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The one thing Manchester United do not need right now is another winger and yet if we believe the latest transfer rumours Ashley Young could be heading to Old Trafford. The Villa winger has been strongly linked to several clubs including Liverpool, but reports claim United are the favourites to capture the England player in a reported £16m move.
Young is by no means the finished article and so it's worth asking if he is any better, or come to that as good as Park, Nani, or Valencia? Ryan Giggs will retire in the not too distant future and of course he can also play on the left.
Fergie might well reason that in signing Young he is bolstering his options, but with Scholes retiring there is an obvious void to fill in central midfield. United have just won a record 19th league title, but if they are to continue to dominate the Premier League and do well in Europe it is vital that Fergie spends his transfer war chest wisely; top of the transfer short-list should be a central midfield general.
United need someone like Wesley Sneijder or else Luka Modric, but Manchester City are said to be in the running to sign the Dutch midfield play-maker and they can out-bid anyone including Chelsea who are also said to be keen to capture the Inter Milan star.
According to Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, they will not sell Luka Modric - but we can safely ingore this assertion based on events of the recent past. In time honoured fashion, Spurs will hang United out to dry over any transfer fee for Modric, as they did when selling Carrick and Berbatov to the champions. Blackpool's Charlie Adam could be Fergie's 'plan B' for the central midfield slot. In an ideal world Fergie would sign two of the three midfield players mentioned, but will the manager have sufficient transfer funds?
As ever, the fans and media alike have no idea how much money the United manager has at his disposal, but given how little has been spent on transfers since the Glazer family takeover in 2005, it's a fair bet that Ferguson's cash will not stretch that far.
We know that Fergie is very confident about signing Spanish stopper David Gea - but if that deal doesn't come off the United manager will have a serious dollop of egg on his face after he publicly announced his intentions before the deal was cut and dried...it's fair to ask, why on earth did Fergie take such a risk?
Whatever happens with Gea, United will more than likely sign three new players this summer, but we could see as many as two big name exits. Ashley Young looks like a racing certainty to join United, as will David Gea hopefully along with either Sneijder, Modric or Adam.
As for likely exists, given that United do not really need to sign Ashley Young, (25), you have to wonder if Nani,(24), will be sacrificed, however, if that scenario actually comes to being then it doesn't really look like a sensible decision given that both players are a similar age and have a similar goals to game ratios (0.20 and 0.21 respectively). Fergie could argue that Young might perform better on the left than the Portuguese winger who was voted the player of the season by his team-mates in 2010-2011. Nani has taken time to settle, but he has proved his worth since Ronaldo moved on. There are no guarantees that Young will do as well as Nani.
Signing Young might make sense if Fergie had pots of money to spend this summer, but his transfer dealing under the Glazer regime suggests that will not be the case and so there must be a serious prospect of a least one big name player exit and if it isn't Nani then maybe Berbatov will be that man.
Berbatov was axed from United's Champions League squad and despite finishing top goal-scorer last season in the Premier League it looks as though his time at United could be coming to an end, thanks largely to the emergence of Javier Hernandez.
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Showing posts with label nani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nani. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Taxi for Nani the unwanted passenger?....
Apparently Nani walked out of Old Trafford after being hauled off at half-time by Fergie during Saturday's demolition job on Spurs, reports suggest this episode could lead to a parting of the ways especially if Ronaldo is sold in the summer.
Today's tabloid rumours are claiming Nani is hoping to move to Inter Milan - as unlikely as that might turn out to be, but assuming for one moment that Jose Mourinho would like to actually sign a player who has failed to make any real impact at Old Trafford - you do wonder if Nani would find himself on bench warming duty at the Italian club.
Competition for places at Old Trafford is fierce, as Carlos Tevez will testify and even though Fergie has at times been less than fair with his Argentine striker few will argue that Nani deserves anything more than a place on the United bench.
Following his four goals against Liverpool, Manchester United supporters were left asking why the club didn't sign Arshavin instead of Nani, who is no better now than when he first arrived at Old Trafford.
