Back on top in Europe: 2008 Champions League

The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final took place on Wednesday, 21st May 2008. The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium, home ground of Torpedo and Spartak Moscow, in Moscow, Russia, to determine the winner of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Chelsea, making it an all-English club final for the first time in European Cup/Champions League history. This was only the third time two clubs from the same country contested the final – the others being the 2000 and 2003 finals. The game was won by Manchester United 6–5 on penalties, after a 1–1 draw following extra time.

In a series of coincidences, in the week during which Manchester United qualified for this Final in Russia, Russian side Zenit St Petersburg won the 2008 UEFA Cup Final at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England. This saw the Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich bring Chelsea to the first European Cup final staged in Russia. The Moscow location made this the easternmost final in the tournament's history. It was also Chelsea's first European Cup final in their history. The significance for United was that 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, and the 40th anniversary of United's first European Cup triumph in 1968.

In recent years, the Champions League final has been given an identity of its own with a unique logo, a design concept, and an overall theme. The objective is to help promote the final and enhance the prestige of one of the world's biggest sporting events. The initial idea that inspired the creation of a new identity for each final was to develop a design with a distinctive flavour of the host city. On 31 October in Moscow, the Final's new design was presented to public. The ceremony was held in the press conference room at the Luzhniki Stadium and the design was unveiled in presence of the ambassador for the final, former Russian goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev.


Background

Manchester United went into the Champions League final as champions of England for the 17th time and undefeated in the 2007–08 Champions League. Chelsea came second in the league, finishing with two fewer points than United, and had lost just one Champions League game, the quarter-final first leg away to Fenerbahçe. In the Premier League games between the two sides in the 2007–08 season, United won 2–0 at Old Trafford in Avram Grant's first game in charge of Chelsea on 23 September 2007. Chelsea won 2–1 at Stamford Bridge in the return game on 26 April 2008. Chelsea also won the last cup game between the two – a 1–0 win in the 2007 FA Cup Final in May 2007, although United got their own back in the Community Shield the following August – winning 3–0 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in normal time.

 

Routes to the final
 

 
Manchester United

Manchester United were drawn in Group F along with Roma, Sporting and Dynamo Kyiv. United won their first five group games before securing a 1–1 draw away against Roma, in a game where both teams were already guaranteed to progress from the group, United as group winners and with the most number of points out of all the group winners, 16.

In the first knockout round, United were drawn against Olympique Lyonnais, against whom they drew the away leg 1–1, thanks to a late equaliser from Carlos Tévez. The Red Devils then won the second leg 1–0 – Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the only goal – to ensure a 2–1 aggregate win and a place in the quarter-finals, where they were again drawn against Roma.

The quarter-final matches represented the fifth and sixth times these two clubs had met in Europe in just over 12 months. United went to Rome and secured a very creditable 2–0 win, before securing the tie with a record 11th consecutive home Champions League win, winning 1–0.

The semi-final pitted United against FC Barcelona; the teams had not met since the group stage of the 1998–99 tournament, the last time United won it. The teams also had identical records going into the semi-final, each having won eight and drawn two of their ten games, scoring 18 goals and conceding just five. The first leg at the Nou Camp was a drab affair, with United spending most of the game defending, whilst Barcelona tried to pass the ball around them. United were awarded a penalty in the first minute, but Cristiano Ronaldo sent the ball wide, hitting the stanchion behind the goal. That was about as exciting as the first leg got for either team and it ended 0–0. The second leg at Old Trafford was a game of higher tempo, which United won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Paul Scholes after 14 minutes. This result increased United's consecutive home win record in the Champions League to 12 and ensured that United reached the final unbeaten.

En-route to the final 2008, United won nine and drew three of their 12 matches, dwarfing their record of four wins and six draws in the ten games they took to reach the final in 1999 (in 1999 there was no first knockout round and teams advanced from the group stage directly into the quarter-finals). United scored 19 goals en-route to the final, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring seven of them, more than any other player.

 
Chelsea

Chelsea were placed in Group B, along with Schalke 04, Rosenborg and Valencia. Chelsea's first match in the group was against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's home ground, where they were held to a 1–1 draw. Two days later manager José Mourinho left Chelsea by mutual consent. Mourinho's replacement was former Israeli national team coach Avram Grant. Chelsea's second match was against Spanish club Valencia, whom they beat 2–1, leaving Chelsea with four points from their two matches. Chelsea's next two matches were against Schalke 04 of Germany. The first match was played at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won the match 2–0. The return match against Schalke 04 ended in a 0–0 draw. Chelsea's final two matches in their group resulted in a 4–0 demolition of Rosenborg and a 0–0 draw with Valencia. Chelsea progressed as group winners with 12 points out of six games.

