jose - soccer

Cristiano Ronaldo beat off competition from Lionel Messi, Xavi, as well as Fernando Torres, and last year’s winner Kaka, to win the FIFA World Player of the Year Award with a total of 935 vote points. In second place was Barcelona star Lionel Messi with 678, while Liverpool striker Fernando Torres finished third with 203. AC Milan star Kaka was not far behind in fourth with 183, while Barcelona's Xavi ended up fifth with 155.

The number 7 of Manchester United was designated best football player of the year for 2008 by FIFA this Monday, the second athlete from the Sporting Clube de Portugal school in Lisbon, after Luís Figo, to win this prize. With 23 years and a long time to grow, Cristiano Ronaldo has the world at his feet. At 23 years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Boot with 42 goals scored in the last season for Manchester United, being Europe's best scorer and best player now the world. He also won the championship of the Premier League in England, and the Champions’ League. He followed this up this term by lifting the Club World Cup in Japan. "The last season for me was the best in the world. And he is a very intelligent player who decides games. When you think he’ll be on the left, then he appears on the right. When you expect him to kick from the left, then there’s a kick from the right."

Ronaldo caps off a clean sweep of the major awards, having also picked up the prestigious Ballon d'Or (European Footballer of the Year) at the end of 2008. The 23-year-old becomes the first English-based player to be named FIFA World Player of the Year, and only the second Portuguese, following in the footsteps of Luis Figo, who triumphed in 2001.

There is no question as to who was the most effective footballer of 2008; like him or not, Cristiano Ronaldo had an on-field effect quite unlike anybody else in the calendar year. The 23-year-old inspired his club side to the Premier League title, Champions League and World Championship and picked up all the individual trinkets and accolades along the way. An exceptional 42 goals in the 2007-08 season stood Ronaldo in phenomenal stead and some murmurs even suggested that the Portuguese forward had overtaken George Best in the affections of the United faithful.

Despite his success and talent, a player of his calibre has never cut such a polemic figure. His detractors often overlook or undersell his achievements and instead point to his posturing, diving, complaining and selfishness as indicators of an overinflated ego and a delusional halfwit foolish enough to believe his own hype, and then some.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between, but our team have given their perception of the best and worst that could come from his winning of yet another award: the FIFA World Player of the Year.

(source: goal.com, etc.)

LIVERPOOL have maintained their grip on first place in the Barclays Premier League table with a stunning 5-1 win against a toothless Newcastle United at St James' Park. Reds captain Steven Gerrard scored twice and had had it not been for Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, the hosts could have been on the wrong end of a double-figure disaster after being completely outclassed. The Republic of Ireland international made five world-class saves in 10 minutes to prevent Newcastle from total capitulation before the midway point of the first-half.

Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee said: ``I think we are improving with every game we play and that is all we can look for. You haven't seen the best of Liverpool yet. "You win nothing in December but you can certainly lose a lot. We're very pleased to be going into the New Year at the top."

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear - whose 62nd birthday celebrations on Sunday have been distinctly muted having been beaten by Wigan on Friday and now Liverpool - said that his depleted side had not been able to hold off the attacking hordes from Liverpool. "We were short of six or seven players and everything that could go against us did go against us. "We had to play one of the best teams I've seen for a long while. You have to take your hat off to Liverpool. They were in command for a long time and could have put the game to bed in the first half."

Arsenal target Given began his run of jaw-dropping stops in the 10th minute as he pushed away a fierce near post strike from lone Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt. Within a minute England midfielder Gerrard weaved his way around three United defenders only to see his left foot shot palmed away by Given.

However, the onslaught had only just begun and in the 14th minute the Magpies 'keeper denied Gerrard again as he sprung to his right to claw away a rising left footed shot. But that stunning save was eclipsed by an even better show of agility five minutes later as Given denied the Brazilian midfielder Lucas from point-blank range. When the former Gremio player saw his header, from a Gerrard corner, beaten away by the Newcastle goalkeeper moments later, the visitors must have begun to fear this would be no easy win on Tyneside.