On the few occasions when Nani has actually played he has been consistently guilty of giving the ball away, what's more he doesn't help his team-mates where defensive duties are concerned - nor does Ronaldo - but he scores goals, and for the time being the World player of The Year has managed to get away with neglecting that part of his game, in contrast Nani makes it easy for Fergie to leave him out.
Today's tabloid rumours are claiming Nani is hoping to move to Inter Milan - as unlikely as that might turn out to be, but assuming for one moment that Jose Mourinho would like to actually sign a player who has failed to make any real impact at Old Trafford - you do wonder if Nani would find himself on bench warming duty at the Italian club.
Competition for places at Old Trafford is fierce, as Carlos Tevez will testify and even though Fergie has at times been less than fair with his Argentine striker few will argue that Nani deserves anything more than a place on the United bench.
Following his four goals against Liverpool, Manchester United supporters were left asking why the club didn't sign Arshavin instead of Nani, who is no better now than when he first arrived at Old Trafford.
On the few occasions when Nani has actually played he has been consistently guilty of giving the ball away, what's more he doesn't help his team-mates where defensive duties are concerned - nor does Ronaldo - but he scores goals, and for the time being the World player of The Year has managed to get away with neglecting that part of his game, in contrast Nani makes it easy for Fergie to leave him out.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Transfer target lays down marker as Nani leads Red revival..
If there was any doubts about the class of Karim Benzema they were blown away in some style on 54 minutes when the Lyon striker scored a goal out of nothing, which ignited the atmosphere in the Stade de Gerland in the first leg of the knock-out stages of Manchester United's Champions League tie last night.
Benzema, 20, has been linked strongly to United over the last few days and not surprisingly given the manner of his goal against the Reds he has been described as Europe's hottest young striker.
Slightly uncharacteristically when talking to the media, Fergie has let it slip that the young Lyon star is a 'possibility' with United looking to sign a new striker following the departure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
United had been given fair warning of the French international's ability when mid-way through the first-half Lyon counter-attacked down the Reds exposed left-flank, the ball was eventually cut-back onto the edge of the United penalty area, but thankfully the big striker launched his drive over Van der Sarr's crossbar.
However, that wasn't the best chance of the first-half as United's very own pocket-battle-ship Wayne Rooney spurned a great opportunity to score when put through by Ryan Giggs. However, the England striker hesitated when running at speed with the ball before pulling the trigger, which resulted in Gregory Coupet pulling off a good save. That missed chance could have been proven to be very costly with Lyon taking that second-half lead.
Every time Benzema was on the ball, the home supporters sparked into life chanting his name and it was noticeable that the United defenders looked less that comfortable pretty much every time he was involved in the build-up, though in fairness apart from the Benzema goal and the first-half chance which he spurned Vidic and Company handled him reasonably well.
Despite the game being one of few chances, it was a decent match to watch, with both defences working hard when closing down, as early as the first few minutes Patrice Evra had to make a last-ditch diving challenge to deny Govou from six yards out. At the other end, Scholes burst into the penalty area only to be denied by a Lyon defender and that was the general pattern of the game. Every time United engineered an opening a Lyon player managed to block it.
When the Reds went one-nil down, it was fairly obvious that Fergie needed to make changes, both managers had started the game with a cautious line-up which included just one striker. For United, there was no starting place for Carlos Tevez or Nani, who was one of the Reds heroes against Arsenal in the FA Cup win on Saturday. However, on 65 minutes Fergie made two significant changes when he introduced both players when replacing Giggs and Scholes who had done ok without giving Lyon too many uncomfortable moments.
From the moment Tevez and Nani entered the action the Reds looked far more dangerous with Nani and Tevez at the heart of the Reds probing attacks. On 78 minutes, Carrick came on for Hargreaves, which led to a passage of untidy play with United giving the ball away cheaply, at which point the visiting fans must have started to think about taking Lyon back to Old Trafford with a one goal deficit.
However, United were not done with and it was Nani and Tevez who did the damage when combining to give the Reds a deserved equaliser on 88 minutes. Against the Gunners at the weekend Nani supplied two first-class crosses which led to goals for Fletcher and against Lyon the former Porto winger did it again, this time his arching ball from the right was initially missed by the head of Carlos Tevez, however, the ball eventually fell to Carrick, his effort was blocked, before it pinged back to Tevez who smashed it into the roof of the Lyon net.
