jonny Evans has committed the next four years to Manchester United by signing a new contract at Old Trafford. This contract has taken a lot of time since both the parties were involved in negotiations for several months.
There was lot of speculation about the contract of Evans. Not that he intended to leave the club but he wanted a wage hike. So finally both the parties have come to a consensus and his commitment to the club is confirmed by this news item on ManUtd.com
The Northern Ireland defender will stay with the Red Devils until at least June 2014. His signature on the dotted line means he's a natural replacement for the aging Rio Ferdinand. Nemanja Vidic has also been speculated for a move away from OT in the summer; so if he departs, Evans will get a chance to play in the back four on a regular basis.
Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his joy at the news in a club press statement:
We are delighted Jonny has signed a new contract. Jonny has risen through the United ranks to become an integral part of the first-team squad, he is an intelligent defender and has been excellent in the central defensive positions at key times during the season.
On his long term commitment to Manchester United, Jonny Evans said:
I am delighted to have signed a new contract. I’ve supported Manchester United all my life and it’s a great honour to be able to continue to wear the badge of this great club. I’d like to thank the staff, players and fans for their continued support in my development.
Edwin van der Sar's spectacular stop from Fabrice Muamba was voted Save of the Season by ManUtd.com readers.
More than 4000 United fans voted in the poll and here are the results:
- Edwin van der Sar v Bolton (26.8%)
- Ben Foster v Arsenal (13.8%)
- Edwin van der Sar v Liverpool (11.8%)
But contrasting to fans opinion, United’s goalkeeper coach Eric Steele considers Ben Foster's save at White Hart Lane from Jermaine Jenas as the Save of the Season. The reason he picked Foster's stop is due to "the amount of work that went into making the save."
Steele, who joined United's coaching ranks in August 2008, said
The shot’s been curled around a defender, which means Ben’s seen it late. He’s had to take an extra step before launching himself and not only does he get a hand to the ball, he gets a strong hand to ensure he tips it around the post.
What also made this save so special was its context: it was just after half-time when we were leading 2-1. A goal for Tottenham would have let them right back into the game.
He did praise VDS’s effort and said, “Sometimes Edwin’s labeled as a goalkeeper who’s very calm and good with the ball at his feet. But he’s also capable of making world-class saves and the one at Bolton is a prime example of that.”
Steele also voted Tomasz Kuszczak's flying stop from Jamie O'Hara at Fratton Park as one of the best saves. He described the save as “out of this world.”
Steele’s choices barely got any votes from the fans. Its surprising how the opinion of fans and the coach differ so much!
Wayne Rooney who has been enjoying the finest season of his career for Manchester United has added another achievement by winning the PFA Player Of The Year award. Rooney won the award by comfortably beating off competition from Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba and Carlos Tévez.
Rooney missed Saturday's victory against Spurs due to a groin injury that he picked up in training. Manchester United confirmed, "fatigue" was another cause that kept Rooney out of the tie. The wonder kid was also nominated for the Young Player of the Year award which he had won in 2005 and 2006. However, this honour went to Aston Villa’s James Milner this time.
By winning the PFA Player Of The Year award, Rooney has ensured that a Red Devil has won this award for the fourth consecutive time. It was Ryan Giggs who won it last year and Cristiano Ronaldo had bagged the same award twice before that.
The 24 year-old striker credited Sir Alex Ferguson's role for his development and backed him to remain the boss at Old Trafford. He said,
Sir Alex has really brought me on as a player since I joined United. His hunger passes through to the players. It’s great to see that he’s pushing 70 and hasn’t changed a bit. I’m sure he’ll be here for a long time yet.
It was earlier said that Wayne Rooney would miss the remaining part of the season due to his groin problem. However, he explained his situation and said,
The groin will be fine for the World Cup, there are no worries about that. I’m hoping to play for United in the last game of the season.
Apart from Rooney winning the PFA Player Of The Year award for Manchester United, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher and Antonia Valencia were also named in the Premier League Team of the Year.
So Javier Hernandez aka “Chicharito” is the first Mexican player signed by Manchester United. He’s a young striker who has also represented his country and may play against England at FIFA World Cup 2010 for Mexico.
Chicharito can play at OT subject to a successful application for a UK work permit. If a permit is granted, Javier will become a Manchester United player on July 1, 2010.
So till we see Chicharito in action in Manchester United colors, here are his top 10 goals.
Sir Alex Ferguson's smile faded after losing at home to Chelsea, a defeat in which Manchester United lost the leadership of the Premier League. United were also eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after Bayern Munich knocked them out on their own turf.
Its surprising that United were unable to keep their lead in both legs against the Germans. First, they lost the 1-0 lead in Munich and then allowed Bayern to progress on away goals even after leading 3-0 at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have dominated the Premier League for three years with three consecutive titles. The fourth one looks very difficult after Chelsea extended their lead to four points. Having dominated the season with performances of Wayne Rooney, United would now want to win the Manchester Derby.