United, for their part, had barely managed to break beyond halfway and the Magpies' owner, Mike Ashley, must have been wondering whether he had been premature in announcing his decision to take the club off the market for the foreseeable future. If his aim had been to usher in a period of calm at St James' Park, the effect had not extended to the pitch. Liverpool continued to press forward at will and two goals before half-time appeared to end the game as a contest. Inevitably, given his sensational start to the match, it was Gerrard who broke the deadlock in the 31st minute when he drilled Yossi Benayoun's pass in off the post. Poor Given had no opportunity to reprise his heroics and the Irishman was stranded again five minutes later when defender Sami Hyypia was given the freedom of the Newcastle penalty area to head home Gerrard's corner.

The experienced Finn could have grabbed a second three minutes before the break only for a diving Given to push the ball into the path of Newcastle's Charles N'Zogbia, who cleared. These were torrid times for United but, incredibly, Canada international defender David Edgar reduced the arrears on the stroke of half-time by heading in Danny Guthrie's corner.

Liverpool's third, five minutes after the restart, had an element of luck about it, with referee Mark Halsey failing to spot Lucas's hand ball, but Dutch international Ryan Babel tapped-in from five yards despite being surrounded by several Newcastle players. Gerrard grabbed his second from Lucas's astute through ball in the 66th minute. And when substitute Xabi Alonso wrapped things up with a well taken penalty 13 minutes from time with Gerrard off the field, after his fellow replacement David Ngog had been brought down by Edgar, Liverpool could celebrate heading into 2009 on top of the Premier League pile.

Agence France-Presse, source: foxsport)

Wayne Rooney scored late in the second half Sunday to lead 10-man Manchester United to a 1-0 win over Ecuador’s Liga de Quito in the final of the Club World Cup. Rooney took a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 73rd minute and fired an angled right-footed blast into the bottom corner past diving Liga goalkeeper Jose Cevallos. “It was a very difficult game especially after going down to 10 men,” said Rooney. “I’m very happy to have scored and for us to become the best club in the world is something we can be very proud of.” United was reduced to 10 men when defender Nemanja Vidic was given a red card in the 49th minute for elbowing Claudio Bieler in the face.

United becomes the first English club to win the cup in its current format. The Red Devils participated in the first Club World Cup in 2000 without making the final, while Liverpool lost the 2005 decider. In 1999, United did win the predecessor to the Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup which matched the European and South American champions.

Liga didn’t have a shot on target until Manso rifled a left-foot blast from the top of the area in the 63rd minute only to see United keeper Edwin Van Der Sar make a spectacular diving save. Liga’s Alejandro Manso came dangerously close to equalizing in the 89th minute with a long-range shot that Van Der Sar tipped over the bar.

Looking to add to their Premier League and Champions League titles, United controlled the flow of play from the outset. Rooney had a superb chance 10 minutes in when he played a long ball from Vidic off his chest and unleashed a powerful volley from the top of the area that Cevallos stopped with a diving save. Ronaldo set up Carlos Tevez 10 minutes later with a cross but the Argentine’s low header was saved by Cevallos, who kept his team in the match in the first half. Rooney set up Park Ji-sung after a nifty one-two with Tevez but the South Korean fired into the hands of Cevallos late in the first half. Jairo Campos had Liga’s best scoring chance in the opening minutes when he redirected a Manso free kick inches wide of the post.

Alex Ferguson’s squad qualified for the Club World Cup in May after beating fellow English side Chelsea in a penalty shootout in the Champions League final at Moscow. Liga qualified for the competition by becoming the first Ecuadorean club to win South America’s Copa Libertadores. Liga defeated Mexico’s Pachuca 2-0 on Wednesday to reach Sunday’s final, while United advanced after a 5-3 win over Japan’s Gamba Osaka.

Gamba secured a third-place finish earlier Sunday with a 1-0 win over Pachuca. Striker Masato Yamazaki scored the winner in the 30th minute when he volleyed a superb pass from fellow forward Ryuji Bando past goalkeeper Miguel Calero.

(source: http://www.japantoday.com)