The result leaves Fergie with much to ponder regarding selection issues ahead of United's next game, which is Newcastle away. Prior to the Lyon match and on live TV, the United manager as good as admitted that he did not know if he'd got his starting eleven right and while it was a cautious line-up it will be interesting to see who goes on to cement the starting places in midfield over the coming weeks ahead.
Ronaldo was kept in check and didn't impress against Lyon, the same can be said of Rooney, who to be fair was on his own up front, but if the Reds have serious ambitions of winning the Champions League this season, both will have to improve on last night's performance. The truly great players always figure in the big games, no matter what.
Another point that Fergie and his coaching staff may consider is how best to handle the likes of Benzema. Lyon had started with one lone striker, yet United had four at the back. United play with a zonal defence, perhaps they should consider going man-to-man with Vidic marking Benzema.
United's man of the match against Lyon was Nani who made the difference in a short space of time.
Benzema, 20, has been linked strongly to United over the last few days and not surprisingly given the manner of his goal against the Reds he has been described as Europe's hottest young striker.
Slightly uncharacteristically when talking to the media, Fergie has let it slip that the young Lyon star is a 'possibility' with United looking to sign a new striker following the departure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
United had been given fair warning of the French international's ability when mid-way through the first-half Lyon counter-attacked down the Reds exposed left-flank, the ball was eventually cut-back onto the edge of the United penalty area, but thankfully the big striker launched his drive over Van der Sarr's crossbar.
However, that wasn't the best chance of the first-half as United's very own pocket-battle-ship Wayne Rooney spurned a great opportunity to score when put through by Ryan Giggs. However, the England striker hesitated when running at speed with the ball before pulling the trigger, which resulted in Gregory Coupet pulling off a good save. That missed chance could have been proven to be very costly with Lyon taking that second-half lead.
Every time Benzema was on the ball, the home supporters sparked into life chanting his name and it was noticeable that the United defenders looked less that comfortable pretty much every time he was involved in the build-up, though in fairness apart from the Benzema goal and the first-half chance which he spurned Vidic and Company handled him reasonably well.
Despite the game being one of few chances, it was a decent match to watch, with both defences working hard when closing down, as early as the first few minutes Patrice Evra had to make a last-ditch diving challenge to deny Govou from six yards out. At the other end, Scholes burst into the penalty area only to be denied by a Lyon defender and that was the general pattern of the game. Every time United engineered an opening a Lyon player managed to block it.
When the Reds went one-nil down, it was fairly obvious that Fergie needed to make changes, both managers had started the game with a cautious line-up which included just one striker. For United, there was no starting place for Carlos Tevez or Nani, who was one of the Reds heroes against Arsenal in the FA Cup win on Saturday. However, on 65 minutes Fergie made two significant changes when he introduced both players when replacing Giggs and Scholes who had done ok without giving Lyon too many uncomfortable moments.
From the moment Tevez and Nani entered the action the Reds looked far more dangerous with Nani and Tevez at the heart of the Reds probing attacks. On 78 minutes, Carrick came on for Hargreaves, which led to a passage of untidy play with United giving the ball away cheaply, at which point the visiting fans must have started to think about taking Lyon back to Old Trafford with a one goal deficit.
However, United were not done with and it was Nani and Tevez who did the damage when combining to give the Reds a deserved equaliser on 88 minutes. Against the Gunners at the weekend Nani supplied two first-class crosses which led to goals for Fletcher and against Lyon the former Porto winger did it again, this time his arching ball from the right was initially missed by the head of Carlos Tevez, however, the ball eventually fell to Carrick, his effort was blocked, before it pinged back to Tevez who smashed it into the roof of the Lyon net.
The result leaves Fergie with much to ponder regarding selection issues ahead of United's next game, which is Newcastle away. Prior to the Lyon match and on live TV, the United manager as good as admitted that he did not know if he'd got his starting eleven right and while it was a cautious line-up it will be interesting to see who goes on to cement the starting places in midfield over the coming weeks ahead.
