Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney insists Cristiano Ronaldo is “big enough” to rise above rough treatment from opponents and their fans.Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson complained after the 0-0 draw against Villarreal in the Champions League that Ronaldo was a victim of systematic fouling in Europe and England. (Read More…)
Following a leg injury against Aston Villa on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo was doubtful for Tuesdays Champions League match against Villarreal. However, Ronaldo did train with the group on Monday and had no problems. Therefore, Ronaldo will be making the trip to Spain and will likely start.
United traveled without Edwin Van der Sar, who is being rested and will probably give Tomasz Kuszczak a starting spot.
United will qualify to the round of 16 if they win. United and Villarreal will both qualify if Aalborg and Celtic draw.
Aston Villa will be hosting the Red Devils this weekend. Untied will be with out Berbatov do to a thigh problem but both Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand are in good shape and could return to the starting lineup. Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes are still sidelined.
Aston Villa well have John Carew back from his recent hip problem while both Carlos Cuellar and Wilfred Bouma are out due to injuries.
Manchester United’s starlet Danny Welbeck netted a spectacular goal this weekend against Stoke! Now the Ghana Football Association are hoping to persuade Welbeck to represent the birth place of his parents.
Although Welbeck was born in England and has already represented the English national team at the youth level. According to FIFA, players who represent one country at a junior level are allowed to switch to another country provided they are still under the age of 21.
“The GFA president (Kwesi Nyantakyi) has been in constant talks with his family and the response is quite encouraging,” spokesman Randy Abbey told GNA Sports.
“There is still much to be cleared with respect to the player’s career development and gaining a regular place in the Manchester United first team.
“But we are very sure that when the time is due for the player to make a national team choice, it will be the Black Stars.”
If England want to keep Welbeck do as the Americans did!
Prior to the 2006 World Cup, Freddy Adu also received calls from the Ghana Football Association. The GFA tried to persuade Adu, who was born in Ghana, to represent Ghana in the 2006 World Cup.
Not to be out hustled, then U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena called up Adu for a friendly match against Canada. Adu was allowed to run around for 9 minutes, after coming on for Eddie Johnson in the 81st minute.
Freddy would have to wait over 2 years to represent the U.S. again, in May 2008 Adu came on as a sub in a friendly against England. It was a strategic, and maybe unethical, move by the US, but they have guaranteed themselves a promising young striker for years to come.
Ferguson was reprimanded for marching on to the Old Trafford pitch to remonstrate with referee Mike Dean during United’s Premier League clash with Hull City on November 1. (Read More…)
Born to Moroccan parents, Mohammed Abdellaoue currently plays for Norwegian club Valerenga. The 23-year-old was born in Norway and has already made his debut for Norway earlier this year. And will be in the squad for their match against Ukraine on Wednesday.
There were a number of English clubs at the Norwegian Cup final to watch Abdellaoue, But United have taken an extra step and invited the Norwegian to train with them.
I have never seen Abdellaoue play but I will certainly be looking for him in their International friendly against Ukraine.
If anyone has any information on this lad, please share.
Sir Alex Ferguson went into the game without three of his main men.
Wayne Rooney, battling a chest infection, the injured Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville did not feature in the squad, meaning starts for Jonny Evans and John O’Shea at the back, and Carlos Tevez up front. (Read More…)
Manchester United have been reviewing the tapes of Stoke City’s Rory Delap ahead of Saturday’s clash at Old Trafford.
Delap has hurled seven assists from the touchline, and that has not gone unnoticed by Sir Alex.
Rory Delap’s gargantuan hurl has laid on assists for seven of the Potters’ goals this season, and Sir Alex admits that the visitors’ threat is impossible to ignore.
“We’ve got the issue of Stoke coming with these throw-ins, and you can’t dismiss the fact that it’s an absolute threat to us,” Sir Alex said during a pre-match press conference.
“We’ve done some work on it, done some video analysis and it’s a difficult thing to stop. There’ll be throw-ins in the game, we’ll just have to deal with them as best we can. But they’ve been a threat with these throw-ins, they’re formidable.”
When one journalist suggested United supporters could hinder Stoke’s biggest threat when on the touchline Sir Alex joked: “I hope so - we’ve dug the slope deeper this week!
“It’s the way that Delap throws them, he goes in really flat with his throws, that makes them difficult to defend. If it comes to you as flat as it does, the goalkeeper can’t come for them, it’s a fact.”
Wayne Rooney is the only player in doubt for the upcoming match, he is recovering from a chest infection and may have to sit out, giving Carlos Tevez another start alongside Dimitar Berbatov. United should walk away with a win.
Tevez was one of the few United first-team regulars on show at a wet and windy Old Trafford as Sir Alex Ferguson made wholesale changes from the side defeated by Arsenal at the weekend. (Read More…)
A disappointing loss for the defending Premier League Champions on Saturday, as Arsenal exploded back into the title race with a convincing win over United
21-year-old Frenchman, Samir Nasri, struck once in each half against Manchester United, in what is always one of the worlds most anticipated football matches. Nasri broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Evra fouled Sagna on the right side of the penalty area. It was Berbatov who cleared Fabregas’s center, unfortunately it landed on the feet of Nasri who took a left-footed shot which deflected off the right foot of Gary Neville and into the back of United’s net.
3 minutes after the break Fabregas played a brilliant ball to an unmarked Nasri at the top of the eighteen. Nasri owes his goal Theo Walcott who made a brilliant run across the middle to pull Vidic from the center long enough for Nasri to pull the trigger. A lack of communication between Ferdinand and Vidic cost United the second goal .
United would get one back, though it was too little to late when 18-year-old Rafael fired a brilliant long range shot into the bottom left corner. It was pure class and I believe it gives United hope in the years to come. How exciting to have such an attack minded right back! A great example of modern football!