Chelsea faced Olympiakos in the first knockout round. The first leg in Athens ended in a 0–0 draw. The second leg saw Chelsea run out 3-0 winners with goals from Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou to send Chelsea into the quarter-finals.

Chelsea were drawn against Fenerbahçe of Turkey in the quarter-finals. The first leg was held at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, and ended in a 2–1 loss. Chelsea had opened the scoring when Deivid deflected the ball into his own net, but Fenerbahçe equalised on 65 minutes, when Kazim-Richards scored. Deivid won the match for Fenerbahçe with a strike from outside the penalty area in the 81st minute. The second leg at Stamford Bridge was won 2-0 by Chelsea, to claim a 3–2 aggregate victory over the Turkish side.

Chelsea faced fellow English opposition Liverpool in the semi-final. This was the fourth year in succession that these teams had met in the Champions League. The first leg at Anfield was drawn 1–1. The game looked to be heading for a Liverpool win but an own goal by John Arne Riise in the 95th minute gave Chelsea advantage. Chelsea won the second leg 3–2, with goals from Drogba on 33 minutes, Lampard on 98 minutes and Drogba again on 105 minutes sending the Blues through to the first Champions League final in their history.


Leading up to the match

The artificial pitch had also been relaid with turf shipped from Slovakia just days before the final. Thus, there were concerns over the players' safety on the pitch. Manchester United chief executive David Gill had expressed disappointment that the club had only been allocated with 21,000 tickets for their supporters, when the club could potentially sell up to 100,000 tickets for their fans.

Hotels in Moscow were fully booked, and on the day, bars and pubs were packed. One holiday company gave an alternative to hotels: a cruise ship. Fans could sleep in the cabins, as well as travelling to and returning from Moscow just for the final. A study by Sainsbury's Finance reveals that fans would need spending money of around £624 each to cover hotels, taxis, food and drink etc. British media widely but incorrectly reported that the average price of one pint of beer in Moscow was £7.50. The actual price was between £2.00 and £5.00. Sainsbury's Finance estimated that Chelsea and Manchester United fans could take a combined total of £40m spending money with them. The match was expected to generate £200m spending, prize money and TV income, with the two teams sharing £115m. However, some fans spent far less money, using indirect routes such as low-cost flights to Riga followed by a train or bus journey to Moscow.

A flight to Moscow, which was meant to leave Gatwick Airport for Domodedovo International Airport at 0555 BST to arrive just in time for the match, was cancelled after 6 hours of delay. Supporters waited nearly 6 hours after being told the plane would leave at 1300 BST. A spokesperson for the airport said it was a 'hydraulic fault' with the plane, and the plane would not be able to arrive at 1945 BST. 224 Chelsea supporters were left stranded, each of whom had paid near £1,000 for the day trip. By the time they were told, it was too late to make alternative plans to travel to Moscow.


The Match

Team news

Sir Alex Ferguson guaranteed a place in the starting line-up for Paul Scholes, after the midfielder had missed the 1999 final through suspension. He stuck with his regular starting line-up that had served him well all season, with his only real decision being whether to play Park Ji-Sung or Owen Hargreaves in midfield. He decided to start Owen Hargreaves on the right wing instead of his regular role as a defensive midfielder, and deployed Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing, pitting him against Michael Essien.

Avram Grant decided to start with Florent Malouda on the left-wing instead of Salomon Kalou. He also chose to deploy Michael Essien at right-back ahead of Paulo Ferreira and Juliano Belletti, rather than in his preferred midfield position. The rest of Chelsea's team was fairly predictable, with their spine of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba being the key players.

 
Match summary

 
First half

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring after 26 minutes. An interchange of passes between Paul Scholes and Wes Brown after a throw-in on the right flank gave Brown time to pick out a cross for Ronaldo, who directed his header past Petr Čech. Chelsea almost equalised in the 33rd minute when Frank Lampard's cross was headed back into the six-yard box by Didier Drogba. United's Rio Ferdinand, under pressure from Michael Ballack, was forced to head the ball towards his own goal and Edwin van der Sar pulled off a save to deny Chelsea a goal. United spent the rest of the first half pressing for a second goal, and had two good opportunities to extend their lead, but were denied by a double-save from Čech. Wayne Rooney delivered a long ball into the path of Ronaldo and the United goalscorer placed his cross on the head of the diving Tévez only for Čech to deny him. Chelsea's failure to clear the loose ball gave Michael Carrick the chance to extend their lead but again Čech was equal to the task with another fine save.