Ronaldo was kept in check and didn't impress against Lyon, the same can be said of Rooney, who to be fair was on his own up front, but if the Reds have serious ambitions of winning the Champions League this season, both will have to improve on last night's performance. The truly great players always figure in the big games, no matter what.
Another point that Fergie and his coaching staff may consider is how best to handle the likes of Benzema. Lyon had started with one lone striker, yet United had four at the back. United play with a zonal defence, perhaps they should consider going man-to-man with Vidic marking Benzema.
United's man of the match against Lyon was Nani who made the difference in a short space of time.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Nani's 'seal act': Why both Wenger and Fergie are wrong ...
One of the most annoying talking points of United's FA Cup rout of Arsenal was the post-match verdicts of what has been described as Nani's 'Seal act', which was in relation to the Portuguese winger juggling the ball on his on is boot, head and thigh.
Arsene Wenger, no doubt looking for something to crib about following his own sides capitulation described the juggling as an attempt to 'humiliate' his players, then again he would say that wouldn't he, given Flamini tried to rearrange Nani's kneecaps?
When things go wrong, there's nothing better than an attention deflecting talking point or two. In fairness, the Arsenal manager does at least still speak to the BBC, unlike our own manager.
Somewhat surprisingly Fergie appeared to agree that his own player had done something wrong when saying 'there was no need for him to do that - I will have a word with him'. What utter nonsense. Nani wasn't showboating; he was trying to retain possession of the ball when facing the wrong way and heading into the United half of the pitch. The 'purists' would no doubt say that in such situations you should boot the ball into row Z, but Nani is a fancy Dan winger, he is not Gary Neville or Wes Brown, in true Basil Faulty style, "he is from Portugal, he doesn't know any better"...
If Nani had performed his seal act near one of the Arsenal corner flags when playing for time, then both Fergie and Wenger would have a point, but that was not the case. The fact is the Portuguese winger tried to retain the ball, which took courage because if he'd lost it in that area of the pitch then United could have been in trouble. It is to be hoped that is what Fergie meant when he said that he was going to have a word with his winger...
On-looking youngsters love to see good examples of top class players displaying their skills, you can guarantee the following day kids up and down the land will have been attempting to mimic Nani's skills, sadly some will also mimic the other side of the game such as Flamini's exocet like challenge and the Gallas kick on Nani.
Here's a question, what would Wenger have said if Patrice Evra had launched into Fabregas in similar circumstances? 'I did not see it' is a fair bet.
Arsenal could have ended that match with eight players on the pitch. Eboue was red carded, Gallas got away with it and Flamini's challenge on Nani wasn't far off a sending off. I don't know how many players have been red carded while Fergie has been in charge of United, but it's now 79 now for Wenger at Arsenal.
This current Arsenal team are are not a dirty side, but on Saturday one or two players came close to losing it, the Eboue challenge was rash, as was Flamini's challenge on Nani. What Gallas did, from what I've seen of him, was out of character and in that moment he lost the plot.
Arsene Wenger, no doubt looking for something to crib about following his own sides capitulation described the juggling as an attempt to 'humiliate' his players, then again he would say that wouldn't he, given Flamini tried to rearrange Nani's kneecaps?
When things go wrong, there's nothing better than an attention deflecting talking point or two. In fairness, the Arsenal manager does at least still speak to the BBC, unlike our own manager.
Somewhat surprisingly Fergie appeared to agree that his own player had done something wrong when saying 'there was no need for him to do that - I will have a word with him'. What utter nonsense. Nani wasn't showboating; he was trying to retain possession of the ball when facing the wrong way and heading into the United half of the pitch. The 'purists' would no doubt say that in such situations you should boot the ball into row Z, but Nani is a fancy Dan winger, he is not Gary Neville or Wes Brown, in true Basil Faulty style, "he is from Portugal, he doesn't know any better"...
