Manchester United topic #8: Glory, Glory Man United

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 13:08 schreef Gunner het volgende:
Ik vind hem ook geen 25,5 miljoen waard eigenlijk.

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CRISTIANO RONALDO: TRUTH BEHIND MOVE

Cristiano Ronaldo: The truth behind move from United

United players were happy to see him go

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By ANDY DUNN , 13/06/2009
SIR ALEX FERGUSON might have had the final say - but the whispers from the dressing room were becoming hard to ignore.

Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving - but he won't be lamented. Twelve months ago, when Real Madrid first came calling, Ronaldo was inundated with text messages from senior Manchester United players - urging him to stay. This time, there have been none.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a byword for dishonesty - click here for Andy Dunn's view

Cristiano Ronaldo: I don't care if fans hate me - click here for full story

Cristiano Ronaldo - click here for his United career in pictures

Ronaldo had grown apart from his team-mates, Ferguson had sensed it - and that is why the Old Trafford manager was happy to take Real Madrid's £80million.

On the training ground, they were tiring of his tantrums. On the pitch, they were fed up of his selfishness.

And it culminated in fury from senior players after Ronaldo tried to single-handedly beat Barcelona in the Champions League final last month.

A United insider told the News of the World: "To many, that was the final straw and showed what he had become.

"Wayne Rooney had to change position three times to accommodate Ronaldo. The experienced players in the squad had seen it coming and weren't happy about it.

"Ronaldo had been getting more and more temperamental in training and the others were getting fed up with him. They knew his mind was elsewhere and they thought he was becoming a distraction.

"The senior guys couldn't believe it when he threw the tantrum during the Manchester City game."

That tantrum came after an hour of the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on May 10. Ronaldo had fired United ahead with a trademark free-kick and after Carlos Tevez made the points safe on the stroke of half-time, Ferguson decided his Portuguese star would benefit from a rest ahead of the crucial Premier League trip to Wigan three days later.

That decision sparked a furious reaction from Ronaldo - who shook his head in disbelief when he realised his number was up.The winger snatched his training top aggressively and sat on the bench, mouthing his disgust.

Publicly at least, Ferguson brushed aside the incident, witnessed by millions on TV, insisting: "He wanted to stay on. He is in great form. But I've got to look at the big picture. I've got to think about keeping our players as fresh as we can for the games ahead."

LOOKING BAD - Wayne Rooney looks at Cristiano Ronaldo as he hugs Carlos Tevez after the Champions League Final
LOOKING BAD - Wayne Rooney looks at Cristiano Ronaldo as he hugs Carlos Tevez after the Champions League Final

Privately, though, there is no doubt Ferguson and many of Ronaldo's United team-mates were irked by the petulant show of defiance.

And as Ronaldo hogged more and more of the limelight, there was increasing sympathy for Rooney - a player, unlike his departing team-mate, who is liked by everyone at Old Trafford and at the club's Carrington training complex.

LAST OUT - Cristiano Ronaldo (far left) stands alone as his United team-mates line up at the end of the Champions League Final
LAST OUT - Cristiano Ronaldo (far left) stands alone as his United team-mates line up at the end of the Champions League Final

The England striker was always the one forced to make a positional sacrifice and, towards the end of the season, grew frustrated at being edged out towards the left flank. His annoyance with Ronaldo during the Champions League final in Rome was plain to see.

The departure of Ronaldo should see Rooney play more in his favoured position - the second striker role he has filled so spectacularly for England.

And it will also mean the way is clear for Rooney to be rewarded for his unstinting commitment by being handed a new contract and being made the highest-paid player at Old Trafford.

IF LOOKS COULD KILL - Dimitar Berbatov (right) looks at Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League Final
IF LOOKS COULD KILL - Dimitar Berbatov (right) looks at Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League Final

Rooney, 23, has two years left on his current £100,000-a-week deal but United will open negotiations with his advisers later this summer. And that will lead to a new, six-year deal which will start at a basic £125,000-a-week and rise sharply.

