A 1-1 draw with Blackburn at Ewood Park was enough to secure Manchester United’s record-breaking 19^th league title to overtake Liverpool as the most successful club in English football history.

Blackburn had taken a first-half lead through Brett Emerton after a mix-up in the United defence involving stand-in goalkeeper Thomas Kuszczak.

United was staring at defeat until Blackburn Rovers keeper Paul Robinson was ruled to have brought down Javier Herndandez and United was awarded a penalty. Wayne Rooney kept his nerve to fire home the spot-kick.

Manchester United players celebrate after Wayne Rooney scores the equalising penalty

Rooney’s 73rd-minute penalty shot sparked scenes of celebration as United gained the point to take them beyond the challenge of Chelsea in the title race.

Manchester United is the English Premier League champion!

Wayne Rooney scored one of the greatest goals the Premier League has seen in Manchester United’s derby victory against Manchester City. His acrobatic overhead volley proved the winner as United clinched a crucial 2-1 victory over their title rivals.

Rooney's overhead volley secured victory for Manchester United

David Silva’s deflected equaliser put Roberto Mancini’s side in sight of a point after Nani’s first-half goal gave United a slender advantage in a tight and tense encounter.

It was Rooney, however, who produced a moment of sheer inspiration to score a stunning overhead kick that will live forever in the memory of United’s fans and extended City’s dismal sequence of only one league win in their last 27 visits to Old Trafford.

Silva’s fortunate equaliser, unwittingly deflecting in substitute Edin Dzeko’s shot via his back, had given City momentum but they were stopped in their tracks in the most dramatic fashion with only 12 minutes left.

Nani’s cross from the right flank was high and behind Rooney as he lurked near the penalty spot, but he readjusted his position and send an acrobatic, unstoppable overhead kick high past startled City keeper Joe Hart.

The quality of the goal was worthy of winning any game and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may even look back on it as a strike that won the title after they bounced back from their first Premier League defeat of the season at Wolves last Saturday.

Rooney’s overhead kick was not simply confirmation that he remains England’s most natural, instinctive talent. In the context of the Premier League title race it may prove priceless.

Rooney celebrating his amazing goal.

And if his love affair with Old Trafford was a bit strained by the saga of his demand to leave earlier this season, the bond was rekindled as United claimed a vital victory.

It enabled them to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points at the final whistle  (later reduced to 4 points when Arsenal beat Wolves 2-0 ) – and also inflicted a serious blow to City’s own lingering hopes of mounting a challenge as they now stand eight points behind United having played a game more.

Wayne Rooney proved the old adage that form is temporary and class is permanent as he scored a sensational overhead kick to give Manchester United the derby-day spoils at Old Trafford.

Rooney’s moment of genius was worthy of winning any game, and with City surely out of the running now, maybe it will win United the Premier League title too.

What a week it has been for Wayne Rooney! What started as a sour week  has ended up with Wayne Rooney becoming the highest-paid player in the history of Manchester United!

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has finally agreed to a new five-year contract to stay at Manchester United until at least June 2015. He  has vowed to give everything to win back the trust of Manchester United’s fans after agreeing to a new five-year contract only two days after stating unequivocally that he wanted to leave Old Trafford because he thought they were a club in decline.

By agreeing to a deal that doubles his weekly wages to around £180,000, Rooney has become the highest-paid player in the club’s history after Sir Alex Ferguson talked him out of his apparent desire to join Manchester City.

Ferguson, though, insisted Rooney apologised to him and the players for the statement he released on Wednesday saying he wanted to leave because he was not certain whether the team were capable of challenging for major trophies in the coming years. Rooney made his apology at the training ground this morning and it was well-received by his team-mates.

The striker’s refusal to sign a new contract was revealed by a crestfallen Sir Alex Ferguson earlier this week and has been met with rising anger by supporters of the club. Rooney has been accused of disloyalty and greed by many United fans. And there was rising speculation that the former Everton player may leave to join United’s great rivals, Manchester City – a nightmare scenario for fans of the Old Trafford outfit.

Backlash against Rooney by United fans

His position looked untenable at that time, with serious cracks emerging in his relationship with Ferguson, but the manager and player have spoken at length to resolve those differences over the last two days.

Rooney’s home, Candysfield, which he shares with his wife Coleen and son Kai, is down a normally quiet tree-lined drive and surrounded by a wall and gates for added security. The house is on a ‘millionaires’ row’ with Rooney’s neighbours including fellow United players Wes Brown and Michael Carrick.

An angry mob of balaclava-clad Man United fans descended on the star’s home in a convoy of cars on Thursday  as he enjoyed a night in with wife Coleen and their baby son Kai.

Mob outside Wayne Rooney's home

They buzzed repeatedly on the footballer’s intercom – telling him to come out and face them.

One said through the speaker grille: “We want to talk to you, Wayne. We want you to explain the real reason you want to leave. We’re not going to hurt you.”

The mob reportedly chanted, “Join Man City and you die.”They were also carrying a sinister banner warning: “Sign for City and you’re dead.”