If Nani had performed his seal act near one of the Arsenal corner flags when playing for time, then both Fergie and Wenger would have a point, but that was not the case. The fact is the Portuguese winger tried to retain the ball, which took courage because if he'd lost it in that area of the pitch then United could have been in trouble. It is to be hoped that is what Fergie meant when he said that he was going to have a word with his winger...
On-looking youngsters love to see good examples of top class players displaying their skills, you can guarantee the following day kids up and down the land will have been attempting to mimic Nani's skills, sadly some will also mimic the other side of the game such as Flamini's exocet like challenge and the Gallas kick on Nani.
Here's a question, what would Wenger have said if Patrice Evra had launched into Fabregas in similar circumstances? 'I did not see it' is a fair bet.
Arsenal could have ended that match with eight players on the pitch. Eboue was red carded, Gallas got away with it and Flamini's challenge on Nani wasn't far off a sending off. I don't know how many players have been red carded while Fergie has been in charge of United, but it's now 79 now for Wenger at Arsenal.
This current Arsenal team are are not a dirty side, but on Saturday one or two players came close to losing it, the Eboue challenge was rash, as was Flamini's challenge on Nani. What Gallas did, from what I've seen of him, was out of character and in that moment he lost the plot.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Reds fans silver lining to Carling Cup exit...
Much will be made of United's shock Carling Cup exit after Coventry City dumped the Reds out of the competition on Wednesday after Maltese star Mifsud scored in either half in front of a reported crowd of 74,055 fans.
After the game Ferguson said that he was 'flabbergasted' and everyone is 'shocked'. The manager doesn't believe in publicly blaming individual players and last night was no different.
However, Ferguson did hint that he was disappointed with his young players. Defender Phil Bardsley was taken off at half-time and much talked about Jonny Evans was then switched to leftback, as Wes Brown was introduced to shore up the back four but it didn't stop the visitors scoring a killer goal on 70 minutes. Coventry's goal hero Mifsud should have scored a hatrick, as he hit the woodwork and missed a sitter when Tomasz Kuszczak the United keeper pushed the ball into his path late on, but he somehow failed to find the target.
There is undoubtedly cause for concern about this defeat as United splashed out £36m in the summer to sign Nani and Anderson and they did not impress on the night. Nani's passing and final ball was woeful. There is concern about the lack of strength in depth in the striking department at the club from the first team to down to the reserves. Dong simply doesn't look like he's going to make it at United, and Fraser Campbell is another who doesn't look as though he has a long term future at a club where the expectations are so high.
In the bigger picture though, despite the defeat and the concerns over the performances of young and new players alike. United's first team squad despite lacking quality striking options in depth is as good as any in division, but playing in four competitions would have stretched Fergie's playing resources to their limit and so if United can do well in the league and the Champions League by winning either or both, the we the fans can look back at the Coventry defeat and say they did us a favour. That may or may not turn out to be a forlorn hope, time will tell.
On another disappointing night on the pitch there something of an ironic bonus for United's cash-strapped fans. Clubs around Europe will no doubt look at last night's attendance figure at Old Trafford in total bewilderment. Here we have the Carling Cup, aka the Mickey Mouse Cup, yet the Reds attracted a crowd of approaching 75,000, albeit 11,000 of them were following the visitors.
What the figures do not tell you is that many of the 63,000 or so Reds fans didn't even want to be there as this season the club has forced season ticket holders to join United's much maligned automatic cup scheme, which stipulates that fans have to buy tickets for all first home games including the Carling Cup.
At least those fans who cannot really afford it wont have to fork out any more cash this season for Carling Cup tickets - so there is a silver lining to that defeat for many home fans.
After the game Ferguson said that he was 'flabbergasted' and everyone is 'shocked'. The manager doesn't believe in publicly blaming individual players and last night was no different.
However, Ferguson did hint that he was disappointed with his young players. Defender Phil Bardsley was taken off at half-time and much talked about Jonny Evans was then switched to leftback, as Wes Brown was introduced to shore up the back four but it didn't stop the visitors scoring a killer goal on 70 minutes. Coventry's goal hero Mifsud should have scored a hatrick, as he hit the woodwork and missed a sitter when Tomasz Kuszczak the United keeper pushed the ball into his path late on, but he somehow failed to find the target.
