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Cristiano Ronaldo to play for Manchester United against Gamba Osaka

Sir Alex Ferguson is treated with such reverence in Asia that even his ironic quips are taken as wisdom-laced gospel.

Manchester United v Gamba Osaka
Kick-off: Thurs Dec 18, 10.30; Yokohama International Stadium, Japan

Sheltering from a monsoon before training on Wednesday, United's manager remarked that he was "not used to rain in Manchester'' because Britain was a "tropical island''.

The comments had his Japanese audience nodding respectfully, and making mental notes to look for parrots, palm trees and Bounty bars at the next televised game from Old Trafford and perhaps even a glimpse of Ursula Andress emerging from the Manchester Ship Canal.

Back in "tropical'' Blighty, the perception of Ferguson is of a gum-chewing, clock-watching, conspiracy-obsessed cantankerous genius.

Over here, the man with the golden hair-drier is almost deified, partly because anything Scottish (golf, whisky, Sheena Easton) is adored, partly because they love a title, but primarily because of Ferguson's astonishing success with one of the world's most famous brand names, Manchester United.

Sometimes one needs to voyage overseas to appreciate the extraordinary appeal of United and the awe in which its moody but magnificent manager is held.

The interest stretches everywhere, from the reception at the airport, the outriders into town and the swooning fans at the five-star hotel.

"It's great to see how excited they get,'' observed Michael Carrick while Ferguson saluted those supporters who had travelled over.

"Everybody knows that many families are not in the best financial position back home but they make the sacrifice to come here,'' said United's manager. "They get great admiration from me.''

Fifa's Club World Cup elicits legitimate criticism for its awkward timing but United's presence gives Sepp Blatter's pet project credibility and glamour.

Local faces grimaced at news that Dimitar Berbatov has a bug and misses Thursday evening's semi-final against Gamba Osaka. Frowns deepened at Ferguson's subsequent bulletin that Wayne Rooney was struggling with a minor knock.

Smiles were swiftly restored when Ferguson revealed that Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes would bring their "big-game experience'' to face Osaka and fireworks almost went off when he announced Cristiano Ronaldo would start.

The quality and quantity of such names makes Ferguson deem this his "biggest and best'' squad ever. His 1994 Double-winners and 1999 Treble-winners were marvellous sides, but lacked the depth of his current pool, blending experience with the exuberance of youth.

The Neville-Giggs-Scholes generation enjoys its last hurrah, and Ferguson had particularly warm words for a quiet midfielder on Wednesday. "Scholes brings an order to our game at times.

"His intelligence is terrific. He is at a great level and we hope he can maintain that for a year or two.''

Ferguson does not believe we will see their loyal likes again. "Ryan has done 21 years, Gary and Paul 19 years – that is absolutely exceptional.

"We hope we can get players who do that on a regular basis but, in modern times with freedom of contract, it is unlikely.''

To the enduring class of Scholes, the established excellence of Rio Ferdinand, vibrancy of Rooney, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, and maturing expertise of Carrick can now be added the rich promise of Rafael da Silva.

"This boy has come in from Brazil, doesn't speak the language that well but understands the football very well,'' enthused Ferguson. "All the players think he is just fantastic.

"I think Gary and Wes Brown are England's best right full-backs but they have a little problem because this young boy da Silva has just taken off.

"If they are not getting a regular game for me, it is difficult for Fabio [Capello] to pick them. But I would. I wouldn't have any fear about it because I know them.

"But Fabio doesn't know them as well as I do, and that makes it difficult for him.''

Brown is absent injured, but at least the Club World Cup permits Ferguson to involve all his 23-man squad on game-day, either starting or on the extended bench, rather than some being in blazers in the bleachers.

"Maybe the structure of benches and dugouts in England prohibits you from having 11 subs but it would be a really great help,'' said Ferguson who noted approvingly the recent increase to seven.

"Putting an international in the stands can be regarded as an insult to them. I feel embarrassed to ask a really top player not to be involved in the game.

