THE SPORT 23
DAILY XPRESS
Nikolai Valuev BOXER AFTER DEFEATING HOLYFIELD
“He was a strong opponent and he made me work very hard for the win. It was a challenging fight, it was a hard fight, he was unbelievably fast with his punches. I am proud to have fought him, it was a fast-paced fight.”
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Manchester United after winning the final over Ecuador’s Liga De Quito in the Fifa Club World Cup.
TO SCORE THE WINNING GOAL IN A MATCH LIKE THIS IS A GREAT FEELING FOR ME PERSONALLY. Wayne Rooney ploying his full bag of tricks. Liga maintained their discipline and tried to keep possession but there was nothing they could do when Rooney and Tevez combined superbly to feed Rafael on the right, with the young Brazilian forc-
ing yet another good save. Park Ji-sung should have put United one up but volleyed over from six yards and the two sides went to the break all square. United got off to the worst possible start in the second half when Vidic was given a straight red card on 49 minutes for elbowing Claudio Bieler. Despite being down to 10 men, United knuckled down, with Ronaldo troubling Cevallos with a long range strike and Rooney getting a header on target. With the game looking like it could go either way, Michael Carrick slipped the ball to Ronaldo who deftly laid it off to Rooney and the 23-year-old made no mistake, side-footing beyond Cevallos and into the right hand corner. The win earned United five million dollars, with Liga taking home four million.
AP
HAMPS
BOXER AFTER LOSING HIS BOUT
“I don’t doubt myself, people doubt me, but I have a history of proving people wrong. I always make good bets, I know who I am. Of course I am disappointed. I thought I had done enough to get the win. Now I have to go home and think about my future.”
Fergie tips Ronaldo to emulate Pele, Diego AFP, Yokohama, Japan
C
ristiano Ronaldo has all the attributes needed to become a legend with Sir Alex Ferguson tipping him to emulate the likes of Pele and Maradona. The 23-year-old Portuguese winger, who beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to win the Ballon D’Or this month, has time on his side. “Cristiano is superb,” said Ferguson. “He has timing getting into the box, ability with two feet – and you would never associate a Portuguese winger with such magnificent ability in the air. He is like an old-fashioned centre forward. “He’s only 23 and still a very young lad and there’s a lot of things in his favour to go on and prove himself as a legend. The next few years, when he reaches 28 or 29, I think you will get your answers.” Ferguson’s praise comes amid another row with Real Madrid over Ronaldo, with both sides trading barbs after reports that there was an agreement for the player to move to the Bernabeu at the end of the season. Working against Ronaldo reaching the same heights as Pele and Maradona is that Portugal don’t play as
much high profile football as Brazil or Argentina, depriving him of a world stage to show off his skills. “When you have a star like this, a young player with such huge potential, they normally make an impact very early, which is what Cristiano has done,” said Ferguson. “Pele scored in a World Cup semi-final as a 17-yearold. Maradona played for his country at 17. Cristiano was 18. All the signs are the same. “What you don’t know about him but can say about Pele and Maradona is that their careers lasted for a number of years. “They both played in two World Cup finals. Maybe Portugal do not have the same profile as Brazil and Argentina to get to finals, so you have to judge Cristiano in a different way. “I’m always expecting more from Cristiano because he has such high expectations himself,” he said. “Last season, his best scoring came in the second half of the season and he needs to recapture that. But I am very satisfied with the way he is playing. “He always wants the ball and there are few wingers in the game who have an impact like him.”
Sam Allardyce wants to deal with the issue professionally.
Allardyce plans Santa showdown AFP, Blackburn, England
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AFP
AN UNITED
Evander Holyfield
AP
Monday, December 22, 2008
Man United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, left, is fouled by Liga de Quito midfielders Eder Vaca, No 10, and William Araujo.
lackburn manager Sam Allardyce is planning showdown talks with Roque Santa Cruz after the Paraguay striker revealed he wants to quit Ewood Park in the January transfer window. Allardyce had made it clear when he was unveiled as successor to Paul Ince in midweek that he had no intention of selling his best players, so Santa Cruz’s admission that he wants to move on drew an angry response from his new boss. Santa Cruz, who was missing from Allardyce’s 3-0 debut win over Stoke at Ewood Park with a calf injury suffered in training, will have to explain himself this week. “Did it bother me on Saturday? No. Is it going to affect my night out? No. Will it bother me on Monday? Yes,” Allardyce said. “I will sit down and see what the situation is. We will deal with it professionally very quickly. “I think there is an issue but it is not going to be resolved tonight. It is not going to detract from a night out with a good friend on his 60th birthday. “You keep asking me questions I don’t want to answer now because I want to have a good night out,” he said.