There is undoubtedly cause for concern about this defeat as United splashed out £36m in the summer to sign Nani and Anderson and they did not impress on the night. Nani's passing and final ball was woeful. There is concern about the lack of strength in depth in the striking department at the club from the first team to down to the reserves. Dong simply doesn't look like he's going to make it at United, and Fraser Campbell is another who doesn't look as though he has a long term future at a club where the expectations are so high.
In the bigger picture though, despite the defeat and the concerns over the performances of young and new players alike. United's first team squad despite lacking quality striking options in depth is as good as any in division, but playing in four competitions would have stretched Fergie's playing resources to their limit and so if United can do well in the league and the Champions League by winning either or both, the we the fans can look back at the Coventry defeat and say they did us a favour. That may or may not turn out to be a forlorn hope, time will tell.
On another disappointing night on the pitch there something of an ironic bonus for United's cash-strapped fans. Clubs around Europe will no doubt look at last night's attendance figure at Old Trafford in total bewilderment. Here we have the Carling Cup, aka the Mickey Mouse Cup, yet the Reds attracted a crowd of approaching 75,000, albeit 11,000 of them were following the visitors.
What the figures do not tell you is that many of the 63,000 or so Reds fans didn't even want to be there as this season the club has forced season ticket holders to join United's much maligned automatic cup scheme, which stipulates that fans have to buy tickets for all first home games including the Carling Cup.
At least those fans who cannot really afford it wont have to fork out any more cash this season for Carling Cup tickets - so there is a silver lining to that defeat for many home fans.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sporting Lisbon fans still love Ronaldo...
I have received an invitation from a Sporting Lisbon (Sporting Clube de Portugal) fan to ask a few questions and exchange views ahead of the Red Devils impending Champions League tie with his club. Unless you've been living underneath a stone you will know that United have signed two former Sporting players, firstly Cristiano Ronaldo and this summer Nani.
Nuno Neves is 32 years of age, he is a member of Juve Leo (Juventude Leonina) the Ultras of Sporting. He also writes a blog on his favourite team Bancada Sul
What was the general reaction of the Sporting Lisbon fans when it was revealed that Ronaldo and then Nani were to join United?
There was two different types of reaction. In the case of Ronaldo, in general we are sad with his exit, he already had an enormous potential and Sporting had the promise of a huge fee for a very young player. In the Nani's case, it was a good price too, but even so it was not so important to Sporting as it was when we sold Ronaldo.
Do the Sporting fans bear any grundges against the star duo after they joined United?
We supporters don't have any problems with the fact that they joined United, Sporting cannot compete with the economic power of Manchester United or the other rich clubs of Europe.
When Ronaldo and Nani return to face Sporting, will they receive a good reception from your fans?
They will have a enourmous reception, especially Cristiano Ronaldo who we have great care and consideration.
In 2003, United were supposed to have formed links with Sporting Lisbon, we the fans were told that this would lead to players being exchanged and more besides. However, in signing Nani this summer, the Red Devils had to invoke a get-out clause in Nani's contract. This wouldn't on the face of it seem to be the actions of two clubs who were in partnership. Were you the Sporting fans aware of the two clubs linking up? If you were aware, do you know if the two clubs are still working together in any way?
Well since that date, we Sporting fans, know the existence of that contract. In the time that it was linked, we thought some of dispensed players from United could came to Sporting squad, but we never exchanged anyone from Manchester United, to be sincere with you, we've never understood the link between the two clubs (JR adds - neither do we Nuno)
I understand that Sporting are not the team they were because of losing the likes of Nani and Ronaldo, who should United fans look out for when the two clubs meet?
Well, this is a new team this year, we have 10 new players, and there isn't yet a connection between all the players. But the best Sporting player is without a doubt Liedson. Here we say "Liedson resolve", it means "Liedson solves" or "Liedson decides"
How do Portuguese fans view Jose Mourinho and where do you see him managing in the next few seasons.