The last meeting between these two Manchester clubs in the Premier League saw United with their noses ahead. It was Michael Owen’s injury time strike that helped them to beat Man City 4-3.
Manchester United now has to win all their remaining matches to at least challenge for the Premier League. One aspect to consider if you're a football gambling fan is that Wayne Rooney has declared himself fit after missing last Sunday's game against Blackburn.So he should play a major role to silence the "noisy neighbours."
Its been a tough season for the Red Devils who have been constantly plagued with injuries to their star players. Be it Ferdinand, Vidic, Giggs, Rooney, Hargreaves or VDS. With the season coming to an end now, I think Sir Alex would try to motivate his players by saying, “Let’s win the Manchester Derby now!”
Manchester United would face Bayern Munich tonight in the return leg of their Champions League quarter final. The first leg (2-1) was in favor of the German side but United have a vital away goal and that can make the difference.
It seems that playing at Old Trafford (in return legs) is the key for United’s success. United have progressed on each of the last seven occasions when the second leg has been at Old Trafford, most spectacularly overturning a 2-1 deficit against AS Roma at this stage three years ago.
The Red Devils had blown Roma out with an incredible 7-1 win that was described by Sir Alex as his best night in European football at OT. So there's plenty to be positive about ahead of tonight's clash and it was clearly evident as there were smiles aplenty at Carrington Training Ground yesterday.
Looking at these pictures (captured by club photographers John and Matt Peters) it can be said that United have forgotten their last two defeats and are ready to knock Bayern out of Europe.
Its going to be a memorable night at Old Trafford today. If you're at the game, sing your hearts out for the lads.
Champions League Semi Final… Here we come.
Brazilian full-back Fabio da Silva has signed an extension to his contract with Manchester United, keeping him at the Club until at least June 2014.
The 20 year-old has made thirteen appearances for the first team since joining United from Brazilian club Fluminense along with twin brother Rafael in July 2008. He is seen as a highly promising prospect by Sir Alex Ferguson.
He said,
Fabio has settled into the Club really well. He’s a natural footballer; a player who has good pace, reads the game well for a boy of his age and is always looking to attack. He’s had some bad luck with injuries, but he’ll make a fine Manchester United player in the years to come.
On extending his stay at Old Trafford, Fabio da Silva said,
Playing for Manchester United is every young player’s dream. I’m very happy and proud to commit my future to the Club. In the time I’ve been here, I’ve learned a lot from the world class players that I train with and I hope that as time goes on, I can contribute more and more to the success of this great club.
Manchester United lost to Bayern Munich in their first leg of Champions League quarter final. The score line stays 2-1 in favour of the German giants, but the tie is not over yet!
United got off to a dream start as Rooney scored his 34th goal of the season just after 64 seconds. At that time it looked like the Red Devils will have an easy game at the Allianz Arena. However, the performance levels dropped after the early goal and eventually Bayern Munich snatched a victory.
Sir Alex Ferguson said, "We didn't play well enough to be honest. We gave the ball away far too easily from minute one. It is a part of our game we pride ourselves on and has been part of the reason for our progress. We caused our own defeat.”
The performance of the Red Devils was absolutely below par at the Allianz Arena. I thought the midfield was totally ineffective. I think Park and Carrick were the worst performers on the night. They were giving away possession so easily and United was not able to build that pressure in the center of the pitch.
Man-of-the-match Edwin van der Sar truly deserves to be applauded as his efforts kept the score line 2-1. He made some amazing saves and kept United in the game. Another disappointment of the night was to see Wayne Rooney leave the Allianz Arena on crutches. Rooney suffered an ankle injury following a challenge with Mario Gomez.
The first leg defeat ended a six-match winning streak away from home for the Red Devils. The second leg will be played at Old Trafford on April 7. I believe United's away goal will be a big factor in deciding this Champions League tie.
Manchester United has a date with Franck Ribery as they clash with Bayern Munich tomorrow in their Champions League quarter-final. Sir Alex Ferguson has urged his players to go for an all-out attack at Allianz Arena and gun for goals.
United had followed a similar philosophy against AC Milan in the previous round. Despite falling behind to Ronaldinho's early goal, the Red Devils maintained an attacking mentality and scored vital away goals; and Sir Alex would love to have such an advantage before Bayern visits Old Trafford.
The German giants represent Manchester United's most famous opponents given they were the victims of that amazing Champions League final clash 11 years ago. Sir Alex said, "The history of Bayern and our games against them in past European ties tells you it is going to be a very difficult game."
This game would feature two of Sir Alex’s favorite players who would be against his side: Robben & Ribery. The Red Devils boss had tried to unsuccessfully sign both these players in 2004 and 2009 respectively. Both have them have real pace and it’s going to be difficult for Evra and Neville to control these Bayern wingers.
Sir Alex had agreed for a £40 million switch for Ribery last year, but Bayern tagged him with a price of £70 million and the deal failed to materialize.
