Manutd
January 4, 2008 by admin - 
Manchester United Utter the words Manchester United in front of a man who has never followed soccer, and you will definitely see his eyes sparkle in recognition. Such is the fame of the club that was first formed in 1877 as Newton Heath, and is today one of Britain’s biggest clubs, both in terms of revenue and supporter base. United is owned by the Glazers, who also control the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL.
The manager : Sir Alex Ferguson. Turmoil, success, heartbreak, rifts with players, snatching wins from the jaws of defeat- Sir Alex Ferguson has seen it all. United’s 66 year old manager is widely recognized as one of the best in the Premiership, with seven FA Manager of the Year awards to his name, and has been with the club for over two decades.The players :
One of the requisites for every club wanting to succeed at the highest level is a solid defense United let in only 31 goals in the inaugural Premiership, thus winning it with the best defensive record in the league. And when they claimed their ninth title in fifteen years in the 2006-07 season, they were tied second with Liverpool for the least number of goals conceded.
In Edwin Van Der Sar, they have a reliable goalkeeper. The Dutchman is an imposing figure between the posts, and like all good keepers, is miserly with the number of goals that he lets in. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are probably the best central defensive pair in the league. Gary Neville has made the right back spot his own after so many years at the club. Patrice Evra, Wes Brown, Mikael Silvestre and John O’ Shea are all capable of breaking into the first team of any Premiership side.
In the centre of the park, United have a plethora of talent. They have old warhorse Ryan Giggs on the left, and the immensely talented Cristiano Ronaldo on the right. Paul Scholes’ abilities have not diminished with age. Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves perform their defensive duties well. Youngsters Nani and Anderson have shown promise and they should get better with age. Asia has its representative in Park Ji Sung, and so does Scotland in the form of Darren Fletcher. The likes of Luke Steele, Gerard Pique, Christopher Eagles, Thomas Heaton and Danny Simpson represent the future.
United have no lack of attacking firepower upfront. Louis Saha is powerful, Wayne Rooney is versatile, and Carlos Tevez has lots of tricks up his sleeve. You want them to run rings around defenders, or produce powerful shots from the edge of the area or simply tap the ball in from a few yards out, and they will do it with immaculate ease.
To sum it up, the Red Devils have a side capable of beating the best in Europe on their day.
