RONALDO IS STILL THE BEST!

Messi certainly scored the goal that will land him this year’s major individual awards in the final of the Champions League in Rome. But like some people, I still think that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player on the planet.

The Portuguese winger was completely let down by Ferguson’s horrible tactics and the whole team’s poor spirit right from the start of the game.

Ronaldo showed how determined he was to win in the final with some excellent cracks on goals, but when the team is not behind you, performing in a mesmerizing way is almost an impossible task, especially against a Barcelona side who knows how to win games.

Even Lionel Messi was nowhere to find in the first minutes of the game when Barcelona were dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United. Apart from his header which rounded off the score line, the Argentine Superstar was not the man at the centre of attraction on the field; Iniesta, Carlos Puyol and even Yaya Toure were better players on the night, as they prevented Manchester United’s midfielders and forwards to connect to the ball.

But Anti-Ronaldo supporters will close their eyes on that and hail Lionel Messi as the winner of the so-called duel and the World’s Best Player. The truth, in fact, is that the world wanted to get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo ever since he won all the individual titles and honors.

But we need to be clear on the fact that Lionel Messi’s goal in the final has definitely put him above Cristiano Ronaldo this term. The Portuguese winger fired four important goals for Manchester United in the knock-out stages of the competition and the Red Devils wonderfully reached the final with no disturbances among football fans.

But think about Lionel Messi’s Barcelona. The Catalans may be praised for their ability to crush and disgrace big sides like Bayern Munich and Lyon. But was it the case against English side Chelsea in the semifinals? Absolutely not! Lionel Messi’s game was completely ruptured by Guus Hiddink’s impressive tactics for Chelsea’s defenders in the semifinals.

If justice was a notion that ruled in soccer, Barcelona wouldn’t have been in the final. How can three clear penalties be denied in a space of 90 minutes?

And then Barcelona’s moment finally arrives – after the referee on the day Tom Henning Ovrebo – plays with them as a twelfth man: Iniesta fires an equalizer in the top corner of Chelsea’s net to send the Catalans through to the final.

Barcelona stole their place in the finals, it’s simple as that to understand. Unless you are a coward big cheat, you would not understand this fact. So would have Messi been a finalist? Obviously not! On the contrary, Cristiano Ronaldo was awesome in the semis against Arsenal, scoring two super goals to help Manchester United reach the final of the Champions League.

So a deserved place in the final for Portugal’s wonderful Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, while justice would have seen Messi fly back to Spain empty handed with the entire Barcelona squad. Then it would have depended on what would have happened between Manchester United and Chelsea in the final.

Who knows? The Red Champions might have tortured Chelsea once again and this would have given a clear reason as to why Ronaldo must win the Fifa Player of the Year award once again.

One thing I’d love to ask is this: Messi was supposed to crush out in the Champions League semifinals, so why on earth would people hail him as a treble winner who eventually deserves all the accolades? The so-called final duel should even have existed because Lionel Messi shouldn’t have been a finalist.

They say the Champions League final in Rome was the defining moment to separate the best player in the world from the second best. I say it was a not-to-happen duel because Messi and Barcelona weren’t worthy finalists.

Cristiano Ronaldo is simply the best. You can play around on the field with the strength of a warrior but if you are not able to the European Cup in a fair manner, the real champion is the other man, Cristiano Ronaldo.

BATTLE OF THE TITANS ,,, CRISTIANO RONALDO VS LIONEL MESSI TODAY:


TODAY Europe’s best two clubs lock horns at the Stadio Olympico in the UEFA Champions League final, so the media have been activating their microphones in front of Manchester United and Barcelona players…
Everyone wants to know the thoughts of the finalists before the clash takes place on May 27.

Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Champions League final

“I am concentrating on the final, not worrying what else is going to happen with my team-mates or the coach, I am not worried about that now. It is the final the fans dream of because they have always wanted to see these two teams there.”

Indeed, the whole world was awaiting a final countdown between Barcelona and Manchester United and perhaps this wish pushed referee Tom Henning Ovrebo to rob Chelsea from their right to qualify to the final of the competition.

The final will showcase two teams with an attacking mentallity, and Cristiano Ronaldo is aware of Barcelona’s style of play and of the threat caused by all of their players and not one in particular.