The Champions League quarter-final would give the Red Devils boss a chance to take a closer look at Ribery. He believes that Ribery would leave Bayern Munich this summer; however, his destination won’t be England but Spain.
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona reunited with Sir Alex Ferguson when he paid a visit at United's Carrington training ground on Monday. He was in town and decided to meet his old pal.
Eric Cantona formed a memorable partnership with Sir Alex and is often regarded as having played a major talismanic role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing powerhouse.
During his five year stint at Old Trafford, Eric won four Premier League titles and two FA Cups. No doubt, he enjoys an iconic status at the club and in English football.
Nicknamed "King Eric", he was voted as Manchester United's player of the century in 2001.
Manchester United may become the busiest club in the transfer market during this summer. The Red Devils have been looking for players to strengthen their defense and are banking on young players like Dodo and Jack Rodwell.
According to the News of the World, Manchester United are ready to spend lot of cash to bring Everton's young midfielder Jack Rodwell to Old Trafford. The total fee is believed to be near about £20 million.
Everton boss David Moyes has already expressed reluctance to sell his younger players. He was very rigid about keeping Joleon Lescott last summer but had to bow down to a huge transfer fee from Man City. It is believed that Chelsea and Man City are also interested in Jack Rodwell, but the player wants a move to Man United.
United scouts are also closely monitoring Dodo, who's a young Corinthians defender. He can play at either left-back or in the centre of defense.
Dodo has also attracted interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Manchester United may swoop a move for the Under 17 international Dodo.
Manchester United have already signed young defenders Chris Smalling from Fulham and Marnick Vermijl from Standard Liege. With United interested in so many defenders, I think Vidic will be on his way out of Old Trafford at the end of the season.
With Sir Alex Ferguson planning to buy more defenders in the summer, it clearly shows his vision on the long term replacements of aging players like Neville and Ferdinand.
Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his side of complacency ahead of the Champions League clash against AC Milan. Manchester United were 3-2 winners at the San Siro and have a heavy away goal advantage but the Red Devils manager has warned his players against overconfidence as AC Milan arrive at Old Trafford today.
Manchester United are in a great position to progress to the quarter-finals, but that their progress is not guaranteed. Today’s game would mark the return of David Beckham to Manchester United after 7 long years. It would definitely be an emotional game for Becks and Fergie knows that very well.
I’m sure Fergie has prepared his players to deal with the Beckham circus. During the pre-match press conference, he stressed on being focussed to progress to the quarter-finals.
He said,
I don’t think we should be confused by the scoreline and think that we have a bye into the next round.
I don’t think we’re very good at defending leads. We need to play our normal game and that includes attacking. We’ve got to accept that it’s going to be a very difficult game and one we have to win.
It's certainly an open tie which should make for a great game of football. We hope to kill the tie by our own attacking abilities, but obviously AC Milan have to score and that should make it a really open match.
It would be an exciting game at OT tonight and surely there will be some goals. I just hope Man United thrash Milan like Arsenal did to Porto yesterday. But for that, Berbatov needs to show his magical class to help United progress to the quarter finals.
Manchester United are favorites to sign Joe Cole in the summer if the midfielder fails to sort out his contract with Chelsea. However, I believe (for a number of reasons) that Cole would be a big misfit at Old Trafford.
Cole is an attacking midfielder who has got pace and an ability to score goals. He played a crucial role in the team when Jose Mourinho was the boss at Chelsea. However, his absence for 18 months due to a knee injury and inconsistent form on his return has seen him warm the bench under Carlo Ancelotti.
Joe Cole wants an increase in his wages and that is the only reason why his contract talks with Chelsea have stalled. The Blues are unwilling to increase the midfielder's wages from £80,000-a-week to in excess of £100,000.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been an admirer of the mercurial Englishman and it is believed that Fergie will be favorite to win the battle if Cole and Chelsea can't reach an agreement. Other English clubs like Tottenham, Liverpool and Man City are also monitoring Cole’s position and may plan to secure his services.
I know Joe Cole is a great player but I just don’t see him fit at Manchester United due to these reasons:
- Cole generally plays on the wings and United have plenty of options in that area with Nani,Giggs, and Valencia.
- If Man United sign Ribery or Angel Di Maria in the summer, then there’s more competition on the wings.
- Depending upon the form of Gabriel Oberton, he too may challenge for a first team place since he too is a similar player to Joe Cole.
- Just like the horrible injury of Owen Hargreaves that has seen him out of action for more than two years, Joe Cole too has suffered a serious injury and may need attention from time to time.
- The most important factor – Will Man United be able to match Joe Cole’s high salary demands? I don’t think so.
Manchester United is already battling ways to reduce the huge debt on the club. Though David Gill has stated that Fergie has cash to splash in the summer, I don’t think he’ll think of signing Joe Cole.
Fergie had played a gamble by bringing Michael Owen on a free transfer last summer which has not even yielded average returns. I don’t think he’ll play another gamble on Cole, who probably may move to Italy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
