Cristiano Ronaldo: A show off?

- Manchester United FC's Official Site
04/04/2008 21:30, Report by Ben Hibbs
Carry on Ronaldo

Sir Alex Ferguson has defended Cristiano Ronaldo’s showmanship and insists the Portuguese winger would never disrespect his opponents.

Roma’s combative midfielder David Pizarro claimed the United star is “arrogant”. He was quoted in the English press, saying: "Despite the fact that he is a great champion, he is arrogant. This is the ugliest thing for a player. In the return leg, I will have something to say to him."

Sir Alex feels that Ronaldo’s flicks and tricks should be understood as an expression of talent rather than needless flamboyance. The same way a quick player uses his pace to the fullest, or a tough-tackling midfielder won’t pull out of a 50-50 challenge. Ronaldo’s skill is the only way he knows how to play.

“He just tries to express his talent,” said the United boss. “The boy has the confidence and courage to do it and, as far as I'm concerned, he can carry on doing that. People pay £40-£50 to see him play. That may be annoying to an opponent because he’s prepared to take the ball to them and show his talent.

“But at the end of the day he is a winner. You can’t kick him out of the game because he will always get up and play. The most important message he is giving out is that this is a great player that isn’t afraid to take the ball and beat men. That’s what he’s saying. And in whatever fashion he does it, I don’t care.

"It’s about having the ability and expression in his play to be able to do it. We encourage it with all the players here. In the modern day it’s a breath of fresh air to see players that won’t be intimidated by opponents. I say keep on doing it.”

Ronaldo’s fellow countryman, Nani, was accused by Arsene Wenger of disrespecting Arsenal’s players by juggling with the ball during United's 4-0 FA Cup win at Old Trafford earlier this year. At the time Sir Alex sympathised with Wenger, but has since watched the footage again and says there was nothing wrong with it.

“I looked at the video again, and I don’t see that Nani was showboating,” he said. “He was under pressure and he kept the ball up. I’ve seen many players do that. Thierry Henry did it against Southampton in a cup final if I remember correctly. We don’t encourage our players to humiliate opponents - that’s important. But fans want to see players show talent like his. It’s great to see players developing their game so that they can use skill in a big game. We don't want that to change.”

- Manchester United FC's Official Site

I agree with this article. He isn't showboating or disrespecting fellow players. He's just playing his own style of football, the way he has played since his career started. People shouldn't criticize him for doing what he loves, in style.

Side note:
Why is is that when Steve Nash, Lebron James, or even Michael Jordan did their creative jumps, passes, dunks and shots, they weren't accused of "disrespecting" their fellow players?

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Woes of the Red Devils

Manchester united's top defender, Rio Ferdinand, has just joined ManU's injury list. This happened while they were trying to get a decent lead in the Premier League in their match against Middlesbrough. This is truly a big blow for players of Old Trafford, now that they are in a high position in both the EPL and UCL. I think that this will increase their determination to win and to fight fiercer battles. I think that they will take this on as a road block that's waiting to be destroyed. We'll just have to see if the devils can rise from this and still perform their A-game.


With the absence of great players such as Ferdinand, Totti, Ronaldinho and Messi in this late stage of the UCL, we can expect more interesting games. We'll see if Barcelona and Manchester United will still have what it takes to push through the second match. We have seen Barcelona defeat Shalke; although this ended with a low final score of 1-0. Well, I think that we could expect scores like these since all of the teams are competent enough to reach the quarter finals.

This will surely be interesting.


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HOT FIXTURES last March 23, 08

Last, March 23, 08, the biggest clubs in the English Premiere League clashed heads. The fixtures were Manchester United vs Livepool FC and Arsenal FC vs Chelsea FC. From the moment the fixtures were announced, I heard a lot of commotion here in the Philippines since these were the most favorite clubs in the Barclays League. My personal bets were ManU and Chelsea.

I) MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL FC
Manchester United, a club consisting of hard-working talented players suchg as Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest scorer this season, Wayne Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, etc, was a favorite for me. Among the clubs in the English Premiere League, this club was the most appealling. This year, one of the big wins of ManU was against Arsenal FC, where they beat them, through the efforts of Nani, and the others, even when C. Ronaldo wasn't playing. Even though I knew that whenever Ronaldo or Rooney received the ball, something sweet was going to happen. No doubt, they are one of the best teams in this league. These fueled my liking for Manchester United.

Even though there were these factors, we still can't disregard the fact that Liverpool FC also had amazing players such as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerard, Crouch, Kuyt, and Carragher. Gerard, a crowd favorite, is known for his stunning long-shots and pin-point passes. This, in combination with Torres, or the other strikers, can be quite deadly.

Every time these two clubs faced each other, even since 1983, they showed great sportsmanship and creativity that only the top clubs could show. Their games were very fast-paced in terms of scoring opportunities, plays, and possession skills. It's no wonder people flock to the stadiums just to see them play.

This particular match didn't go well for the Reds, with a final score of 3-0, favoring ManU. Everyone expected a better game from them. Manchester United showed that they deserved the win through showing fierce determination and skill. Liverpool needs to step up and not let things like this happen again.

II) CHELSEA FC vs ARSENAL FC

This was a match that made fans think about certain things about their clubs. For one thing, even though Chelsea FC had a roster full of superstars, would they be able to keep it together and not try to step over each other in search for the spotlight? Or would Arsenal, a team full uf you players, be able to stop the Blues' no-lose streak at Stamford Bridge? Those were some of the questions that came to my mind when i was setting a bet with my brother.
My personal bet was Chelsea FC. Not only did they have amazing strikers at the top, they also had a wide array of top-class performers in the mid and in the bottom third. Lampard, Terry, and the others were a serious threat to the Gunners. I was also very confident in Terry's ability to hold the team together, as well as his defensive line. I was confident that Didier Drogba would convert whenever he was served top-quality settings. So the outcome of the match, 2-1, in favor of Chelsea, was of no surprise to me.

Even though these were the turn outs, the teams still showed the viewers what English Football is all about.

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