"They expect to play. They want to play. Although I have the biggest and best squad since I came to the club, it does bring problems.''

In a squad glittering with talent, the jewel is Ronaldo. "No 7 has been a special number at our club for many, many years [from Best to Cantona and beyond],'' said Ferguson, who will never allow the shirt to be retired.

"When Cristiano joined us, we had just lost David Beckham to [Real] Madrid, and there was an issue over who should get the No 7 jersey. I felt that I would give it to a young player, because David Beckham came through our system and we felt it would be more comfortable for a young kid to take it.

"Not knowing the complete history of Manchester United, I don't think Cristiano looked upon how important the No 7 was. He does now.

"Over the five years he has been with us, we have seen him develop into the [Ballon d'Or-winning] player he is today. He always had certain attributes that pointed him towards the very top – his amazing skill, his speed and his courage. In the time he has been with us, he has developed his decision-making.''

And goal scoring. "As a kid he played centre-forward for Sporting Lisbon and our people in Portugal kept telling us that 'this boy is a great goalscorer'. When he first came to us, we couldn't see that. All of a sudden he just blossomed and last season he got 42.

"That is a measure of a young person wanting to do well, to improve himself by his own determination and ambition to practice all the time.

"I was at a function where Gary Player was talking and he was asked why he kept practising out of the bunker. He said: 'I am going to win a tournament and at one point in the tournament, I am going to be in the sand, and I need to hole from the sand.'

"Ordinary golfers like myself would find that impossible but with practice he made sure he holed from the bunker. That's what Ronaldo does: practice all the time.''

And like Ferguson, Ronaldo inspires awe out here.

A trip down memory lane

Manchester United's participation in the inaugural Fifa Club World Championship in Brazil in 2000 proved disastrous – on and off the pitch – for the 1999 Treble winners.

By withdrawing from the FA Cup to jet out to Rio de Janeiro for the Fifa tournament, which clashed with the third round of the cup, United were castigated for turning their back on a competition they had won for a record 10th time just seven months earlier.

Pictures of United's players splashing in the swimming pool at Flamengo's sun-drenched training ground and playing head tennis on Copacabana Beach did little to dispel the notion of a timely sunshine break.

But with David Beckham sent off for a crude foul in the 1-1 draw against Mexican club Necaxa and the brilliance of Romario and Edmundo leading Vasco da Gama to a 3-1 victory in the Maracana, United found themselves eliminated at the group stages, with only a victory against South Melbourne to show for the controversial trip. Telegraph


Milan miss out on UEFA Cup group stage top spot

UEFA Cup favourites AC Milan missed the chance to progress to the knockout stages as group winners when a late Mahir Saglik equaliser handed VfL Wolfsburg a 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday.
As Group E's top side, Wolfsburg are guaranteed a tie against a third-placed side from another group in Friday's last 32 draw while seven-times European champions Milan must face a third-placed finisher from the Champions League group stage.
Former European champions Hamburg SV secured top spot in Group F as Martin Jol's Bundesliga side eased past Aston Villa 3-1. Croatia forward Mladen Petric scored his fifth goal of the competition and compatriot Ivica Olic added two more.
In a game between two already qualified sides, St Etienne continued to belie their poor domestic form when the Ligue 1 strugglers drew 2-2 at home to Valencia to top Group G.
FC Copenhagen, Deportivo Coruna and Lech Poznan picked up the evening's three qualifying places on offer.
The Danish side won 1-0 at Club Bruges in a shootout for the final spot in Group G while Lech's 1-0 win at twice-winners Feyenoord and Depor's success by the same margin at home to Nancy saw them join CSKA Moscow as Group H qualifiers.
MILAN SURPRISED
In Milan, Italy midfielder Massimo Ambrosini headed the home side ahead in the 17th minute and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato put Carlo Ancelotti's men 2-1 in front seconds after Cristian Zaccardo equalised early in the second period.
The Serie A side looked to be heading for a favourable tie in February's first knockout round until Turkish striker Saglik came off the bench to score with nine minutes remaining.
Elsewhere, Ajax Amsterdam, already assured of their passage along with Aston Villa from Group F, needed an injury time Luis Suarez penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Slavia Prague while England striker Peter Crouch scored twice as Portsmouth beat Heerenveen 3-0 in a Group E dead rubber.
Six remaining qualifying places will be decided on Thursday in the remaining four groups with former champions Sevilla and Schalke 04 not yet guaranteed their places in the last 32.
Ties for the last 16 will also be drawn along with the last 32 in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday. The UEFA Cup final is in Istanbul on May 20. Guardian