A graffiti threat against Wayne Rooney

The mob – from Manchester United’s notorious Men In Black “firm” – planned to plant the sign outside the striker’s £4million mansion.

Rooney saw the mob outside his home in Prestbury, Cheshire, at 8.30pm last night and refused to answer the door.

He dialled 999 and alerted United’s private security firm CES. Eight cops arrived within ten minutes and threatened to arrest the fans for public order offences unless they dispersed.

Rooney watched the drama from an upstairs window. He and his family were left unhurt but shaken. Officers went indoors to speak with him. Last night six security men were standing guard.

And it echoed the incident when a balaclava-wearing group turned up at team-mate Rio Ferdinand’s house after he delayed signing a new deal in May 2005.

Last night the mob’s leader, who refused to be named, said: “We don’t believe what Rooney said about his reasons for leaving the club. We want answers.”

“If he joins City it’s going to go off and he’ll be seeing us again.”

Ex-England boss Graham Taylor, 66, last night said Rooney would need protection “for the rest of his life” if he joined City.

For more coverage and photos on this story, go here.

MU wins the Community Shield

Did you read the CNN news “United defeat Chelsea in season opener“? Oh my, I am really shocked…. CNN really goofed badly in the report! I reproduce below the first part of the CNN report:

Manchester United got their revenge on double winners Chelsea with a thrilling 3-1 victory in Sunday’s Community Shield, the traditional opener to the English Premier League season.

United only had the League Cup to show for their efforts last season and had to watch as Chelsea plundered the Premier League and FA Cup to secure the first ‘double’ in their history.

But Carlo Ancelotti’s side have had a series of poor results in pre-season and United were full value for their victory on a warm afternoon at Wembley.

United took the lead five minutes before half time when man-of-the-match Paul Scholes played a superb diagonal ball to Wayne Rooney on the right.

The England striker saw Antonio Valencia running into space in the center and he found his teammate with a perfect ball — the unmarked Colombian doing the rest by firing past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

First of all, Antonio Valencia is not Colombian but Ecuadorian.  And if Antonio Valencia had fired past Edwin van der Sar, it would have been an own goal! The Chelsea goalkeeper is Henrique Hilario, NOT Edwin van der Sar. Edwin is the Manchester United goalkeeper. I still find it hard to believe CNN can goof up so badly!

I have printed a screen shot of the CNN report in case CNN discovered their errors and have made amendments to it.  Just click on the screen shot:

CNN Goofed

Oh my, what a joke!

The day the world has been waiting for is finally here. The world’s greatest soccer tournament starts today. …and over the next few weeks, soccer fever will grip the world and productivity will take a big hit. You will see lots of “panda eyes” in the work place.

Which player will ignite the tournament and carve his name in soccer history as a world cup legend? Will it be Cristiano Ronaldo? Lionel Messi? Wayne Rooney?  Kaka? Xavi? Fernando Torres? David Villa? Andres Iniesta? Steven Gerrard? There is bound to be controversies but hopefully the tournament will not be marred by any “hand of God goals”, violence or untoward incidents.

Waka waka……this time for Africa…..yeah! let the show begin! Let Shakira turn you on….I mean turn you on to the soccer fever…what were you thinking of?

Sexy Shakira

This is the Spanish version of the song…..watch the video and be amused!  It makes me wonder how they made this video.  Maybe James Cameron was behind it, lol!

Yes, Canada has done it! Canada successfully won the ice hockey gold through a golden goal by Sidney Crosby in overtime to give Canada an euphoric 3-2 victory over USA at the Vancouver Games. The win sparked off massive celebrations across Canada from the Atlantic provinces right up to the Yukon. With a total haul of 14 golds, Canada created history for the most golds won by any country at a Winter Olympics.

Ice hockey is the most popular sports in Canada.  Indeed the country seems fanatical about the sports. Ice hockey stars are revered. Don’t be surprised if some Canadians give you a blank stare when you mention Wayne Rooney or Ronaldo. But ask them about Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr or Guy Lafleur and see how they respond.

During my university days at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in the late 1970s, I witnessed firsthand the fanatical popularity of ice hockey among Canadians. Being in Montreal, my favorite team was the Montreal Canadiens which was then the most successful team in the NHL, winning 4 consecutive Stanley Cups during the period 1976 to 1979.  And their most famous player then was none other than Guy Lafleur. Fans chanted “Guy, Guy, Guy!” whenever he touched the puck. He became known among English fans as “Flower”, while among French fans he was dubbed “le Demon Blond” or the Blond Devil. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey stars of all time.

Guy Lafleur...the Blond Devil

So I know what it means to the Canadians to win the Winter Olympics ice hockey gold. Ice hockey is their national passion. Ice hockey is to the Canadians what soccer is to most of the rest of the world.  Canada=Ice Hockey! So congratulations Canada!

Canada is such a lovely and peaceful country. If you have never been to Canada, do visit it one day. It is a huge country so it would take you weeks if you want to travel from British Columbia to the Atlantic Provinces. But I can assure you that you won’t regret it….indeed you will be awed by the breathtaking beauty of Canada. Just thinking of Canada brings back a lot of nostalgia of the fun and happy memories I had there. O Canada!