Wayne Rooney as good as Ronaldinho says David Beckham
Beckham (left) and Rooney (right) are England team-mates
English Premier League News – BBC Sport : AC Milan midfielder David Beckham believes Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is now as good as two-time world player of the year Ronaldinho.
Beckham and team-mate Ronaldinho will face Rooney when United travel to Milan for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg match.
Asked if England team-mate Rooney was comparable to the Brazilian, Beckham said: “Without a doubt.
“I’ve always said Wayne is one of the best goalscorers in football.”
Rooney has scored 23 goals in 32 appearances for United this season as the club seek to retain their Premier League crown as well as progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The 24-year-old has shouldered much of the goalscoring responsibility following world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80m departure to Real Madrid in the summer.
And Beckham insists Rooney is on a par with Ronaldinho, who twice won the Spanish league with Barcelona and the World Cup with Brazil in 2002.
“He is at a great club like Manchester United and he’s doing what he does best – scoring goals,” said the 34-year-old, who is on loan at Milan from LA Galaxy.
The match at the San Siro represents an emotional occasion for Beckham, who joined United as a youngster and won six Premier League titles and the 1999 Champions League before leaving for Real Madrid in 2003.
Robert Heenan
“It’s one of the biggest games for me personally. But the most important thing is the team going through and beating United which I hope we do,” explained Beckham.
“United are on fire, they’re playing well. Wayne is scoring goals like he can. It’s going to be a tough game.”
Like United, Milan lost a prized asset – Kaka – to Real Madrid in the summer, as well as coming to terms with the retirement of legendary defender Paolo Maldini.
Their performances this season have been inconsistent – Friday’s victory 3-2 win over Udinese ended a run of four straight defeats – but Beckham feels the Rossoneri can still match favourites United.
“Obviously there are a couple of players not here but the team is just the same, they’ve got this great team spirit within the squad and that’s definitely not changed,” added Beckham.
Hull 1 – 3 Man Utd
English Premier League News by Les Roopanarine : Manchester United edged an error-strewn encounter with Hull to close to within two points of leaders Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title.
Wayne Rooney drew first blood for United on the stroke of half-time, but later made a calamitous back-pass which paved the way for a Hull penalty.
Craig Fagan levelled from the spot, but Rooney made amends when his low cross led to an Andy Dawson own goal.
Dimitar Berbatov then sealed the win after a pin-point pass from Rooney.
At a stage of the season when champions United traditionally begin to hit their stride, the victory closed the gap on Chelsea after they were held to a goalless draw at Birmingham on Saturday.
But for all Rooney’s influence, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men – who arrived on Humberside in wounded-animal mode after suffering two defeats in their previous three Premier League outings – were rarely at their best.
In fairness that had much to do with Hull, whose industry and commitment proved formidable obstacles despite some hairy moments for goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, most notably when he miscued a first-half clearance.
Having seen his team charged by the Football Association after last weekend’s mass confrontation at Arsenal, Phil Brown had looked to foster a siege mentality among his players in the build-up.
And his players clearly bought into the billing of unfairly-punished underdogs as they absorbed United’s strong start and were unlucky to be denied an early penalty.
Fagan found Richard Garcia with a precise through-ball, but as the Australia international raced into the area he was upended by a sliding tackle from Nemanja Vidic that prompted furious protests from Hull.
It was Alan Wiley, the referee whose fitness was questioned by Ferguson after United’s 2-2 draw against Sunderland earlier this season, who came to the visitors’ rescue.
Wiley saw nothing wrong with the challenge, but no sooner had he waved away the complaints than Hull were at United again, Seyi Olofinjana forcing a fine reflex save from Tomasz Kuszczak.
Another opportunity to open the scoring went begging when Olofinjana put Stephen Hunt through only for the Republic of Ireland midfielder to shoot wide.
As the misses mounted for Hull, the feeling grew that there would be a price to pay against a United side desperate to bounce back following last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Fulham.
The return of a trio of defenders in Rafael da Silva, Vidic and Wes Brown provided a platform for United to go forward with greater confidence, and although their attacking fluency was never at its best, they nonetheless offered plenty of threat.