Spain tops FIFA's soccer rankings

European champion Spain finished the season ranked atop FIFA's world soccer rankings while Canada dropped nine spots in the list, which was released Wednesday.

The Germans, who lost to Spain in the final of Euro 2008, remained at No. 2.

The Netherlands rose one spot to No. 3, switching places with the World Cup champion Italians.

South American rivals Brazil and Argentina followed in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Beginning the year at No. 4, Spain won all 16 matches during the season.

Ranked No. 1 for six straight months, Spain's Euro run was highlighted by a penalty shootout victory over the World Cup champion Italians in the quarter-finals.

Canada, meanwhile, dropped nine posts to 90, the country's lowest ranking since May 2007.

A total of 1,040 international matches played in 2008 counted toward the rankings.


Eduardo returns to action

Having received generous applause and the loudest cheer when his name was read out ahead of Arsenal's reserve game last night, Eduardo da Silva could be in little doubt who most of the crowd of 2,285 at Barnet, including Arsène Wenger, Tony Adams and Dennis Bergkamp, had turned up to see.

A goal would have been a great bonus but to end the evening unscathed, as he did, was the main objective for Arsenal's Brazilian-born Croatia striker who was playing for the first time since the tackle from Birmingham City's Martin Taylor that broke his left leg in February.

In the event he played the opening 45 minutes only, had a couple of decent chances including a clear header, was understandably a little clumsy with his touch and then waved to the support when he departed.

"I'm just happy to have this run out. It felt good to get back out there,' said Eduardo, pictured, who confirmed he had been taken off as a precaution over a tightening hamstring. "I want to thank the fans for pushing me along these last 10 months." He hopes to play for the reserves again in their next game after Christmas.


Portsmouth accept Real's Diarra bid

Portsmouth have accepted a "substantial bid" from Real Madrid for Lassana Diarra, the Premier League club said in a statement on their website here Wednesday.

France international midfielder Diarra, 23, has been given permission by the south coast side to speak to the Spanish giants.

"Portsmouth Football Club can confirm they have accepted a substantial bid from Real Madrid for Lassana Diarra," the statement said.

A Pompey spokesman added: "We have always said that we would only allow our players to leave if we received an exceptional bid.

"We could not stand in the way of such a move as this for Lassana."

He added: "It shows how far the club have come under the ownership of Alexandre Gaydamak when Real Madrid come in for one of our players.

"Should the deal be completed, the club has already identified possible replacements."

Diarra, who has scored three goals in 30 games for Portsmouth, played a key role in helping the club win the FA Cup last season - the first time Pompey had lifted the trophy in 69 years.

Real have been on the lookout for a defensive midfielder since Mali international Mahamadou Diarra was last week sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

Diarra, who has also played for Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal, would appear to fit the bill.

Reports in the British press have estimated the value of the deal at around 20 million pounds, which would represent a welcome cash injection for a Portsmouth club which Gayadamak has said he is prepared to sell. AFP


Sam's Rovers Return

Big Sam Allardyce's keen desire to return to the maelstrom of the Premier League has been sated.

The former Bolton and Newcastle manager has been named as Paul Ince's replacement at Blackburn and he will return to Lancashire to take charge of Rovers' crunch game with Stoke this weekend.

A look at Allardyce's Premier League record at his two previous clubs reveals that he had a very similar win percentage with both Bolton and Newcastle, although what was acceptable to the fans at the Reebok Stadium was not the case at St James' Park.