“It’s clear that we are the two best teams in Europe. Not only because we are in the final but also because of the football we have played this season and for the trophies we have won.”

“It is not only Messi, also [Samuel] Eto’o, who is scoring a lot, [Thierry] Henry, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta. You cannot just speak about one player.”

Lionel Messi ahead of the Champions League final

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi also had his own analysis ahead of the massive encounter:

“They will not play the same football as Chelsea. They have a team to play good football and it will be an open final, a great game to watch. They play similar to us and have very good attacking players on the break in Ronaldo and Tevez.”

Then breaking the barrier by mentioning Cristiano Ronaldo’s name, the young Argentine continued:

“The whole world knows Ronaldo is a very big player that changes games,”

“He can win a game on his own at any moment.

However, Messi – who insists that the game of football showcases a battle between two teams and not two players – declared:

“But I think and I hope the best team wins. I don’t think individual prizes are what matters. For me the important thing is that the team wins.”

RONALDO HAPPY AT OLD TRAFFORD

RONALDO HAPPY AT OLD TRAFFORD

RONALDO HAPPY AT OLD TRAFFORD

Cristiano Ronaldo has dropped the biggest hint yet that he will stay at Manchester United next season.

Once again, Ronaldo has been the centre of attention this week after former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon claimed the best player in the world would arrive at the Bernabeu this summer.

Sir Alex Ferguson decided not to respond, beyond the tongue-in-cheek statement that clubs 'find it easy to get players off us don't they?'.

However, Ronaldo has offered his own assessment of the situation.

With three Premier League clubs in the Champions League semi-finals for the third successive year, there is no doubt where the power in European football lies at present.

And it seems Ronaldo may opt to remain at Old Trafford to further his medal collection.

"It is a great feeling and I love to play here," the Portugal superstar told Setanta Sports.

"I am very happy here. I want to win more trophies here. At the moment I think I am at the right club.

"And I want to win trophies next season as well."

United must tackle Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final, their first two-legged meeting with English opposition.

"It is not luck that there are three English teams in the semi final of the Champions League," observed Ronaldo.

"In my opinion it is because the Premier League is the toughest league and the most competitive league with the best players."

First, United must tackle Everton in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final and then Portsmouth at Old Trafford on Wednesday as they look to consolidate their position at the Premier League summit.

A pair of victories would keep United on course for an unprecedented quintuple, an aim Ronaldo admits will be tough to complete, but one he does not rule out.

"We have this opportunity, but it will be difficult to win the five trophies," he added.

"It is not impossible; we have to play against Everton and that will be a tough game, but everyone knows if we win we are in the final again."

Fergie to ring the changes

Fergie to ring the changes

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed anyone believing he could play the same side that defeated FC Porto in Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final against Everton on Sunday is "off their heads".

Despite the enormity of their meeting with David Moyes' side, the Red Devils will be virtually unrecognisable from the team that started in Portugal as Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick are all expected to stand down - with Edwin van der Sar and Dimitar Berbatov possibly joining them.

"When I pick my team, no matter what it is there will be critics voicing a concern about me not playing my strongest team," said the United chief. "Not everyone agrees with changes. There are some supporters who want me to play my best team every game. That is impossible. If you look at Wednesday's game you are off your head to think I could play the same team again."

The sheer energy expended in United reaching the last four of Europe's number one club competition for the third season in a row means the men asked to do the bulk of the running will not be asked to put their bodies on the line again.

It means Rooney is set to miss out on an emotional last four meeting with his former club, with Ronaldo due to sit the game out as well having toiled on his own up front for the last half hour.

"I am in a difficult position because we have got so many hard games coming up," reflected Ferguson. "Somewhere along the line I have to make changes.

"The speed of the game has changed.

"Look at how fast the Premier Division is. The intensity of the matches is the reason English teams have a head start in Europe."

Yet Ferguson also denies he is devaluing the FA Cup. Replacements such as Park Ji-sung, Darren Fletcher and Carlos Tevez are all senior internationals who have been integral figures in United's pursuit of an unprecedented quintuple this term.

"Hand on heart, the FA Cup is important," he said. "We don't want to have a defeat at this time of year. No matter what the defeat is, we have to answer for that."

