Santiago Muñez signs for Man United!!!!!

Remember Santiago Muñez?

This one. :D

On Man United.com Chicharito hails 'dream' move

• Firstly, Javier, how does it feel to have signed for United?
  It’s a dream and I feel so happy. I’ve really enjoyed my week in Manchester – the stadium, the atmosphere at the club and the history are incredible and I want to do great things here.
  
  You were at the Bayern game – what did you make of the experience?
  I felt a lot of things and, as I said, I’m living a dream. The atmosphere was incredible with all the fans singing. It was fantastic to see.
  
  What sort of player are you?
  I just like to enjoy myself. I want to win every day and I hope I can do great things.
  
  You’ve met Sir Alex – what were your impressions of the manager?
  He is a great person and probably the best coach of all time. All my impressions of the team, the club and the city are incredible.
  
  Your family must be very excited at the prospect of you playing for the Reds…
  Yes, they are. My family are my biggest supporters and have been there with me through the good and the bad times and they have supported me a lot, so they’re very pleased.
  
  United will play in Mexico this summer – what reception can the team expect?
  The best. In our country Manchester United are the top team and the reception they will get will be fabulous.

And this is how Chicharitio looks like.

Manchester United 3 Bayern Munich 2

There were chatter that Wayne Rooney was doing a full work out on a bicycle and it was said he played in a practice match with the youth team at Carrington.

I knew Rooney would want to play and I knew Sir Alex would most likely start Rooney given the dismal team performance for the last 2 matches. Losing tonight would most likely be the end of the season. We needed a lift and the senior players had been urging the crowd to be in full support all week.

And when Rooney was named in the starting eleven, and Old Trafford was truly buzzing.

Sir Alex made 3 changes.

Rafeal for Neville. Valencia, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson and Nani in the midfield and Rooney upfront.

And the changes made were a stroke of masterpiece from Sir Alex.

Rafael drives forward, lays the ball squarely to Rooney who immediately lays the ball to Darron Gibson. Perhaps Bayern were unaware of Gibson's long range shooting abilities and Darron was given the time and space to open the scoring.

3 minutes. 1-0. United got the goal they wanted.

United doubled its lead 3 minutes later. Rooney sends a long, beautiful cross field pass to Valencia. Valencia attacked the flank and sends a cross to a totally unmark Nani who scores with a neat flick!

2-0 inside 8 minutes. Old Trafford was rocking and Bayern was rocked by United.

And in 41 st minute, Valencia sets up Nani's second. 3-0. United is in dream land. I thought I was dreaming.

Two minutes later, Olic pulls one back for Bayern. 3-1. 4-3 on aggregate. Still ok.

Then trouble came.

50th minute. Rafael gets the red card after getting his second booking. Sigh!

Sir Alex takes out Rooney and brings on John O'Shea.

Bayern smelt blood and they went for the kill. In the 74th minute, Ribbery sends corner to the far side of goal to Robben and Robben sends an incredible volley past Van der Sar.

Oh no!

United leads 3-2 for the night but is down on away goal.

Argh!

At 3-0, we had a 2 goal lead for the tie and yet we blew it.

Sigh!

Man United 1 Chelsea 2

Yeah, yeah, yeah. To allow Drogba goal to stand when he was clearly offside was hard to stomach, reminds me about the poor referee decisions at Stamford Bridge earlier decision. Would things have changed if the goal was not allowed?

Doesn't matter now and make no mistake, we deserved to lose.

We were simply out of depth in the first half. Shape of the team was wrong but we shockingly laced the desire, the determination and the effort to want to win the match.

It was exactly watching that Bayern Munich horror show all over again but this time our opponents, Chelsea hit us early in the first half and we never did look like scoring.

Yes, we did played with greater purpose in the second half but that was not good enough.

We have now lost our lead in the league.

Could we still win the league? It's clearly out of our hands now. It's for Chelsea to lose.

Match Review: Manchester United Vs Chelsea

Big clash against Chelsea tomorrow and a bigger clash against Bayern Munich next week.

And no Wayne Rooney.

Good point is both matches will be played at Old Trafford.

And good point is we have Sir Alex.

I honestly never expected Man United to win the title this season, not so soon after selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and only bringing in Valencia and Micheal Owen. From day one, I thought Chelsea had the edge.

And this is where Sir Alex has done so well this season.

Let me count out, just in case.