Chelsea survived the pressure and equalised in the dying minutes of the first half. The goal followed from a long range shot by Michael Essien, being deflected first off Nemanja Vidić and then Rio Ferdinand. The ball's change in direction caused Edwin van der Sar to lose his footing, leaving Lampard, who had made the run from deep, with a simple finish.

 
Second half

Lampard's equaliser coming at the end of the first half led to a transformed Chelsea in the second half. Chelsea kept United on the back foot for long periods. Nevertheless, they managed to contain most of Chelsea's attacks. Chelsea had a few opportunities to take the lead, with Essien breaking free of United's defence in the 54th minute, only to blast his shot too high. Michael Ballack also sent his long shot just off target. Chelsea's closest opportunity to take the lead came in the 77th minute when a Didier Drogba shot struck the post from 20 yards (18 m) out. Drogba went very close to convert Joe Cole's low cross home for the winner four minutes from time, but blasted wide. Ryan Giggs was then introduced in place of Scholes, making a record 759th appearance for Manchester United.

 
Extra time

The game moved into extra time, and the thrilling pace was maintained throughout. Both teams had chances to score a vital second goal, with a Lampard left-footer hitting the underside of the crossbar and Ryan Giggs having a shot headed off the line by Terry. Following a fracas involving most of the 22 players and the match officials, Didier Drogba became only the second player in history to be sent off in a European Cup Final – the first being Arsenal's goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in 2006 – for a slap on Vidić.

Penalty shootout

Rio Ferdinand won the toss of the coin, and opted for United to go first in the shootout. Carlos Tévez stepped up first and sent Čech the wrong way. Ballack was next up, shooting powerfully past van der Sar. Carrick buried his spot-kick, as did Juliano Belletti with his first touch of the game. The first miss of the shootout came from Ronaldo, who stuttered in his run-up but Čech dived to his right to save. Lampard then put Chelsea 3-2 ahead. Owen Hargreaves levelled things up with a shot into the top corner. Ashley Cole was the next up, and van der Sar got a strong hand to the ball but couldn't keep the ball out. Nani then knew that he had to score to keep United in it, and he did it just. Thus it was all up to John Terry to win the Cup for Chelsea. However, Terry lost his footing when planting his standing foot by the ball and, even though Edwin van der Sar was sent the wrong way, Terry's mis-hit effort hit the outside of the right post and went wide.

Anderson scored the first penalty in sudden death. Salomon Kalou then sent van der Sar the wrong way to make it 5-5. Giggs was next up and he was also successful. Van der Sar then pulled off the crucial save for United by distracting Nicolas Anelka when he pointed to his left (Chelsea's penalties were all attempted on van der Sar's left side of the goal), but correctly dived to his right to deny Anelka, securing United European football's top prize for the third time in their history.

Hargreaves Man Utd Career Truly Begins

On 31 May 2007, it was announced that Hargreaves would join Manchester United on July 1, 2007, after almost a year of negotiations between Bayern Munich and United for a fee of around £17 million. Hargreaves was finally unveiled as a Manchester United player on July 1, having signed a four-year contract with the club. He was then revealed to the press on July 9, along with fellow newcomer Nani. Hargreaves was given the number 4 shirt at Old Trafford, the number previously worn by Gabriel Heinze and Juan Sebastian Veron, to whom his style is considered similar to.



Hargreaves made his Manchester United debut in a friendly against Peterborough United on 4 August, coming on as a second half substitute in United's 3-1 victory. He made his first Premier League appearance in Manchester United's third game of the season, in the derby match away to Manchester City in a 1-0 defeat. Hargreaves scored his first league goal for Manchester United against Fulham on March 1, a free-kick from outside the penalty box. He scored his second league goal for the club on 13 April, scoring the winner against Arsenal with a well taken free kick.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy: The Goal King

Ruud Van Nistelrooy's footballing career began in 1993 playing for FC Den Bosch. He spent four seasons there, in the Dutch second division, before being transferred to Heerenveen. After a few months, PSV Eindhoven had seen enough and, halfway through 1998, paid up EUR 7.5m, a record-breaking amount between Dutch clubs, to sign a striker that had just turned 22 years old. The trust that PSV had deposited in him was soon repaid. Van Nistelrooy finished his first campaign in Eindhoven as Dutch League MVP and top-scorer, with 31 goals, which also placed him as runner-up of the European Golden Boot. The following season, Van Nistelrooy had scored 29 by March 2000.