FERGIE FANS FLAMES OF BENITEZ ROW

FERGIE FANS FLAMES OF BENITEZ ROW

Sir Alex Ferguson has urged Rafael Benitez to start doing something better with his spare time.

The Manchester United boss has finally reacted to Benitez's repeated attacks, accusing the Spaniard of 'arrogance' and treating old friend Sam Allardyce with contempt.

Ferguson has not forgotten the so-called 'facts' Benitez reeled off in a pre-planned post-Christmas attack.

And the Scot feels Benitez should start doing something more productive with his time.

"I don't know what he does in his spare time but he is certainly not using it in the right way," said Ferguson.

"He has put himself in a powerful position at Liverpool.

"He wants control of all the transfers. The reason, I don't know. But it's the last thing I'd want."

However, it is not the internal politics at Anfield that concern Ferguson.

It is Benitez's general behaviour and dealings with fellow Premier League managers.

And, after causing irritation with his dismissal of David Moyes' work at Everton, who tackle United in the FA Cup at Wembley tomorrow, Benitez went a step too far with his reaction to Liverpool's second goal against an injury-ravaged Blackburn at Anfield on Sunday.

Under the circumstances, Ferguson felt Benitez's reaction, a wave of the arms to signal the game was over, was unwarranted and unacceptable.

"Benitez said Everton are a small club, which just points to his arrogance," said Ferguson.

"But it is one thing to show the arrogance he did. What you cannot forgive is the contempt for Sam Allardyce last week when Liverpool scored the second goal.

"I don't think Sam deserved that.

"He is a guy who has worked so hard for the LMA (League Managers' Association), looking after young players.

"He had a weakened team and to get that kind of contempt....I don't think any other Liverpool manager would have done that. It was beyond the pale.

"I am surprised no-one picked up on it. You would never get me doing something like that. You should respect managers.

"At times you have to have humility."

Not that Ferguson has too much time to think about Benitez as he plots a way past Everton in the FA Cup semi-final.

It could be a much-changed Red Devils line-up at Wembley too given the enormous effort expended in Porto on Wednesday, raising the possibility of Wayne Rooney not getting to face his former club, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick among those who could also miss out, along with a more obvious candidate in Ryan Giggs.

The changes should at least bring a freshness to United as they face Moyes' much-improved team.

"When you go back to the 1960s and 1980s Everton were the dominant team," said Ferguson.

"But after Howard Kendall left they seemed to have financial problems from time to time.

"But David Moyes is building a big club. The evidence is there.

"My problem on Sunday is that we will face a very hungry team.

"David has to win a trophy. I know he is feeling that way and this is a big opportunity for him."

Kiko the kid fires United title drive



Just when it seemed that Manchester United's season was to unravel a little more, a goal of historic proportions from another of the academy prodigies whom Sir Alex Ferguson keeps receiving and whom Rafael Benitez, much to his own fury, does not.

If 17-year-old Federico Macheda – known as "Kiko" to his team-mates and unknown to pretty much everyone else – never scores again at Old Trafford, his extraordinary 93rd-minute goal, securing a 3-2 win over Aston Villa and taking United back to the top of the table last night, assigns him a permanent place in United folklore. It also delivers some serious momentum back to Ferguson's side, who showed scant little of it and had seemed doomed to lose three successive league matches for the first time since 2001 until Cristiano Ronaldo, taking himself to the top of the Premier League scorers' table, began an improbable fightback.

Ronaldo scored twice but the day belonged to Macheda. The teenager later revealed that he had been due to fly out to join the Italian Under-18s until Ferguson indicated that, with Wayne Rooney suspended and Dimitar Berbatov injured, he would be needed for United's bench yesterday, instead. When his moment arrived, on the hour, he seized it, looking penetrative before spinning past Luke Young and unleashing his winner in the 93rd minute of play. (Yossi Benayoun's for Liverpool at Fulham on Saturday had come in the 92nd).

Macheda is pictured on his Facebook site with a bevy of delectable women but there will be some more careful image management from now on. What had Ferguson's instructions been, he was asked. "Just play simple, play, just play," he replied, with a grin as wide as the Irwell, before his captain Gary Neville bestowed him with the man of the match winner's champagne. "Just take it home," Neville quietly advised the teenager, who will not reach the legal drinking age until 22 August. And was scoring the only thing in his mind when he received Ryan Giggs' ball? "Yes. To score a goal," said Macheda, who ran to his father, Pascuale, his mother and brother after his finish.

