What did you think of it and should United wear it during every competition much like Milan did last season or just during Champions League matches.

Also,  does anyone know where one could buy a the Manchester United jersey with a Club World Cup Badge? I‘ve searched the web with no luck.

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Barcelona’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi was second and Liverpool’s Spanish striker Fernando Torres third.

Also on the shortlist for the prestigious award was Milan playmaker Kaka – winner of last year’s award – and Messi’s Barcelona team-mate Xavi, who was voted Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament by a UEFA panel

Portugal winger Ronaldo, 23, won the honour for the first time after helping United win the Premier League, Champions League and Club World Cup.

The accolade also completed a hat-trick of top individual honours for Ronaldo, who had already won the football journalists’ Ballon d’Or trophy and the FIFPro World Player of the Year title voted for by his fellow professionals.

“It’s an overwhelming moment, very special,” said Ronaldo after receiving the award from Pele.

“I can say to my mother and sister, ‘let the fireworks off now’. It’s one of the most important moments in my life.”

Ronaldo is the first player based at an English club to win the FIFA award, which had previously gone only to footballers playing for Spanish or Italian sides.

“There may be no English players here but I believe it’s important for England that myself and Fernando Torres are here representing two English clubs,” said Ronaldo before the ceremony.

“It is a victory for the English fans as well because the Premier League is strong, even though we must not forget the leagues in Spain and Italy remain strong as well.”

The FIFA award is voted by the national team coaches and captains of the 208-member associations of world soccer’s governing body.

Ronaldo was voted in first place by 136 of the coaches and captains while 76 put Messi top.

The United player picked up 935 total points, ahead of 678 for Messi and 203 for Torres.

Brazilian striker Marta won the Women’s award for the third consecutive year, equaling the record of Germany’s Birgit Prinz, who finished second this time round with less than a third of the points (328) that Marta accrued (1,002). England’s Kelly Smith was fifth behind Cristiane and Nadine Angerer of Brazil and Germany respectively.

Cristiano Ronaldo factfile

* Born on February 5 1985 in Funchal, Madeira Ronaldo’s late father Jose Dinis Aveiro gave him the second given name Ronaldo in honour of former US president Ronald Reagan.

* He began attracting attention at the age of 10 and both Madeira’s top teams Maritimo and Nacional scouted him. He played his youth football at Nacional before joining Sporting Lisbon, arch-rivals to his boyhood favourites Benfica.

* The turning point in his career came in July 2003 when he impressed Manchester United’s players and manager Alex Ferguson with an outstanding performance against them when United came to play in the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon. He joined Manchester United shortly afterwards aged just 18 for £12.5 million.

* Since then Ronaldo has scored 102 goals for Manchester United in 264 matches for the club.

* The winger enjoyed a highly successful 2007-08 season, scoring 42 goals in all competitions as United won a Premier League and Champions League double.

* His exploits led to him becoming only the second player to win England’s Footballer of the Year in successive seasons and just the third Portuguese player to win the Ballon d’Or award after Eusebio in 1965 and Luis Figo in 2000.
Reuters

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The tournament is heavily criticized in Europe, but why? Its an honest attempt at placing the best teams from every region in a single tournament to determine the best club in the world. Europeans don’t care for the tournament because more often then not, it’s the South Americans who come out on top.

How else would you determine who is the best in the world?

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“Whether he’s getting too old, I don’t know. But these things happen to people in power. Look at some of the despots in Africa. From a position of great power, he has uttered so many ridiculous statements that he is in danger of seriously damaging his credibility.

Sir Alex obviously talking about Blatter’s comments on Ronaldo’s summer saga, when he compared Ronaldo’s situation to that of a slave

“When he came out with that stuff it created a furore and rightly so, the year after the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of slavery.”

I completely agree with Sir Alex. Unfortunately Blatter was recently “re-elected” for another four years on May 31 2007. Even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him, reinforcing the claims of corruption surrounding the current FIFA president.

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This caused an uproar in the football community. The PFA (Professional Footballers Association) was outraged and demanded Blatter retract his claim of “modern slavery” in the modern game.

Now Blatter claims he wasn’t talking about Ronaldo and his words were taken out of context. That in fact he was talking about the “youngsters that European clubs are trying to get 13, 14 and 15 years old boys and bring them to the big clubs. This is in my expression, this is modern slavery”

 Um a little late don’t you think. Like I said before Just keep your mouth shut, Blatter!

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Blatter has once again opened his mouth with out thinking. Here is what the FIFA president had to say.

“The important thing is, we should also protect the player,” Blatter told Sky News.

Protect the player? Players need to respect contracts! They are grown men and they signed the contract, live with your decision!

“If the player wants to play somewhere else, then a solution should be found because if he stays in a club where he does not feel comfortable to play then it’s not good for the player and for the club.

“I’m always in favor of protecting the player and if the player, he wants to leave, let him leave.”

“I think in football there’s too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere,”

“We are trying now to intervene in such cases. The reaction to the Bosman law is to make long-lasting contacts in order to keep the players and then if he wants to leave, then there is only one solution, he has to pay his contract.”

People in his position need to understand that its best to not voice their opinions on certain matters.

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1) The player is on a long-term contract and his registration is held by Manchester United
2) The player is not for sale

The club will have no alternative but to report Real Madrid to the world governing body, FIFA, if it continues to behave in this totally unacceptable fashion. These public attempts to unsettle the player are completely against the regulations and the club will not tolerate them any longer.

In addition, the club is certain that they are a distraction for the Portuguese national squad as they prepare for the European Championships. No-one should be in any doubt that Manchester United will do everything in its power to keep its best players.
 

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The £150,000 pitch was imported from Slovakia in order to replace the controversial synthetic turf. FIFA has recognized the advantages of synthetic turf and has even developed a FIFA RECOMMENDED mark to acknowledge those turfs that meet the FIFA Quality Concept lab and field-testing. But in the end natural grass still reigns supreme. That is why come Wednesday the Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea will  be played on natural nearly flawless grass.

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But the heavy favorite to win the FIFA World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, admitted that not until he has won the Champions League does he believe he could be considered the best in the world. “I have been totally surprised by how many goals I have scored as I am not even a centre forward, But to be the best in the world I have to win titles like the Champions League and the Premier League.” he told the Daily Mail.

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Ronaldo frustrated United fans all over the world repeatedly. He wasn’t playing to his full potential, and the constant tumbling, followed by demanding a call, was really getting on my last nerves. But I believe Ronaldo did what he set out to do. He drew a lot of attention, which indirectly led to Uniteds goal. Ronaldo drew 3 Barcelona defenders to him just before Zambrotta cleared the ball. A ball that  landed on the feet of Scholes, who had all the time in the world to get off the perfect shot, time that he wouldn’t have had if Ronaldo hadn’t drawn those defenders.

Messi also didn’t play to his full potential. That’s understandable considering he was coming back from an injury. Messi did carry the ball more than Ronaldo. He took 3 shots to Ronaldo’s 1. He made 30 accurate passes and only 6 bad passes to Ronaldo’s 18 accurate and 7 bad ones.

I believe Messi was the better player in this series, because he had to be. Ronaldo had more talent around him as was able to play more tactically instead of being involved directly like Messi did.

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