Well we have a love and hate relation with Jose Mourinho, we Sporting fans, never liked him. He was born to football as an assistant manager at Sporting when Bobby Robson was our coach, but eventually he went on to be the manager of Benfica and Porto - two teams that we Sporting fans hate. In one game when coaching Benfica, Mourinho did the finger salute to us the fans, when they scored a goal, this on the same day that that he was fired from Benfica. He didn't lose his job becouse of the teams results, he was going to sign a contract with Sporting, but we the fans went to Alvalade and said firmily that we did not want this kind of man leading Sporting. A few years later when he was Porto´s coach, he ripped off the team jersey of Rui Jorge, our left-sided defender in a game at the Alvalade. The incident took place in the dressing room, but it was something that we will never forget.
Nuno has submitted a review of Lisbon to the BigEasy Travel Guide for any fans who are travelling to the city.
Add your own Lisbon recommendations
Nuno Neves is 32 years of age, he is a member of Juve Leo (Juventude Leonina) the Ultras of Sporting. He also writes a blog on his favourite team Bancada Sul
What was the general reaction of the Sporting Lisbon fans when it was revealed that Ronaldo and then Nani were to join United?
There was two different types of reaction. In the case of Ronaldo, in general we are sad with his exit, he already had an enormous potential and Sporting had the promise of a huge fee for a very young player. In the Nani's case, it was a good price too, but even so it was not so important to Sporting as it was when we sold Ronaldo.
Do the Sporting fans bear any grundges against the star duo after they joined United?
We supporters don't have any problems with the fact that they joined United, Sporting cannot compete with the economic power of Manchester United or the other rich clubs of Europe.
When Ronaldo and Nani return to face Sporting, will they receive a good reception from your fans?
They will have a enourmous reception, especially Cristiano Ronaldo who we have great care and consideration.
In 2003, United were supposed to have formed links with Sporting Lisbon, we the fans were told that this would lead to players being exchanged and more besides. However, in signing Nani this summer, the Red Devils had to invoke a get-out clause in Nani's contract. This wouldn't on the face of it seem to be the actions of two clubs who were in partnership. Were you the Sporting fans aware of the two clubs linking up? If you were aware, do you know if the two clubs are still working together in any way?
Well since that date, we Sporting fans, know the existence of that contract. In the time that it was linked, we thought some of dispensed players from United could came to Sporting squad, but we never exchanged anyone from Manchester United, to be sincere with you, we've never understood the link between the two clubs (JR adds - neither do we Nuno)
I understand that Sporting are not the team they were because of losing the likes of Nani and Ronaldo, who should United fans look out for when the two clubs meet?
Well, this is a new team this year, we have 10 new players, and there isn't yet a connection between all the players. But the best Sporting player is without a doubt Liedson. Here we say "Liedson resolve", it means "Liedson solves" or "Liedson decides"
How do Portuguese fans view Jose Mourinho and where do you see him managing in the next few seasons.
Well we have a love and hate relation with Jose Mourinho, we Sporting fans, never liked him. He was born to football as an assistant manager at Sporting when Bobby Robson was our coach, but eventually he went on to be the manager of Benfica and Porto - two teams that we Sporting fans hate. In one game when coaching Benfica, Mourinho did the finger salute to us the fans, when they scored a goal, this on the same day that that he was fired from Benfica. He didn't lose his job becouse of the teams results, he was going to sign a contract with Sporting, but we the fans went to Alvalade and said firmily that we did not want this kind of man leading Sporting. A few years later when he was Porto´s coach, he ripped off the team jersey of Rui Jorge, our left-sided defender in a game at the Alvalade. The incident took place in the dressing room, but it was something that we will never forget.
Nuno has submitted a review of Lisbon to the BigEasy Travel Guide for any fans who are travelling to the city.
Add your own Lisbon recommendations
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Stunning Red's double transfer swoop...
Great news for United fans because the Red's have made a stunning double transfer swoop to sign 19 year old Brazilian playmaker Anderson from Porto plus 20 year old Portuguese wonder boy Nani from Sporting Lisbon. United released the news via the clubs official website, the fees have apparently been agreed in principle. Added to which the club will complete the signing of Hargreaves next week. Looking good.
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