Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted Footballer of the Year (2007) by the Football Writers’ Association – adding the award to his PFA Player and Young Player of the Year accolades last month.
The Reds winger topped the journalists’ poll ahead of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, while Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were third and fourth in the voting.
Ronaldo will receive the trophy at the FWA Footballer of the Year dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on May 17.
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The scorers: Kaká (11), Clarence Seedorf (30) and Alberto Gilardino (78). Milan into the Champions League final with a 5-3 aggregate.
United’s performance sucks. Credits to Milan, their play were truly master class; but United could have done better, or at least gave Milan a tougher night. In fact, despite conceded 3 goals, goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar was probably United’s best player of the game with a couple of great saves.
Van der Sar couldn’t do much with the first 2 goals; the first one was poor defending, the second one was very much a gift from United defenders.
The anticipated battle of Kaka vs. Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t happen as well; it was all one sided performance in favour of Kaka. Ronaldo’s most memorable moment of the game was the yellow card he got late in the game.
If AC Milan does win the Champions League in the end, I bet Kaka will be crowned the next World Footballer of the Year.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is keen to bring an end to the ongoing disagreement between Cristiano Ronaldo and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese pair traded caustic remarks through the media late last week before Mourinho brought into question the winger’s upbringing and education.
“We’ll try to draw a line under this, of course,” said Sir Alex, who was understandably keen to focus on the small matter of his side’s Champions League semi-final decider in Milan.
“Maybe the tactic is to unsettle the boy, I don’t know. He’s barking up the wrong tree there, but I think he was below the belt bringing class into it. Coming from a poor working class does not mean to say you’re not educated.”
The United boss did praise Ronaldo, however, for not being drawn into a high-profile slanging match with the Stamford Bridge chief.
“What Ronaldo has got is principles,” said Sir Alex. “The boy’s not responded to it whereas some people who are educated have no principles, so we’re leaving the matter that way.”
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Slideshow of Ronaldo’s boutique, CR7, in Madeira.