Ronaldo's bizarre red card raises eyebrows
Manchester City 0 Manchester United 1
Monday, 1 December 2008
There have been plenty of people walking around Manchester with a flawed sense of perspective just lately. They include those fans who thought this match pitched the biggest club in the city against Manchester United. Joining them is the manager whose superlatives about Cristiano Ronaldo at the weekend placed the 23-year-old in a reference frame which included Johan Cruyff and Pele.
Ronaldo takes the headlines again today, just like he did last week when Sir Alex Ferguson said cynical opponents were metaphorically bashing him over the head with a baton, and just like he most probably will tomorrow by ending Manchester United's 40-year wait for their own European Footballer of the Year. But his dismissal, for an unfathomable two-handed volleyball punt in the six-yard box, is the latest in a series of theatrics which are raising serious questions about his mind for the title-retaining job in hand – and about his manager's latest claims about his greatness. There has always been something incendiary about Ronaldo – witness his straight red in the January 2006 derby match for a lunge at Andy Cole – but never such a continuous state of distraction.
Before all that, a moment's consideration for a real football story, because it screams out hypocrisy. Shaun Wright-Phillips, the best man on the field in the 151st Manchester derby, was hacked in a way which did for his free-flowing threat and saw no fewer than four United players – Darren Fletcher, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and Ronaldo – booked for fouls on him. The Blackburn manager, Mark Hughes, was diplomatic. "Shaun was the attacking threat for us and I would suggest that United felt [that] and fouled him in possession," he said. Ferguson, who gave us that baton imagery, would have been fulminating had Ronaldo received the same.
United's football did break through. There was Wayne Rooney's 100th career goal – a poacher's tap-in, a rarity for him, after Joe Hart had spilt a Michael Carrick shot into his path on 41 minutes. Also, a commanding performance from Patrice Evra which showed how far he has come since his disastrous debut in this fixture nearly three years ago.
But Ronaldo and his 68th-minute departure provided the talking point. Though the rough house which Ferguson said he expected for him did not materialise – the only assault was the ball which one of the ballboys inadvertently hurled at him inside the first 15 minutes – the winger's malevolent side was on show. Ronaldo should have been dismissed before the hour when, having hacked at Wright-Phillips and been booked by Howard Webb, he looked the referee in the eye and offered ironic applause. Ronaldo was spared, only to leave after raising his hands after climbing towards a corner Rooney lofted over nine minutes later.
There was a blizzard of explanations afterwards but no matter. Ronaldo was on a yellow card and deliberately handled. The dismissal seemed to help United, even as it ended their attacking intent, forcing them to defend "in two banks of four," as Hughes put it. It did not remove an influential force from United. Deployed down the left, Ronaldo received little change from Micah Richards and Darius Vassell. It was the right flank, where Rafael da Silva and Park Ji-Sung went up against Javier Garrido that offered United's means of entry.
"You're not Robinho," the City fans shouted. But the Brazilian, playing after an injection to dull ankle pain, fared little better. Rafael claimed the £32.5m man's shirt after the match but if Ferguson's decision to hand the task of handling his compatriot was a risk, it was one which paid off.
Hughes found, by playing both Vincent Kompany and Dietmar Hamann, some of the robust defence he has been lacking but he lost powers of creation. While United threatened in the first half – Park crossing for Rooney, whose first-time shot was straight at Hart – City offered none of their counter-attacking panache. If anyone but Micah Richards had stood unmarked, five yards out to receive Ireland's pass with Van der Sar stranded, they might have sneaked ahead. But Richards' effort elicited minimal contact, it trickled wide and that was their lot.
Elano replaced Vassell and added some vision after the break – his 20-yard ball from defence starting the best move which saw Benjani hitting the side netting. But this was a display which revealed just how long a road City have to travel in their journey to reach United's higher ground.
Goals: Rooney (42) 0-1.
Manchester City (4-1-3-2) Hart; Richards (Sturridge, 75), Kompany, Dunne, Garrido; Hamann (Elano, h-t); Vassell (Zabaleta, h-t), Ireland, Wright-Phillips; Robinho, Benjani. Substitutes not used: Schmeichel (gk), Ball, Ben Haim, Jo.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Carrick, Fletcher; Park (O'Shea, 89), Rooney, Ronaldo; Berbatov (Giggs, 82). Substitutes not used: Anderson, Foster (gk), Nani, Evans, Tevez.
Referee: H Webb (South Yorkshire).
Booked: Manchester City Ireland, Vassell; Manchester United Da Silva, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Evra, Carrick.