Neville said he was "just grateful" and that was not surprising. Shorn of all but one of his defensive mainstays, Ferguson first tried fielding the club captain in central defence against the height of John Carew, then was forced to switch him and John O'Shea around after Carew climbed above a statuesque Neville to equalise Ronaldo's opener.

Neville, Patrice Evra and John O'Shea were all culpable when Gabriel Agbonlahor sent Villa ahead on 58 minutes, prompting Macheda's arrival four minutes later. By the time the winner came, 17-year-old Danny Welbeck was also up front for United.

Gambling was the only solution to United's struggle, reflected Ferguson, who agreed that Macheda's winner compared with Steve Bruce's title-winning late pair of goals against Sheffield Wednesday, in injury time, 16 years ago. "We've come from behind and that's the significance of it if you go back to '93," he said. "But this is a far more mature team in terms of handling situations like today."

Ferguson, who admitted that playing Neville after his single reserve team game in six weeks had been a "gamble", suggested that Liverpool – now a point behind United with a game more played – are not necessarily his prime challengers. "We accept Liverpool's challenge but I think that the winner of [the] Liverpool/Chelsea [Champions League quarter-final] will be the biggest threat," he said. "So many times it's become such an emotional picture between the two clubs, never a lot of goals in it. Whoever wins, it will be a big step forward for them."

Ferguson's own attempt to get beyond Porto in United's quarter-final tomorrow is boosted by the return of Rio Ferdinand, who yesterday said he expects to play, and Nemanja Vidic, as well as Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes – both suspended yesterday.

Villa's pursuit of fourth spot has taken another dent and Martin O'Neill felt they could have had more help from the referee Mike Riley. Ashley Young certainly seemed to have been impeded by Neville in the Villa box in the first half. "Let me bleat for a moment," O'Neill said. "The referee played five minutes which was no surprise. He wouldn't have played five minutes at Villa Park. We all need a slice of luck – even Sir Alex, but he doesn't need referees and linesmen to help him every week," O'Neill said.

"The officials also got three offside decisions wrong when we were clean through," he complained. "The thing is we can take great heart from the performance. But we are really disappointed with the result because I didn't feel we deserved that.

"You are never comfortable against United, but I felt we were in commanding form and it looked as though we could withstand anything."

Ferguson hails 'risky' strategy




Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson said his gamble paid off after 17-year-old debutant Federico Macheda hit a late winner to beat Aston Villa 3-2.

Ferguson said: "I told him 'well done'. It's important to keep his feet on the ground. He'll need to handle lots of publicity over the next few days.

"It was a gamble but we deserved our result today because we tried to win.

"We take risks but risks are a part of football. We didn't defend well but there's always a goal threat from us."

United staged a remarkable fightback to earn a victory that takes them back to the top of the Premier League table, a point ahead of Liverpool.


Villa were 2-1 up with only 10 minutes to play after John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor had cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener.

But Ronaldo struck his second goal to equalise and substitute Macheda scored on 90 minutes with a brilliant curling shot to snatch all three points.

Ferguson revealed he urged his side to go for victory after they had brought themselves back to 2-2, rather than settle for a point.

"This club has been this way for a long, long time," he said.

"I love the thrill of it myself. I love to see that adventure. Yes, we take 'terrible' risks and we don't defend properly.

"But there's always a chance we'll win the match.

"We've had our blip. We had seven, eight players missing today, four or five of the very top team.

"But you can see that these young players are prepared to go right to the very end."


Villa boss Martin O'Neill was understandably upset after seeing his side beaten by a last-gasp goal.

But he was full of praise for his side for the way he felt they took the game to the Champions.

He said: "I thought we were absolutely brilliant. We conceded an early goal but fought back to get ourselves in front .

"I do not think we deserved to lose the game.

"We will gain confidence from this performance. That might sound crazy because we are in the results business - but we were terrific today.

"We should have got something from the game and I actually think we should have won it.

"The defeat is a bitter pill to swallow because we came to Old Trafford and played so well. We took the game to them and I am very proud of my players.

"We will have to take this on the chin, but we definitely come back from this."