Last Sunday, Wayne Rooney grabbed the only goal as 10-man Manchester United were crowned kings of the world. United were always the dominant forces in their Club World Cup Final with LDU Quito, even after Nemanja Vidic had been sent off. And Rooney ensured the Red Devils got the reward they deserved when he curled home the winner 16 minutes from time after Cristiano Ronaldo had supplied the final pass.
It is the first time an English club have won the tournament in its expanded form and the second time United have been crowned best on the planet following their victory over Palmeiras in 1999. Any doubt over the tactics Quito would use against the Champions League winners were dispelled inside the opening five minutes.
First Claudio Bieler waded into Ronaldo with a dangerous tackle that rightly brought a yellow card, then the Ecuador outfit camped in their own half, content to let United come to the edge of their box but no further, using whatever means they could to achieve it. Quito's defence was by no means watertight but, not for the first time this season, United failed to make their superiority tell.
Rooney powered two thunderous efforts towards goal that Jose Cevallos managed to deal with, the first time convincingly, the second far less so. From then on, Rooney was the link man as chances began to pile up. Park Ji-sung was one culprit, driving an angled shot straight at Cevallos before lifting a close-range shot over the bar after Rafael had picked him out with a superb crossfield pass.
It was the type of opportunity Ferguson has been imploring the South Korean to take as he gets into similar positions so many times but for a poor net return. The same could also be said of Carlos Tevez. Three times Tevez found himself in sight of goal but on each occasion he was denied, Cevallos particularly impressive in pushing away a header the South American guided towards the corner from Ronaldo's cross.
The prospective world footballer of the year was a muted force in attack. He did bring a few appreciative howls from a capacity crowd as he danced through the Quito midfield but the physical nature of the opposition ensured he never really got a clear sight of goal.
As Ferguson delivered his interval team-talk, he must have warned his team of the danger that lurked if chances continued to be spurned. If so, his words had even more resonance four minutes after the restart as Vidic was sent off.
The flashpoint came as Vidic and Beiler wrestled on the floor as they tried to get to their feet. Suddenly Bieler was rolling around clutching his face and referee Ravshan Irmatov was brandishing a red card. TV replays showed Vidic had used an elbow, although as Bieler looked in no trouble as he re-entered the fray, it did not appear the damage was too serious.
Tevez was not happy at being substituted, snatching his tracksuit top and kicking out in frustration at the dug-out after appearing to spurn Ferguson's explanation. Yet Quito failed to press home the advantage of an extra man, Van der Sar denying Alejandro Manso and William Araujo during sporadic attacks.
In contrast, even with 10 men, United kept pushing and 16 minutes from time duly received their reward. Carrick supplied a superb pass for Ronaldo, who instead of going for goal himself, fed Rooney to his left and his shot was precise and out of the reach of Cevallos. Van der Sar needed to make a flying save to deny Alejandro Manso in the final minutes and even Tevez was off the bench as the celebrations began.
(article taken from ESPN)