Sent off: Ronaldo (68).
Man of the match: Wright-Phillips.
Attendance: 47,320.
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Comments
43 Comments
Ronaldo apart from being a great player is a petulant person. He has tried to curb this immature approach that he has but he can't always get it under control. He is a diver, a moaner and he also can be a perpetrator of cynical fouls. He treats referees with disdain and indeed should have been red carded for his ironic clapping in Referee Webbs face well before the deliberate handball.
Why he handled , who knows but whatever the reason it was a red card offence, so why is Fergie bleating?
If things don't go his way he will throw his toys out the cot as well.
What should be under the microscope is the way Wright-Phillips was kicked out the game. There could have been another red card for United for those infringements. But we all know United get that preferencial treatment in most areas of the game.
They moan at being fouled but themselves have one of the worst records for cards this season already.
Posted by willo | 01.12.08, 21:29 GMT
'Shaun Wright-Phillips, the best man on the field in the 151st Manchester derby'
And with those words i quickly realised that this was another staggering poor piece of journalism to rank alongside mr peter balls nonsense last week.
Wright phillips was anonymous for an hour for gods sake, utd monopolised the ball for the vast majority of the game, carrick and rooney were excellent, wright phillips my gawd, something is seriously wrong with the eyesight of independent hacks lately.
Posted by mike | 01.12.08, 20:54 GMT
Utter tosh. Wright-Phillips did play well but only a true Man U hater could say that Rooney was not the Man of the Match. Evra played bloody well too, on the left you may have noticed? This is sports journalism for the sake of it meaning seeing the other side for no real point. Pathetic.
Posted by Darren | 01.12.08, 19:01 GMT
Why the hell would Ronaldo hand the ball when he would have clearly scored with a header? You can tell by his movement and reaction that he thought the play was dead! I'm not one to defend CR7 much but just look it is position so many feet above the opposition. There is no way he wouldn't have scored the same way he has countless times in the box. He shouldn't have received the first yellow! The refs pratically handed the game to City, but just goes to show how Evra dominated the left side, they still couldn't match ManUtd ssuperiority! Rooney is the most over rated, luckiest player in the EPL and thank God he's on our side!
Posted by Pamella | 01.12.08, 15:51 GMT
Poor article...does the writer really understand football?They should consider to relocate him..Was that a "hack" for yellow?And you can clearly hear a beep when ronaldo tried to head the ball otherwise he would scored...it could have happen to anyone..but anyways thanks for the complot against Ronaldo once again from the brits media..even known that for almost a century nobody was better than him..you just dont appreciate what he did.the only thing that interests you is to gunned him down.plese..enough is enough..
Posted by bicho | 01.12.08, 15:17 GMT
Lets say he heard the whistle, if he had scored after the whistle had gone, could he not have received a yellow card.
Posted by Jose | 01.12.08, 15:07 GMT
The only thing bizarre here is your article!!
Posted by sully | 01.12.08, 14:03 GMT
What a terrible piece of journalism, "having hacked at Wright-Phillips", look at the reply, he clearly got the ball
Posted by Stephan | 01.12.08, 13:52 GMT
Ronaldo was rubbish anyway and should have been subbed earlier by Fergie, he was weakening the irrisistable rythym United sustained throughout. More to the point, what kind of journalism is this? A more one-sided derby I've never experienced in 40 yrs-and that includes all the 5-0's etc...To award the man of the match to Wright Phillips or any City player for that matter is simply perverse....The young Rafael was by far the best player of the first half and for the whole game you'd have to be blind not to notice the performance of Evra, Rooney, Fletcher....
Posted by Kennth Killeen | 01.12.08, 12:25 GMT
Dear Mr Herbert,
Should a writer in a respected newspaper be driven by bile, or honesty and facts, please? So this incident is "raising serious questions about his mind"? How? Please enlighten us Mr amateur psychologist? Why did Ronaldo waste a scoring opportunity and handle the ball? Is this another of demonstration what a coward this Johnny foreigner is? This coward who is kicked about during every single match. This coward who pleads with his manager to play, even when he is injured! This confused person who demonstrated a strength of character in 2006 when you and others were baying for his blood. If a true English Bullgod, such as Terry "he of uncontrolled sobbing", Gerard, or Lampard had done this, would have questined the "strength of his character"? You just can not forgive Ronaldo for being so Un British, can you?
Posted by Ayad Abdul-Ahad | 01.12.08, 12:11 GMT
43 Comments