Manchester United had already reached an agreement with PSV to sign him for GBP 19m. But on 6 March 2000, in a friendly match against Silkeborg, Van Nistelrooy suffered a knee injury. In spite of the injury, he was elected Best Dutch Player and was Golden Boot runner-up for the second consecutive year.

Nevertheless, any long-term doubts regarding his future vanished in March of next year. He returned from his injury, materialised the transfer to Man U, finally, and caused a spectacular raucous in the English Premiership. Among other feats, during his second season in 2002/03, he scored 25 goals, being instrumental in the Premier League title that the 'Red Devils' conquered that year. Van Nistelrooy managed to score 44 goals in all competitions that seasons.

For the Netherlands, Ruud van Nistelrooy has a return of more than a goal every other game, scoring 28 times in 54 appearances. For Manchester United he scored 150 goals in 219 games. Spanning his time at PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy has scored 43 goals in 54 UEFA Champions League matches, an enviable return for any striker.

However, despite being the English Premiership’s second highest scorer with 21 goals in the 2005–06 season, Van Nistelrooy had to settle for a place on the substitutes’ bench after being dropped for the Carling Cup final against Wigan Athletic. He scored against West Ham on his return to the first team on March 29 but was dropped to the bench again for the next match against Bolton. He did come on as a second half substitute, though, and scored the winner in a 2–1 victory. It was his 150th and final goal for Manchester United. During the World Cup there was considerable doubt as to whether Van Nistelrooy would continue to be a United player, with strong rumours that he might go to Germany or Spain. On July 14 it was confirmed that he wanted to leave the club. On July 28 he passed a medical at Real Madrid.


Career in the Netherlands

Van Nistelrooy started off as a central defender and was then moved to central midfield for Dutch second division side, FC Den Bosch, but was converted into a centre forward at SC Heerenveen in 1997. In 1998, on his 22nd birthday, he was signed by PSV Eindhoven for ƒ14 million or €6.3 million, a then-record sum of money for a transfer between two Dutch football clubs.

Van Nistelrooy repaid the faith by scoring 31 goals in 34 matches in his first season at PSV and being voted Dutch Player of the Year by his fellow professionals. In his second season, he notched up another 29 goals.

Manchester United

Manchester United almost signed Van Nistelrooy on 25 April 2000 for a fee of £18.3 million. However, the deal fell through when Van Nistelrooy failed a medical due to a cruciate knee ligament injury which he suffered against Danish side Silkeborg on 9 March 2000.

However Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson persevered and almost exactly a year later, 24-year-old Van Nistelrooy signed for a then British transfer record of £19 million on 23 April 2001 from PSV. During his first season at Manchester United, he proved his worth by scoring 23 goals in 32 games, achieving a feat of scoring in a record eight consecutive FA Premier League games. He also scored ten Champions League goals capping an incredible debut season by being named the PFA Players' Player of the Year.

During the following year, the 2002–03 season, Van Nistelrooy scored 25 Premier League goals (including a stunning goal which he started from the half way line against Fulham) and 12 goals in European competition while leading Manchester United to the Premier League title. He also broke the record for scoring goals in European competitions for Manchester United in this season.

Van Nistelrooy started off the 2003–04 season in spectacular fashion, scoring twice in his first two league games. He also managed to score his 100th and 101st goals for the club against Everton at Goodison Park on 7 February 2004, as United earned a 4–3 Premiership victory. In that season, Van Nistelrooy was famously attacked by Martin Keown in a match against Keown's team, Arsenal, as well as signing a new contract which would keep him at the club until the summer of 2008 and the age of 32.

In 2004 in a survey on Manchester United's official website Ruud was voted "Ferguson's best bargain buy" by over 10,000 fans worldwide even beating the likes of Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Peter Schmeichel to the accolade.

Van Nistelrooy missed a large part of the 2004–05 Premiership season through injury, but was still the top goalscorer in the Champions League with 10 goals. He is currently the fourth most prolific scorer in European Cup / UEFA Champions League together with Eusébio, with 47 goals, only behind Alfredo Di Stéfano, Andriy Shevchenko, and current leader Raúl.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Van Nistelrooy returned to form, scoring in United's first four Premiership games. He went on to finish as the second-highest scorer in the Premiership with 21 goals, behind Thierry Henry of Arsenal.