The United insider explained: "Ferguson has always said that if he had to lose either Ronaldo or Rooney, it would be Ronaldo every time. Rooney is the future of United and everyone there knows they can count on his loyalty and his team ethic."

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Rooney, of course, was involved in the infamous incident in Gelsenkirchen at the 2006 World Cup which saw Ronaldo winking as the England striker was sent off as Sven Goran Eriksson's team crashed out on penalties. Although Ronaldo was forgiven, the moment was never forgotten.

United, meanwhile are facing a £2.5m scrap with Sporting Lisbon over Ronaldo's switch to the Bernabeu.

The Portuguese club are set to slap in a claim to United for "development costs" during Ronaldo's time at Sporting. They reckon they are entitled to cash from the sensational £80m which will be heading into the Old Trafford coffers.

A Lisbon source said: "Sporting spent a lot of time and money on Ronaldo during his formative years and they feel they are entitled to some compensation."

EYES HAVE IT - Alex Ferguson (right) with Cristiano Ronaldo
EYES HAVE IT - Alex Ferguson (right) with Cristiano Ronaldo

Real's new president Florentino Perez made Ronaldo his second megabucks capture of the summer after signing Brazil playmaker Kaka from AC Milan for what - for a few days, at least - was then a new world record fee of £62m.

But Spanish sources claim the man who invented the galactico ethos is expected to tie up a £35m deal to sign Valencia's Spanish international striker David Villa this week - making the Spanish international the third high-profile Bernabeu deal inside a fortnight.

But there will certainly be no tears shed around Old Trafford at Ronaldo's imminent departure. And the mood of the players is best summed up by Nemanja Vidic, who was asked about Ronaldo's future before it was confirmed he was heading off.

Vidic declared: "It is not a situation I know anything about but what I will say is that I and the players have total trust in the manager. The fans have seen him over the years lose players and build new teams - but never has he lost that winning mentality.

"No matter who has gone, the manager has continued to be successful. It is the only way he knows. He has lost major players over the last 10 years but he has proved that no player is ever bigger than the club."

. . . And from what a lot of the players saw, Cristiano Ronaldo had begun to think he was just that.

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 13:29 schreef Gunner het volgende:
Die foto's in dat artikel

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 13:34 schreef Eric_Cantona het volgende:

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Mja, dat maakt 't allemaal dramatischer maar ze zijn wel precies op 't "goede" moment genomen. Ik vraag me dan af of die situaties ook daadwerkelijk zo bedoeld zijn geweest.

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 13:34 schreef Eric_Cantona het volgende:

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Mja, dat maakt 't allemaal dramatischer maar ze zijn wel precies op 't "goede" moment genomen. Ik vraag me dan af of die situaties ook daadwerkelijk zo bedoeld zijn geweest.

De foto voor de line-up na de CL-finale vind ik wel typisch, hij hangt er maar wat bij achteraan in de rij.

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Op vrijdag 12 juni 2009 14:13 schreef Vjenne12345 het volgende:
Vinden jullie het belachelijk om Van der Vaart te noemen bij Man Utd? Die mag na alle waarschijnlijkheid toch wel weg bij Real en ik schat hem eigenlijk een stuk hoger in als Scholes, Fletcher of Park op dit moment.

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 13:55 schreef -Vaduz- het volgende:

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Vind ik totaal niet belachelijk. Met het vertrek van Ronaldo vertrekt een toppion. Spelers als Fletcher, Park kunnen dat verlies niet dragen. Het is nu zaak dat Manchester de middenlinie versterkt met enkele spelers die gezamelijk dat verlies op kunnen vangen. Het is te gevaarlijk om 1 speler, bijvoorbeeld Ribery daarvoor aan te trekken en direct naar voren te schuiven.

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 14:44 schreef Cyberia18 het volgende:

Even iets anders btw. Van der Sar gaat toch nog een jaartje door of heb ik het mis?

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 14:49 schreef Rejected het volgende:

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Je hebt het niet mis.