He's got Wayne Rooney playing much better, yes? He's got Nani back again. And even the older players, like Scholes and Neville has performed great this season. Even Ji Sung is playing much better and lately, especially in the Bolton match, I have to admit, even Berbatov had shown more determination. And it all boils down to Sir Alex, yes?

First thing, how would Sir Alex handle this two match? According to the tables, a draw against Chelsea is not a bad result but we have to beat Bayern Munich. So would he favour and place more importance in the Champions League match next week?

Me? I don't think so.

Sir Alex will want to win this year.

We are simply to close to the finish line to throw it away, and more importantly, it would mean, United has won more league titles than Liverpool and I know Sir Alex would love to have that. No buts to that!

And this is why I feel United will go all out against Chelsea this weekend.

Having said that is easy. Sure easy. Talk is cheap but can United beat Chelsea who suddenly is playing so hot?

Firstly, Portsmouth was a gifted match - thanks to Daivd James's air kicking skills again - what a blunder, what a blooper! Portsmouth was so poor. I am not going to read much about that. Villa match. Chelsea were good but Villa really collapsed in the second half and having seen the match again, I felt that they playing without Drogba was a plus. Their game became for fluid. Now don't get me wrong. It's not that Drogba is no good but it's different. Drogba needs someone really strong midfielder in the team, someone like Essien. With Essien powering up the middle, Drogba is simply more deadlier. That's how I see it and Essien is missing. And this is why I feel that Chelsea had struggled recently. Essien is really the the star.

Before Rooney's injury, I was very confident. United is having a real strong run at home and I was so confident that United will win tomorrow.

But now there's no Rooney.

I still don't think Chelsea can beat United. Certainly not at Old Trafford. Question for me is can United beat Chelsea?

Firstly, United needs to bounce back from their absolute shitty performance last Tuesday.

That was a shocker.

Yeah, I know, there's no Rooney but most of the players already knew that Rooney would be out right after the match and they were already focusing on Chelsea already.

Can Berbatov do it alone? Yes, Berbatov needs to have a big match. Nani and Valencia too! And we need the energy from Ji Sung and Fletcher.

How?

At this moment, I feel United can get at least a draw and let me say it, I won't be surprise to United win. Let me take a wild guess, 2-0 too! Fletcher and Ryan Giggs to be the scorers!

Hehe.. yeah.. a wild, wild guess from me.

Come on United!

Rooney Update

It supposed to be a big week for MU. Bayern away, Chelsea home and then Bayern home.

And boy did we start badly.

A lost to Bayern despite being gifted an early goal and then Rooney.

Early reports suggests he could be out between 2 to 4 weeks.

Sigh

On Skysports:

• Wayne Rooney is facing between two and four weeks on the sidelines with a sprained ankle, Sky Sports News understands.
  
  The Manchester United and England talisman had the nation holding their breath as he crumpled in a heap on the turf at the Allianz Arena in the closing seconds of the 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich.
  
  Rooney, who had bagged his 34th goal of an astonishing season with just 64 seconds on the clock in the quarter-final first leg meeting, had to be helped from the field and later left the stadium on crutches.
  
  Replays of the incident showed he had turned his right ankle when he landed awkwardly, causing immediate concern for Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson and England counterpart Fabio Capello.
  
  The fears of the national team appear to be have been alleviated by the initial prognosis, but the Red Devils will be without their attacking ace for a significant spell during the title run-in.
  
  Ferguson's men, who head the Premier League by one point from Chelsea, play host to their title rivals at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime in what could well prove to be a pivotal moment in the season.
  
  The return leg of their European showdown with Bayern follows next Wednesday when United know they must score if they are to progress to the semi-finals of the competition.
  
  Rooney can expect to miss the trip to Blackburn on 11th April and may also struggle to be involved in the Manchester derby with City at Eastlands the following weekend and the home meeting with Spurs on 24th April.
  
  That would leave the 24-year-old with just the Premier League encounters against Sunderland and Stoke to regain match sharpness in domestic action before attention turns to England's World Cup bid in South Africa.

On the UK Sun

• Wednesday
  
  1.05pm: Early reports suggest it is a sprain that will keep Rooney out of action for the next two to three weeks. This is prior to his medical examination which is due this afternoon.
  
  12.40pm: Darren Fletcher says United should be able to cope with Rooney's absence. "He scored again for us last night and he is quite obviously one of the best players in the world. But we have other good players. If Wayne isn't available, we will rally round."
  
  11.20am: It is confirmed that Rooney will return to England this afternoon and be taken for a fuller medical examination.
  