Exit from Manchester United

On February 26, 2006, Van Nistelrooy was an unused substitute at Manchester United's League Cup final against Wigan Athletic. His place in the line-up was given to Louis Saha, who scored the second goal in a 4–0 win. This action caused a lot of controversy within fans and in the media, but the player declined claims that he had had a rift with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. He was also left on the bench for six consecutive matches. However, in the following game against West Ham, Van Nistelrooy returned to the Manchester United starting line-up as captain, and scored the winning goal. In the game the following Saturday, against Bolton Wanderers, Van Nistelrooy found himself back on the bench — however, he came on as a substitute, and for the second successive game, scored the winning goal, his 150th for the club. Having not started for seven of the last eight games, Van Nistelrooy lost his place as the joint-highest goalscorer in the Premiership this season with 21 goals, with Thierry Henry having scored 27. Van Nistelrooy finished his United career as the most prolific goalscorer in the club's history with a greater goals to games ratio than any previous United striker.

Fresh doubt spread over Van Nistelrooy's future when he was left out of the team to play Charlton Athletic in the final game of the season on 7 May 2006. Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that Van Nistelrooy, angry at the decision, left the ground and went home 3 hours before kick-off. Although, other reports suggest that he was forced to leave the ground by Ferguson. Ferguson further said that he was left out of the team because of a number of issues which he claimed affected the spirit at the club. United won the game 4–0, with youngster Giuseppe Rossi playing the match.

On May 9, 2006, Setanta Sports claimed to exclusively reveal the real reason behind Van Nistelrooy's exclusion from the squad for the game against Charlton. According to Setanta, Van Nistelrooy and team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo had allegedly come to blows during a training session. Ruud allegedly criticised Ronaldo's tendency to keep the ball instead of passing to his team-mates, as a result of this outburst, a fight broke out. Van Nistelrooy then, allegedly, said "go running to your daddy". Although Ronaldo's father had died earlier in the season, the article claims that Van Nistelrooy was not referring to Ronaldo's father, but to his fellow Portuguese Carlos Queiroz.

In early September 2006, Van Nistelrooy made a well publicised criticism of his former club, saying he was "stabbed in the back" after years of loyalty to Manchester United.

However in October 2006, Van Nistelrooy stated that despite his fallout with Ferguson, he still admired him and he "owed him a lot" for waiting for him despite his cruciate knee injury. He also insisted he has great fondness of his five years at Manchester United.

In total, Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals from exactly 200 starts and 19 substitute appearances for United, and is the club's all-time leading scorer in European Cup with 38 goals. Ferguson has stated that there are no hard feelings between himself and Van Nistelrooy.




Real Madrid

On 14 July 2006, Ferguson confirmed that van Nistelrooy wanted to leave Manchester United, and Real Madrid announced on July 27, 2006 that van Nistelrooy was transferring to Real (there had been speculation about a possible move to Bayern Munich). His transfer fee was reported to be €15 million (£10.3 m), and he signed a 3-year contract with the club on 28 July. In his second match in the Spanish Primera División, van Nistelrooy scored a hat-trick against newly promoted Levante UD. He scored 2 goals on a Real Madrid 5-1 win over Dynamo Kiev in the first group stage of the UEFA Champions League. During el clasico match on October 22, 2006, Van Nistelrooy scored 7 minutes into the second half to help defeat league champions FC Barcelona. On November 12, 2006, he scored all four of Real Madrid's goals in a 4-1 win against CA Osasuna. Van Nistelrooy also scored on February 10, 2007, against Real Sociedad in a 2-1 win. And on March 10, 2007, van Nistelrooy scored 2 goals against Barcelona, increasing his tally against Barcelona to 3 goals in 2 games. On April 21 he scored a volley in a match against Valencia where Real Madrid won 2-1. Furthermore, on May 6, he scored 2 out of the 3 goals of his team against Sevilla. In the next match, against RCD Espanyol, Real Madrid were trailing 0-2 when van Nistelrooy scored Real Madrid's opener and they won 4-3, with the winner coming from Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute. In Real's penultimate game, away at Real Zaragoza, twice Van Nistelrooy brought Madrid back level, notably scrambling home in the dying minutes. In the same minute as Van Nistelrooy's second goal, Raul Tamudo equalised for Espanyol against Barcelona and Sevilla drew 0-0 at Real Mallorca, ensuring that Real Madrid went into the last match at the top of the table. Real Madrid went on to win the 2006/2007 La Liga title on the final day of the season, with a 3-1 win. Van Nistelrooy finished top scorer in his first season with the club (see Pichichi Trophy) with 25 goals ahead of Diego Milito from Real Zaragoza with 23 goals, Ronaldinho from F.C. Barcelona with 22 goals and Freddie Kanoute from Sevilla with 21 goals.