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 14:54 schreef Cyberia18 het volgende:

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Tot 2010 dus.

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'Benzema nadrukkelijk in beeld als opvolger Tévez'

Geschreven op zaterdag, 20 juni om 16:04

Manchester United gaat na het mislukken van het vastleggen van Carlos Tévez hoogstwaarschijnlijk voor Karim Benzema. De aanvaller van Olympique Lyon werd de voorbije twee zomers al in verband gebracht met tal van Europese topclubs, maar deze keer lijkt het ook echt te gaan komen van een transfer. Technisch directeur Bernard Lacombe van Les Gones loopt in de krant Le Progrès alvast op de zaken vooruit.

De 21-jarige Benzema, die in totaal 43 keer scoorde in 112 competitiewedstrijden voor Lyon, is al tijden in beeld op de radar van clubs als Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid en dus ook Manchester United. Concreet werd echter nog geen van allen, maar de kans is groot dat daar binnen afzienbare tijd verandering in komt. Dat beseft ook Lacombe, die desondanks hoopt op het langer aanblijven van de international.

Zaakwaarnemer Karim Djaziri liet onlangs weten dat zijn cliënt niet van plan is om een klein jaar voor de start van het WK van werkgever te verwisselen. Benzema zou zekerheid willen, en daarom hebben besloten nog een jaar in het Stade Gerland te blijven voetballen. Clubvoorzitter Jean-Michel Aulas gaf echter toe dat hij er ‘ernstig’ over na zou gaan denken wanneer er een exorbitant hoog bod zou worden uitgebracht op de speler.

“Hij speelt nu nog bij ons, maar niemand weet wat er nog gaat gebeuren”, herhaalt Lacombe de woorden van de preses. “Destijds dachten we ook niet dat we Michael Essien kwijt zouden raken, maar op het moment dat Chelsea komt met veel geld en de verlokkingen van de Premier League, zijn wij machteloos. Als Manchester United, die meer dan genoeg geld hebben, komt dan staan we wederom machteloos”, weet Lacombe uit ervaring.

Met het kwijtraken van eerst Cristiano Ronaldo en later Carlos Tévez lijkt het zeer aannemelijk dat United-manager Sir Alex Ferguson binnenkort zal gaan informeren bij Olympique Lyon. De jonge Benzema wordt alom gezien als één van de grootste beloftes van het hedendaagse topvoetbal. Om zijn mogelijke vertrek op te vangen, zouden de Fransen Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in het vizier hebben.

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Player name: Marco Motta
Team: Italy, Roma
Position: Right-back
Age: 23

Match Scouted: Italy 0-0 Serbia, 16 June 2009

Key Moment: Completely shut out Miralem Sulejmani on the left wing and put in an impressive performance. Also made some exciting runs down the flank to support the attack.

Strengths: As skipper of the U21s he has already shown great leadership qualities. He has very good positioning sense and is decent in the air. He spent the second half of the 2008/09 season on loan at Roma and was chosen ahead of Cicinho towards the end of the campaign.

Weaknesses: Needs to work on his pace and strength.

Suitability: United have had a torrid time with injuries at right-back in the last two seasons with Neville, Brown and latterly Rafael all spending prolonged spells on the sidelines. With Motta on the right, Brown can act as cover for Ferdinand and Vidic in his preferred central position with O'Shea providing cover for Evra.

Estimated Cost: Roma haven't yet made their deal permanent so it would be an ideal time to go for him before any big Italian clubs come his way. I'd estimate he'll be available for between £7-10million.

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Key Moment: Completely shut out Miralem Sulejmani on the left wing and put in an impressive performance. Also made some exciting runs down the flank to support the attack.

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 21:17 schreef Merkie het volgende:
Ik hoop niet dat Manchester hem haalt omdat hij geweldenaar Sulejmani heeft weten af te stoppen .

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Op zaterdag 20 juni 2009 21:25 schreef Cyberia18 het volgende:

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!