Giggs twice went close early on, volleying on to the roof of the net before rippling the side-netting with a free-kick, while Rooney and Rafael both forced acrobatic saves from Myhill.
The danger was clear and, sure enough, with the interval beckoning Darren Fletcher swung in a near-post cross from the right flank, Giggs deflected it to Rooney, and the lurking England man prodded home from close-range.
With the hour mark approaching, however, Rooney gifted Hull a reprieve, directing a woeful back-pass to Kuszczak which was intercepted by Fagan.
Da Silva bundled over Jozy Altidore from the resulting cross, and Fagan shot unerringly past Kuszczak to ensure that there would be no repeat of Geovanni’s missed spot kick against Arsenal last week.
Sensing the possibility of a win that would lift them clear of the relegation zone, Hull poured forward in search of a winner, but their enterprise was to prove their undoing.
With 17 minutes remaining, Giggs led a United counter-attack, slotting the ball through for Rooney to direct a low cross towards substitute Ji-Sung Park which the sliding Dawson could only direct into his own net.
And Rooney was once again at the heart of the action as United put the polish on their win with eight minutes remaining, directing a slide-rule pass through the legs of Anthony Gardner that enabled Berbatov to score with a tap-in.
Source: English Premier League News, Man Utd News, Wayne Rooney News at BBC Sports.
Rooney fit for season opener
English Football Premier League – Manchester United News : Rooney fit for season opener
Wayne Rooney has shaken off the effects of a virus and could start against Newcastle on Sunday at Old Trafford.
The striker fell ill during the club’s pre-season visit to Nigeria at the end of last month and it was feared that Sunday’s big kick-off would come too soon for the 22-year-old. But after a solid week’s training, Rooney is fit and ready to take on the Magpies.
“Wayne Rooney is fit and he will play on Sunday, which is good news for us,” Sir Alex said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“He’s trained all week and has done very well. He even trained last Sunday on the morning of the Community Shield. From then on he has been progressing really well.”
Rooney’s return is a major boost for United, who are already without Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha in attacking positions, and midfielders Owen Hargreaves, Anderson, Nani and Ji-sung Park.
“Nani is suspended so he is out,” added the boss. “And Hargreaves, Ronaldo, Park and Saha are all still injured and Anderson is at the Olympics. So in terms of attacking options, we’re down to the bare bones.”
However, Sir Alex feels his squad still has the strength to overcome Kevin Keegan’s men at Old Trafford on Sunday. “The backbone will be the midfielders and defenders we have available,” he said. “We have a good variety there.
“Hopefully that’s enough to get us over this first hurdle against Newcastle, which is always a good, exciting game. Newcastle always come and have a go, so it should be an open type of match.”
Source: English Premier League news, Wayne Rooney, Striker of Manchester United, football news at manutd.com
Wayne Rooney – Man Utd – Striker
Wayne Rooney
Birthdate: 24 Oct 1985
Birthplace: Croxteth
Position: Striker
Appearances: 189
Goals: 77
Joined United: 31 Aug 2004
United Debut: 28 Sep 2004 v Fenerbahce (H)
International: England
Wayne Rooney is a player in a hurry. He burst onto the Old Trafford stage in September 2004, just as he had burst into the Premier League with Everton, and has become arguably United’s most important player.
Much was expected of the England’s 18-year-old hero of Euro 2004 when he swapped Everton, his boyhood club, for the Reds in August of that year. Yet becoming the world’s most expensive teenager – £20m rising to a possible £30m – did little to faze him.
In his very first game at Old Trafford he produced a stunning display to blast an unforgettable debut hat-trick past a shell-shocked
Fenerbahce.
It was a fairytale start to his United career and very much a sign of what was to follow. By the end of the 2004/05 campaign he’d amassed 17 goals in 43 appearances and was rightly named PFA Young Player of the Year.
Rooney’s second season at Old Trafford saw him again take huge strides. He ended the season with 19 goals in 48 matches and was voted both Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year by fans and PFA Young Player of the year (again) by his fellow professionals.
The young striker openly aims to better his goals tally each season, and the 2006/07
Source: For more information on Wayne Rooney, Manchester United – Striker, English Premier League club, visit manutd.com