National Team

Van Nistelrooy was selected to play for the Netherlands at Euro 2004. Prior to the team's opening match against Germany, Van Nistelrooy stoked up his country's already intense rivalry with the Germans by saying that emotions would be intensified by lingering resentfulness over World War II. His comments were severely criticised by the German media. During the match, he scored an acrobatic volley, one of the goals of the tournament, to silence his critics and take Holland to the next round. He shared the goal-scoring lead in the group phase with England teenage sensation Wayne Rooney, whom he later played alongside at Manchester United, and was one of only two players in the tournament to score goals in all three of their team's group matches (the other was Czech Milan Baroš). Van Nistelrooy was selected in the Netherlands squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He played and was substituted in all three games in the league stage and scored in the game against the Ivory Coast. Van Nistelrooy was dropped for the knock-out game against Portugal, which Netherlands went on to lose.

Recently, Netherlands coach Marco van Basten, once again dropped Van Nistelrooy from the squad which played the Republic of Ireland in a friendly game preparing for UEFA Euro 2008 qualification. In an interview shortly after he stated Van Basten is not only selective on football qualities, but also on his "I-like-you-or-not-level". He said Van Basten doesn't want certain personalities in his squad and that they had two conflicts together during the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Van Basten claiming that Van Nistelrooy underperformed in all groups matches. As a result Dirk Kuyt played instead of Van Nistelrooy in their next match against Portugal. After Klaas Jan Huntelaar was injured and unable to play for Holland for the Euro 2008 qualification matches against Bulgaria and Belarus, Van Nistelrooy declined his invitation.

Ruud was the official FIFA/SOS ambassador for the Netherlands for the 2006 World Cup. On the 23rd of January 2007, Van Nistelrooy had officially announced his retirement from international football. However, he has been quoted as saying he would like to represent the Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

However, after several phone conversations, Van Nistelrooy and Van Basten restored the peace between them and the latter announced on May 25, 2007, that Van Nistelrooy would return to Oranje and that they would work together again. Van Nistelrooy was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

2006-07 The day that changed history

Everton 2-4 Man Utd

The match that changed the shape of the English league forever:



2006/07 PFA Team of the Year

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United)
Defence: Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić (all Manchester United)
Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo (all Manchester United)
Attack: Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur)

Wayne Rooney: An All-time Great Already

Wayne Mark Rooney is seen as one of the most exciting prospects of the modern game , his transfer fee from Everton still stands as the highest ever paid for a teenager. He normally played as a second striker to Ruud van Nistelrooy for his club team before van Nistelrooy's move to Real Madrid, although during 2005-06, he showed his versatility as a player by shifting to the midfield and playing on both flanks. He wears the number 8 shirt for Manchester United and the number 9 shirt for the English national team.

Rooney was brought up in an urban area of eastern Liverpool called Croxteth, where he and his two brothers attended the local De La Salle Catholic School.

Rooney grew up supporting Everton and his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson, and wore a T-shirt reading "Once a blue, Always a blue". However, he would end up playing just two seasons with Everton before demanding, and then executing, a transfer. This has left him on unfavourable terms with Everton fans, and this showed when he returned to Goodison Park and was booed severely.

Rooney has been under an intense media spotlight since first arriving on the scene in 2002, particularly coming to the public's notice on 19 October 2002 when he scored a memorable goal against title-holders Arsenal, ending their 30-match unbeaten run. Receiving the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box, Rooney brought it down with instant control and turned away from his marker before firing it into the top left-hand corner of the goal, beating England keeper David Seaman and giving Everton a late 2-1 victory at Goodison Park. This goal provoked Clive Tyldesley, the match commentator, to exclaim 'remember the name, Wayne Rooney!'. Rooney was only 16 years old when he scored the goal, making him the youngest ever goalscorer in the Premiership at the time. Rooney gained a huge reputation on the world stage due to his performance at Euro 2004, as he spearheaded the English attack, scoring four goals, eclipsing fellow England team mate Michael Owen.



