Ronny's on top of the world

Congratulations Cristiano, how does it feel to have won the award and become only the fourth United player ever to do so?It feels amazing. It’s the award I always dreamt on winning when I was kid and I feel very proud and very happy [to have done that]. I have to say a big thank you to my team-mates and everyone at the club who has helped me win the award – it has such a great history and it is the great players who win it so it’s magnificent to be alongside them. It’s amazing that only four players in the club’s history have won it, I didn’t know that until yesterday. So it’s special for the club and obviously for me and I feel very proud to be part of the history of the Ballon D’Or and the history of this club. You work hard to win team awards and personal awards, but [from a personal point of view] to win this one is very special.Where does this rank among your many other personal achievements?Every award has different history, but this one is one of the best. When I became a professional footballer I always believed I had the chance to win it one day and to do that makes me feel very good. But team awards are very important to me as well. I’m at a great club where I have the opportunity to win team and personal awards and to be remembered as a great player you have to win things with your team, not just individual awards, collective trophies are the most important.

There is already a huge weight of expectation on your shoulders – will winning this award put even more pressure on you?I always play with pressure because people always expect a lot from me and I don’t think that will change. Winning this award makes me feel very happy inside because it’s one of the best days of my life. But my responsibilities are still the same - I want to continue to play well for my club and my country and try to do as well as lastseason.You always say you want to improve – how does a player who’s been voted the best in the world go about doing that?Of course I can improve - there are many things I still need to learn. You can never let yourself think you know everything. I am still very ambitious and I will continue to work very hard. I know it will be very hard to better last season, but I will try – if you don’t try you win nothing. A new season means a new challenge and I want to help the team win more trophies. (Manchester United News)

Cristiano d'Or

Some people may be thinking the Ballon d'Or is just another award for Cristiano Ronaldo, the latest in a long line of trophies recognising his astonishing achievements last season.In the last seven months, he's been named PFA Player of the Year, Football Writers' Player of the Year and FIFPro World Player of the Year. But this one caps the lot. Ronny appears to be genuinely thrilled to win this, the most prestigious individual honour in world football. I'm delighted for him. It would have been ludicrous if he had been pipped to the award by Lionel Messi or Fernando Torres, both of whom enjoyed successful seasons but were not as consistently devastating as Ronaldo.And let's not forget that in being heralded as the world's greatest player by 77 out of the 96 journalists on the voting panel for the France Football magazine gong, Ronaldo joins a very distinguished list indeed.The last three United winners were George Best (1968), Bobby Charlton (1965) and Denis Law (1964). After scoring a phenomenal 42 goals in the 2007/08 Double triumph, perhaps Ronaldo has already assured he will be mentioned in the same breath as that trio in years to come.But one way for him to guarantee that is to ignore overtures from the continent, stay at this great club and continue to torment opposition defences for many more seasons."This is one that I want to win again because it is so good," Ronaldo said after scooping the award. "Therefore, I will wake and I will say to myself 'I want to be even better'." Let's hope he fulfills that ambition in a United shirt.

Eto'o is one of Barça’s top ten all-time goalscorers

Berta Brau

Samuel Eto'o’s strike against Seville was his 111th in competitive games for Barça, which pulls him level with the tenth best record in the history of the club.Samuel Eto'o was right when he said that the best is always yet to come. He continues to improve even his high standards and set new personal bests. He achieved the most recent on Saturday away at Seville at Sánchez Pizjuán (0-3) when he became the equal tenth highest goalscorer in the history of Barcelona. 111 goals and a new record The striker notched his 111th goal in a competitive game for Barça, which pulls him level with Eulogio Martínez in tenth place in the table of highest goalscorers in the club’s history. If Eto’o is able to continue with his fine form over the next few months, he could well climb further up to third place over Rivaldo, who scored 130 goals for Barça. Historic season This season the Cameroon striker is ramping up his goal scoring records. He has already beaten the 100 goals barrier and forged ahead of legendary Barça stars such as Asensi (103), Evaristo (105), Zaldúa (107) and Luis Enrique (109). He has also notched up 15 goals in 17 outings, which is an average of 0.88 goals per game. Five seasons scoring goals In his fifth season at FC Barcelona, Samuel Eto'o is keeping up the high standards he has always set. Over that period he averages 0.67 goals per game, having found the net on 111 occasions in 166 competitive matches.

