Wayne Rooney makes Valdano eat his words

Wayne Rooney makes Valdano eat his words as United's family stand firm

The striker answered his manager's 'One for all and all for one' rallying call and made criticism of him look ill-judged.

Two hours before last night's kick-off a schoolboy was walking through the tunnel under the main stand and past the memorial to the victims of the Munich disaster, wearing a T-shirt evoking an earlier period of Manchester United's history. First revived almost 20 years ago by the club itself in order to flog a few more away strips, the green and gold colours of Newton Heath FC, United's forebears, formed in 1878 as the works team of a railway depot, have recently been restored to prominence as an emblem of resistance against the consequences of the leveraged takeover engineered by the Glazer family of Florida in the summer of 2005.

The boy was not alone. Thousands of other spectators were making their way into the ground with shirts and scarves in the colours first worn by the men of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. When the boy turned round, it could be seen that the back of his T-shirt, bought that afternoon for a fiver, carried a message intended to resonate across the Atlantic: "United's soul is never sold / So proudly wear the Green and Gold / We'll never wear our famous Red / Til Glazer's gone or even dead / So raise that ancient standard high / By Green and Gold we'll live or die / That day will come again for sure / When we can wear our Red once more."

If any red-shirted player on the pitch last night embodied that boy's defiance, if perhaps not precisely his objection to the effects of global capitalism, it was surely Wayne Rooney, combining finesse and defiance in a match-turning performance that reached its climax with a decisive strike in the 92nd minute. As the roar from the throats of 65,000 United fans split the sky, it was tempting to conclude that, when it comes to football clubs and their sticky moments with controversial owners, there is not much that a sequence of satisfying results and the promise of trophies cannot overcome.

The stadium was shuddering with emotion as United took the field to defend the Carling Cup. Manchester City's raucous contingent, 9,000 strong, alone made sure of that. But beneath the waves of chanting seethed the undercurrent of dissatisfaction flowing through the foundations of Old Trafford.

"One for all and all for one," Sir Alex Ferguson had written in his programme notes for the Hull City match. "The family of Manchester United is under pressure..."

When Ferguson uses the word "family", he is referring to the fans and the playing and coaching staff. Others might use it in reference to the Glazers, whose aura hangs around the club like a noxious cloud. Last night, however, the pillars of the real family showed their resilience. Paul Scholes, playing high enough up the field to be absolved of the responsibility for making tackles, spread the ball with the vision and accuracy of his prime and opened the scoring with a marvellous piece of opportunistic sniper-fire, while Ryan Giggs caused City endless problems.

Gary Neville, the third survivor of the generation now in their mid-thirties, was not there to increase the turbulence, the club captain's absence perhaps Ferguson's response to the raised finger at Eastlands last week rather than a sign of disapproval of the anodyne opinion Neville expressed on the subject of Carlos Tevez in his column in a Maltese newspaper.

Rio Ferdinand, however, was on duty for his second match since returning from injury, and his presence was appreciated after 20 minutes when he raced neck and neck with Tevez, cleverly unbalancing his opponent as the Argentinian prepared to shoot. Midway through the second half, however, Ferdinand made another and rather different contribution, failing to prevent Tevez from reaching Craig Bellamy's cross with a backheeled volley at the near post that recalled a famous effort by the watching Roberto Mancini for Lazio against Parma a decade ago.

No United player, however, gave more than Rooney, perhaps as a result of the slighting remark uttered this week by Jorge Valdano, Real Madrid's director general. "Rooney is English and we all know they find it difficult to adapt to another type of competition other than the Premier League," he said, responding to rumours of his club's interest in the player.

Rooney's boots and his spirit provided an ample response last night. In the first half he foraged alone up front, ceaselessly searching for the long balls aimed from deep midfield and drawing an early save from Shay Given. Six minutes into the second half, after Micah Richards's run and shot had almost given City the lead, he changed the shape and mood of the tie by driving a magnificent diagonal ball across from the left touchline to send Giggs on the run that led to Scholes's strike. And finally, in stoppage time, the perfect timing of his run and header killed off City's hopes. "A true world-class performance," Ferguson said, choosing his words with care. Were you watching, Señor Valdano?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jan/28/wayne-rooney-manchester-united-carling-cup

He is extraordinary, very, very good.

Rooney is English, we all know they find it difficult to adapt to another type of competition other than the Premier League.

He is a very interesting player but we have not ever been interested.