Everton

After excelling for Liverpool Schoolboys and The Dynamo Brownwings, Rooney was signed by Everton shortly before his 11th birthday. Rooney gained national prominence on the 19th of October 2002 when he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Premier League at 16 years and 360 days while playing for Everton (though this record has since been surpassed twice by James Milner and current record holder James Vaughan). His goal against then-champions Arsenal was a last-minute winner and brought to an end the London side's 30-match unbeaten run. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC Sports Young Personality of the Year.

Transfer

Before turning 17 and becoming eligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £80 a week and living with his family on a council estate. His salary has since been increased several times and Rooney now earns an estimated £51,755 a week. Following intense media coverage of Rooney at Euro 2004, Everton claimed that they would not transfer his contract for less than £50 million. The club offered Rooney a new contract for £12,000 a week for three years. This, however, was turned down by Rooney's agent on the 27 August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to compete for his signature.

The Times newspaper reported that Newcastle were close to signing the young star for £18.5 million, a fact later confirmed by Rooney's agent. Manchester United, however, were the successful club in signing the young talent. Rooney handed in a transfer request to Everton and on 31 August 2004, Rooney signed for Manchester United after a deal worth around £31 million (£49 million including wages) was agreed. The deal was concluded just hours before the transfer deadline.

The initial fee of £23m was paid to Everton over two years; the rest of the money depends on appearances and/or success at Manchester United and/or England. It is likely the fee will reach the maximum £31m within the next 3 years. A final fee in the region of £30m plus costs is more likely. In the club's 2004-05 accounts, Rooney's contract is recorded as having a book cost of £25.066 million as at 30 June 2005, with contingent payables of £14 million, giving a maximum final fee of £39.066 million including costs.

Rooney's transfer fee is the second highest for an exclusively British deal, with only his Manchester United team-mate, Rio Ferdinand, commanding a higher fee. Rooney does, however, have the honour of being the most expensive teenage footballer ever, being only 18 when Manchester United signed him.

Manchester United

Rooney made his debut for Manchester United on 28 September 2004 in the UEFA Champions League against Fenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick and also an assist (the match finished in a 6-2 win for United). For the 2005-06 season, Rooney initially started playing in wider positions than his more favoured central role. Pundits and fans alike agreed that he seemed less effective in such positions. Eventually, after Manchester United's poor run of form early in the season, Sir Alex Ferguson moved him back to his stronger position, playing behind Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy as a second striker. He got his first professional Winners Medal in the 2006 English League Cup. He was also named Man of the Match in the League Cup final against Wigan Athletic, after scoring two goals in the final (a 4-0 victory for United), en route to winning his first senior medal. He was also a member of the United side defeated in the 2005 FA Cup Final by Arsenal. He captained Manchester United for the first time in a home Champions League match against Copenhagen on 17 October 2006, becoming probably the youngest captain in the clubs' history. On 26 November 2006 he signed a two-year extension to his contract, which will keep him at Old Trafford until at least 2012; the contract extension negotiations only took one month, which was interpreted as showing how keen both sides were to conclude the extension.



Rooney has been a prolific goal scorer for Manchester United and Everton, matching the level of goals scored by other strikers such as Ruud van Nistelrooy. Also, he is a regular assist contributor. In the 2005-2006 season he achieved a final total of 14 assists and 16 goals, fewer goals than his current strike partner Louis Saha, but more assists.

During the first half of the 2006-7 season, Rooney went 10 games without a goal before scoring a hat-trick against Bolton. There was speculation[weasel words] about his fitness and confidence on the pitch, as he seemed less active than he usually is and his presence on the field was somewhat overshadowed by the brilliant form of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Rooney's scoring rate had been matched by Louis Saha and exceeded by Cristiano Ronaldo, a winger. Nevertheless, as of February 2007 he was the top English goalscorer in the Premiership, and had received significantly fewer bookings than in previous seasons. In the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth, Rooney came on as a substitute and scored two goals, one of which was a 25-yard chip over goalkeeper David James, and soon after scored two of United's four goals in the derby against Bolton. Rooney scored his first goal for two-and-a-half years in Europe in a 2-1 defeat to A.S. Roma on 4 April 2007 in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. His scoring in the tournament continued in the quarter-final second leg against Roma and the semi-final first leg on, when he scored two goals in the 3-2 victory over A.C. Milan, the second a low first-time drive into the bottom right-hand corner. By the end of April, Rooney had scored 23 goals for his team in all competitions, taking him ahead of teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in goals scored in all competitions this season.