  9.25am: Bookmakers William Hill announce they have lengthened England's World Cup odds from 5/1 to 6/1. Spokesman Graham Sharpe says: "If there is the slightest chance of Rooney being absent it definitely affects England's chances in the minds of punters."
  
  8.30am: Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Saar is already contenplating playing on without Rooney. He says: "You always want your best players available but we know the players coming in can also do a good job."
  
  Tuesday
  
  10.40pm: Rooney leaves Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena on crutches with his right ankle strapped into a surgical boot.
  
  10.05pm: Sir Alex Ferguson confirms: "He's got a kick in the ankle, we'll just have to wait and see tomorrow. Hopefully it's not too serious. He may be doubtful for Saturday but it's too early to say."
  
  9.45pm: The verdict is a suspected twisted ankle. Talk focuses on Rooney's bad luck ahead of big tournaments and the broken metatarsal he suffered in his foot in the build up to the 2006 World Cup.
  
  9.30pm: Rooney turns over his right ankle while trying to tackle Mario Gomez. As Bayern sweep forward to score their winner, Rooney is left sprawled on the turf. Rooney eventually limps from the pitch with his right boot off.
  
  Read more: here

Bayern Munich 2 Manchester United 1

A ball to Nani on the right wing. A bizarre and the silliest of foul by Demichelis. Nani send the free kick in, and yes I was sure there was a slight of deflection, Rooney checked his run, Demichelis slipped, and Rooney had the easiest of goal in a champions league.

Incredible!

Bayern Munich 0 Manchester United 1.



What a free gift!

That unfortunately became the turning point or rather the pivotal point of the match.

That goal simply blinded Man United and United turned in one of the most abysmal and disappointing Champions League match ever. I am pretty sure United were thinking that it's their divine right to progress to the semis. Rooney, their inspirational star forward, had scored yet another goal and he scored in less than a minute too. This is going to be an easy peasy match. A walk in the park.

Sadly, that gifted goal simply inspired Bayern Munich. No, they were not going to be thrashed in front of their own fans, no, they are not going to let the opportunity of avening their 1999 Champions League defeat slip just like that. After the goal, they were so pumped up, so fired up.

And judging by the way Bayern was playing and more importantly, how below average United was playing, I knew the lead was not going to last. We be lucky to come away with a 1-1 draw. I be happy.

Half time came.

Surprise, surprise... United was still leading 1-0.

Ok, I then thought, maybe Sir Alex can see how poorly we are playing. Maybe he will get his tactics right at half time and maybe United will once again put in a sterling second half performance.

Boy, was I wrong.

We did not play much better and Bayern came out even more aggressive in their play. Perhaps they sense that this was it. Man United is playing way below par tonight.

And luck rewarded them. Nah, I should not use the word luck. Luck has nothing to do with it. Bayern created their own luck and in the 76 minute, Ribbery, who had a really excellent game, drove in a free kick. Ball hit Rooney's bum if I am not mistaken and left Van der Sar stranded. 1-1. Game on.

Yeah.. we did hit the post twice in the match. From a Giggs corner, Vidic drove in an extremely powerful header against the post. And early on, Nani hit the post with an extremely optimistic cross/shot. That was it.

And how ironically that Bayern scored in the very last minute.

Fate eh?

What comes around, goes around.

Champions League Preview: Bayern Munich Vs Manchester United

It's gonna be one very interesting match.

The Germans have been saying this and that about Wayne Rooney. They said they are afraid.

Me?

I am not buying it and neither will Sir Alex.

Bayern Munich will be ready for battle tonight.

Robben did not play in the weekend. Ribbery made a brief appearance. I won't be surprised if both of them start for Bayern Munich tonight.

Which will make it superbly interesting? Whose set of wingers is better? Mine or yours?

Of course, I would say United should have the advantage because Valencia and Nani have been fit and playing regularly recently. With Bayern, yes there is no doubt that both Robben and Ribbery are immensely talented but they have not been playing regularly, so it's obvious that Manchester United have the slightest of advantage here.

Despite Berbatov playing extremely well against Bolton during the weekend, I doubt he will start. Sir Alex will most likely use his 4-5-1 formation again.

Van de Sar in goal, Neville, Rio, Vidic and Evra in the back four, Valencia and Nani on the wings, Carrick to be in the holding role, while Fletcher and Ji Sung in the more advanced position. Rooney will be the lone striker.

How would I call this match?

I strongly feel United would get a result in this match. LOL! A biased view point maybe but I just don't see United losing.