Derby in Manchester

MAncester City 0 vs Man United 1

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for the second time in a Manchester derby, but Wayne Rooney’s first-half strike was enough to hand United all three points at Eastlands.
Ronaldo’s two yellow cards – the second for a bizarre deliberate handball – meant the Reds had to play the last 22 minutes with 10 men. But City didn’t threaten until stoppage time and United held on to claim a deserved derby-day win. Sir Alex’s men controlled the game from start to finish, proving class and ability on the pitch counts for far more than wealth and ambition off it. Certainly, when City’s new owners took over in the summer, expectations in the blue half of Manchester rose astronomically. Almost immediately, the owners outlined a wish to win the Champions League within just three years. On the evidence of the 151st Manchester derby, however, City still have a lot of work to do.Dimitar Berbatov made a surprise return to the Reds’ starting line-up after missing United’s last two matches with a hamstring injury. His inclusion alongside Wayne Rooney meant Carlos Tevez had to be content with a place on the bench. Elsewhere, Ji-sung Park was given the nod ahead of Ryan Giggs and Nani on the left side of midfield, while 18-year-old Brazilian Rafael started at right back in his first Manchester derby. He showed little sign of nerves, darting down the wing early on to add an extra man to the Reds’ attacks.
It was from the right that United’s first real chance came, although it was Ji-sung Park and not the young Brazilian who fizzed the ball across the Blues’ box. It reached Rooney at the penalty spot, but the England international’s shot was straight at Joe Hart.
The Reds dominated possession early on and Ronaldo rose highest on 14 minutes to head narrowly over the bar from Wayne Rooney’s corner. Berbatov then drew a finger-tip save from Hart when he nodded Rafael’s cross towards the far corner.United’s midfield four, commanded by Darren Fletcher in the middle, were first to everything, as City struggled to win – let alone keep – the ball. Fletcher and Berbatov linked well to release Ronaldo before the ball broke to Patrice Evra, who couldn’t keep his shot down.
Despite dominating, United almost went behind after 32 minutes. Van der Sar came a long way for a City free-kick and struggled to punch clear. With the Dutchman stranded, Stephen Ireland stabbed the ball goalwards from 18 yards. Micah Richards elected not to try and steer it in himself and in the end the ball bounced, almost in slow-motion, off the outside of the post and out for a goal kick.
It would have been cruel on the Reds, but the scare underlined how important it is to take chances in front of goal. And that’s exactly what Wayne Rooney did just before the interval, when his 100th club goal – his 83rd for United – put United in front.
City struggled to clear a bouncing ball inside the penalty area and when it broke to Michael Carrick the midfielder lashed a left-footed shot across Hart towards the far corner. The City goalkeeper did well to keep out the shot, but could only palm the ball to Rooney, who side-footed home from two yards.
The only surprise was that it took so long for the Reds to break the deadlock. Completely dominant in the first 45 minutes, United wouldn’t have been flattered had the score been 3-0 at the break.
bringing Elano and Pablo Zabaleta on for Darius Vassell and Dietmar Hamann. The Blues were buoyed and Vincent Kompany went close from distance before Benjani found the side-netting after a quick counter-attack.The changes allowed City to creep back into the game and the home team enjoyed more time on the ball. At the other end, Berbatov almost squeezed his shot past his marker before the game turned in City’s favour with Ronaldo’s dismissal.Already on a yellow card after bringing down Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ronaldo went up for a corner and batted the ball away with both hands. He appeared to claim he heard a whistle and had thought the match had been stopped, but referee Howard Webb was unconvinced and showed the no.7 a second yellow card.
It was a bizarre incident – there seemed no other reason for Ronaldo to have gone with his hands – and forced United to reshuffle for the final 22 minutes. The Blues threw on striker Daniel Sturridge to bolster their attacking options, but failed to threaten van der Sar’s goal until winning a stoppage-time corner was cleared off the line.United: van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Park (O’Shea 90), Carrick, Fletcher, Ronaldo; Berbatov (Giggs 84), RooneySubs not used: Foster, Anderson, Evans, Nani, Tevez
Booked: Rafael, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Evra, Carrick

MU BANTAI STOKE 5 - 0

Manchester United kembali menunjukkan tajinya dengan membantai Stoke City 5 - 0 di Old Trafford. Disaksikan oleh sekitar 75.000 penonton pembantaian Stoke dimulai oleh CR7 hanya 3 menit setelah pertandingan dimulai. Penderitaan Stoke tidak berhenti sampai disitu saja, karena Michael Carrick kembali menyarangkan bola ke gawang toke hanya beberapa saat setelah peluit babak kedua dibunyikan. Berbatov kemudian juga memaksa Thomas Sorensen, penjaga gawang Stoke memungut bola dari gawangnya pada menit 48. Bahkan Danny Wellbeck pemain pengganti yang masuk pada menit menit ke 62 ikut membenamkan Stoke di menit 83. Pesta Goal ini akhirnya berhenti setelah CR7 kembali membuat Goal pada menit ke 88.

Lampard mendapatkan Predikat Player of The Month

Frank Lampard mengakhiri pertandingan di bulan Oktober dengan meraih predikat Player of The Month. Gelandang tengah Chelsea ini terkenal dengan tendangan dari luar kotak penaltinya yang keras dan terukur. Ia merupakan pemain Chelsea kedua yang mendapatkan predikat tersebut.

Pemain berumur 30 tahun yang mengawali karir profesionalnya pada Klub West Ham, ditransfer ke Chelsea pada musim kompetisi 2001 - 2002. Dan sejak itu ia menjadi bagian yang tidak tergantikan dalam tim utama.

Prestasi Frank Lampard

2002 FA Cup Runner-up (Chelsea)
2005 Premier League Winner (Chelsea)
2005 League Cup Winner (Chelsea)
2006 Premier League Winner (Chelsea)
2007 FA Cup Winner (Chelsea)
2007 League Cup Winner (Chelsea)
2008:: Champions League Runner-up (Chelsea)
2008:: League Cup Runner-up (Chelsea