National team career

He has also figured prominently in recent England international matches, after having become the youngest ever player to play for England, in a friendly against Australia, on 12 February 2003, aged 17 years, 111 days. This record has since been surpassed by Theo Walcott, who came off the bench to play in England's friendly against Hungary on 30 May 2006. England's youngest ever player previous to Rooney was James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, who made his debut almost one and a quarter centuries before, on 5 April 1879, aged 17 years, 253 days. Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever (17 years, 317 days).

His reputation as one of the world's most exciting young players was further enhanced by his highly regarded performances for England at Euro 2004 in Portugal. At the tournament Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in the UEFA European Football Championships, when on 17 June 2004 he scored twice against Switzerland; although the Swiss player, Johan Vonlanthen, broke this record against France four days later. Unfortunately Rooney was injured early in the quarter final match against Portugal and England were subsequently knocked out on penalties.

2006-07: The Title Comes Home

The 2006-07 Premier League season, the fifteenth since its establishment, started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007.

Manchester United ended the season as Premiership champions for the ninth time in fifteen years, after Chelsea failed to win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. This left them seven points behind United, with two games to go, confirming the Manchester club as champions once more.



The three relegation spots were occupied by Watford, who lasted one season in the league, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United.

Diego Forlan: Diego Forlorn

Diego Martín Forlán Corazo was born in Montevideo into a family of footballers. His father Pablo Forlán had played for the national football team during the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in West Germany and his grandfather Juan Carlos Corazzo played for Argentine CA Independiente. He has dual citizenship: Uruguayan and Spanish.

A promising tennis player in his youth, he decided however to follow the family tradition and concentrate on football when he was 12 after his sister, Alejandra Forlan, was involved in a car accident that instantly killed her boyfriend and left her 5 months on a respirator in intensive care, and his family did not have the funds to care for her. He played for several South American clubs, including Argentine CA Independiente before transferring in January 2002 to play for Manchester United in England for a fee of £6.9 million.

He made his debut for the team on January 29 against Bolton Wanderers but did not score his first goal for the club, a penalty, until August 18 in a Champions League game against Maccabi Haifa. It took him eight months and 27 games to score that first goal, to the extent that he was dubbed "Diego Forlorn" and "Garry Birtles" for his goal drought by some quarters of the English press.



Forlán enjoyed the occasional purple patch of scoring, but inconsistency blighted his time at United. He was, however, noted for scoring important goals, such as the late equaliser at home to Aston Villa and the remarkable volleyed winner in the last minutes of the home game against Chelsea during United's FA Premier League-winning season of 2002-3. During this period, Forlán became known for characteristically removing his shirt and baring his torso in celebration of his goals. The first such example of this routine resulted in quite an amusing incident; Forlán whipped his shirt off in excitement after scoring a last minute winner against Southampton in December 2002 but struggled to get it back on in time for the re-start of play, resulting in the spectacle of Forlán briefly running around the Old Trafford pitch bare-chested, with his shirt still in his hand. The referee soon stopped play and ordered Forlán off the pitch to get dressed.



Forlán's record of 17 goals from 95 appearances for the club does not compare favorably against his former team mate Ruud van Nistelrooy's 150 goals in 210 games, and it was widely thought that he would not start the 2004-05 season in the Red Devils team colors. Wayne Rooney's arrival on the English club eventually signaled the end of his playing days at United.

Forlán was strongly linked to a move to Spanish club Levante, but signed on 21 August 2004 with another Spanish club, Villarreal, where he became the Spanish 2004-05 season "pichichi" (top scorer) with 25 goals, helping Villareal to their first ever UEFA Champions League spot. He also jointly won the European Golden Boot award with Thierry Henry. He has remained grateful to United, however, and in particular to Sir Alex Ferguson, because (in his own words) "What I learnt in Manchester was, in some ways, a positive experience that has contributed to my success." Forlán has stated that he would never criticise United or their manager because he would one day like to return to England to play for them, after having re-established himself.

Forlán has a release clause of 15 million pounds and has been linked with Liverpool FC, Sunderland AFC, Aston Villa FC and Arsenal FC. However, he is reluctant to move unless the conditions are suitable as he does not want to unnecessarily relocate his disabled sister.

He was linked to transfer with Juan Roman Riquelme to Atletico Madrid in exchange for Luis Perea and money in June 2007.On the 30th June 2007 Atletico Madrid confirmed that they had agreed a fee of around £14.1 million.