Reuters Soccer Blog

Rooney strike — wonder goal or shinpad special?

Wayne Rooney’s overhead scissors kick goal to win the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday has sparked a tidal wave of hyperbole in the British media, with “wonder goal” the most popular tag used to describe it.

The general consensus was not that it was just the nailed-on winner for “goal of the season” but was also the best of Rooney’s career and even the best ever seen at Old Trafford.

There must be some short memories in the north-west. The hundreds of thousands of fans who witnessed George Best score stupendous goals of every type – the vast majority never televised and enjoyed once and once only by those in the ground – will shake their heads in disbelief at how such a sweeping statement can quickly attract such currency.

There is no question that it was a great goal that took athleticism, confidence and precise skill – but even with all three of those elements in place it still looked as if the ball flew into the top corner off Rooney’s shin pad rather than his boot.

His own description of it as the best he’d scored was immediately tempered by him saying: “Nine times out of 10 they go into the stand.”

Fans of the goal say that is precisely why it was so special, because such attempts rarely come off. Others might suggest that the sheer hit-or-miss nature of such goals make them less impressive than, to pick just one example, Rooney’s own immaculately conceived and delivered curler for Everton against Arsenal that announced the 16-year-old to the world.

It is of course impossible to directly compare a 30-metre screamer with a bullet header or an immaculately-executed five-man, length-of-the field passing move that ends with a simple tap-in but there is something about overhead kicks that sends the English soccer Press and public into a frenzy.

Not much ‘typically German’ about this Bayern Munich team

What did Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson mean when he criticised Bayern Munich players for what he said was their attempt to influence Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli after Rafael Da Silva fouled Franck Ribery?

“They all rushed towards the referee,” Ferguson told British TV, complaining about the second yellow card that got his right back sent off. “Typical Germans.”

His comment has caused a bit of a stir on both sides of the English Channel.

A look at the line-up shows there were only five Germans on the pitch for Bayern, plus two Dutchmen, one Frenchman, one Belgian, one Argentine and one Croat so strictly speaking there was not much typically German about the team. The two players near the referee were Frenchman Franck Ribery and Dutchman Mark van Bommel. Some at the match said the referee was reaching for the card in his pocket long before Ribery started protesting.

Whatever you think of Ferguson’s Weltanschauung it does raise a question about whether big Champions League sides can retain their traditional characteristics when they all have such large League of Nations squads.

What would a typically German performance be anyway? For some it might be the ability to neutralise sides with supposedly much better players and reputations for playing better football and end up worthy winners (think the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1974).

Could that have been what Ferguson, if only subconsciously, had in mind?

Champions League Live: Man Utd v Bayern, Bordeaux v Lyon

We’re following the Champions League quarter-final, second legs live this evening. Join us here for updates and on-the-spot comment from Manchester United v Bayern Munich and Bordeaux v Lyon. Can Bayern hold on to their slim lead at Old Trafford? Will Wayne Rooney be fit? Is there any way back for Bordeaux? And can anyone match the feats of Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s victory over Arsenal last night?

United beware: City look ready to make a lot more noise

Rarely can a defeat, and such a heart-breaking one at that, have been greeted with so much enthusiasm by the losers as Manchester City’s 4-3 reverse at Old Trafford.

Sports professionals are forever banging on about “taking the positives” from setbacks but for everyone connected with City, their performance and the whole occasion on Sunday showed that they really will be a force to be reckoned with over the next few months and years.

Despite being shorn of several of their best players and going behind after two minutes, City hung on to United like a terrier with a mouthful of trouser.

Every time United shook them off with a goal, they came back with a tighter bite. Even when the champions were peppering their goal during a period of dominance in the second half, City stayed in the game.

They were felled by Michael Owen’s 96th-minute winner, sparking wild scenes on the touchline and some enjoyable jousting from the managers.

Current England rugby manager Martin Johnson has said that he felt sure England would win the 2003 World Cup final after seeing how Australia celebrated their semi-final win over New Zealand and United’s joy, even allowing for the dramatic nature of the finale, was a few notches up on anything seen in a derby win for decades.

“They seemed quite excitable at the end which shows you what this win means to them,” said Mark Hughes. “It was reminiscent of some of the scenes with Brian Kidd and Alex Ferguson in days gone by and I saw Gary Neville running on the pitch like a lunatic.”

Tosic back with a bang for Serbia, can he break through at United?

Serbia winger Zoran Tosic has boosted his chances of playing more first team football for club and country after scoring his first two international goals in a 3-1 friendly win over South Africa in Pretoria.

The 22-year old has made only a couple of competitive first team appearances for Manchester United since his move from Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade in January and was consequently dropped by Serbia coach Radomir Antic for their 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

But Tosic’s inspired performance and two goals after he came on as a substitute against the South Africans must have delighted Antic and given United manager Sir Alex Ferguson something to think about too.

With a vital qualifier against France coming up on September 9, the rejuvenated Tosic has added the much-needed depth to Serbia’s squad as they aim to qualify for the finals for the first time as an independent nation.

Ferguson, on the other hand, should also welcome the extra option at hand on the left wing, especially after Nani dislocated his shoulder in United’s Community Shield clash with Chelsea on Sunday.

Tosic may not break into United’s first team just yet, but a good pre-season tour in Asia and the blistering performance against the World Cup hosts will certainly give him hope that he will not end up as surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.

The goals will come for Owen, so should an England recall

Michael Owen missed four glorious chances in Manchester United’s 2-0 friendly win over Valencia but the very fact that he was there to miss them signals a real chance of the former Liverpool reviving his career for club and country.

Owen’s failure to find the net was described as a wasted opportunity by some, given that England coach Fabio Capello was there watching him, but consider … playing for Newcastle at the end of last season, when did he look in with a chance of scoring even one?

Here’s what Alex Ferguson said about Owen’s display:

“Michael showed marvellous movement. He should’ve scored four, but he was unlucky with the first one that he just chipped it over the goalkeeper’s shoulder and by the post. He deserved at least one of them.”

Whether he deserved to score or not is beside the point, which is that playing in this United team he can expect to have chances every time he plays. He scored four on United’s tour of the Far East and if he fluffed his lines on his Old Trafford debut he can safely reflect that it was only a dress rehearsal for the new season after all.

As for England, the fact that he is playing for United alongside Wayne Rooney will only help. Assuming he starts scoring in the Premier League, and given the sheer number of chances he can expect that seems inevitable, how long before Capello decides to translate the United forward partnership to the England set-up?