Edwin van der Sar Oranje off to a flier

Edwin van der Sar and Holland got off to a flying start in Euro 2008 Group C with a comprehensive 3-0 win over world champions Italy.

It was a classy attacking display from the Dutch, who Italy found difficult to cope with.

Former Reds striker Ruud van Nistelrooy gave the Oranje a fortunate lead when he turned in a close-range finish on 26 minutes, the match officials failing to spot he was clearly offside.

Italy had every reason to feel hard done by, but there could be no complaints about Wesley Sneijder's strike five minutes later. A rapid counter attack cut mercilessly through the Italian defence and ended with an expert volleyed finish from Sneijder.

Van der Sar was called upon late on to produce stunning saves from Fabio Grosso and Andrea Pirlo before Giovanni van Bronckhorst headed in Holland's third after 80 minutes.

The result puts Marco van Basten's men top of Group C, above Patrice Evra's France and unfancied Romania, who played out a 0-0 bore draw in the group's other opening clash.

Evra didn't play in the match as he was kept out by Barcelona left-back Eric Abidal.

It was a poor display from the French, who are unlikely to progress to the knockout stages if they continue to produce such abject performances in their remaining matches against Holland and Italy.

source: manutd.com

Premier League Transfer Talk

Premier League Transfer Talk: Manchester United

Barcelona will reportedly join Real Madrid in their attempts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, with Sandro Rosell to use a pledge to sign the winger as his main weapon to be voted the club's next president

Manchester United have agreed a fee with Cardiff for Aaron Ramsey. United's official statement read: "Manchester United is delighted to announce it has agreed terms with Cardiff City for the transfer of Aaron Ramsey subject to terms being agreed and the player passing a medical." However, Cardiff have also given permission for another Premier League team, expected either to be Liverpool or Arsenal, to talk to the teenager.

Manchester United are taking advantage of the managerial speculation over Mark Hughes' future at Blackburn to prepare a £15 million bid for striker Roque Santa Cruz. However, reports suggest that Hughes will attempt to take Cruz with him to his next club, be it Chelsea or Man City.

Micah Richards, and Sevilla's Brazilian duo Luis Fabiano and Daniel Alves are heading the list of players that Sir Alex Ferguson is keen to sign, apparently within two weeks. The Scot has a reputed £50 million to fund summer transfers.

Alves is seen as a replacement for Gerard Pique while Fabiano has been designated as United's top summer target. Ferguson will be looking to broaden his attacking options this summer, especially after losing patience with Louis Saha. Fabiano, who has scored 33 goals for Seville in La Liga this season, is eclipsing names such as Dimitar Berbatov as United's first choice summer buy. The 27-year-old has a contract valuation of £46.8 million but, more realistically, United could expect to sign him for a quarter of that price. Fabiano's own representatives put his price at £8.6 million.

Patrice Evra has negotiated himself a new four-year contract at Manchester United worth £55,000 a week.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Cristiano Ronaldo kicks off Euro 2008 in winning style as Portugal overcome Turkey

Cristiano Ronaldo's protracted flirtation with Real Madrid last night took second billing to the star attraction himself as the Manchester United forward contributed to Portugal's impressive 2-0 win over Turkey in their Euro 2008 opener in Geneva.

MANCHESTER UNITED, Evra to renew

Patrice Evra is close to ending the uncertainty over his future at Manchester United after reaching an informal agreement over a new five-year contract. The French international full-back, 27, is in line to earn more than £60,000-a-week plus bonuses though manager Sir Alex Ferguson is still keen to sign defensive reinforcements.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/The Times

Transfer Targets For Manchester United

Sir Alex had announced his budget for this summer and he hinted to a possible amount of 40 million euros. If I were Sir Alex Ferguson this is what I would do:

I've listed a few players who can make the United squad deadlier and strong. These are not impossible transfer targets and Fergie would not regret these signings.

1) According to me they will have to sign a centre half, who can provide a cover in case of any injury to the existing duo of Ferdinand and Vidic. For me, the perfect signing would be Joleon Lescott from Everton as he is young and sharp both in defense and attack.

2) Secondly, what United need is a dynamic midfielder. Some may question why because we have the best midfield in the world. Well the reason is the age factor. Scholes & Giggs will last only for one or two years and then they shall hang their boots. That's why United need one midfielder who could create something on his own. The perfect signing would be Diego From Werder Bremen because he is very talented and his creativity is marvellous. He could form a great partnership with Anderson.

3) The third signing should be a player who can play on the left wing because other than Giggs I don’t think there is anyone who can slot into that role. The perfect signing would be Gareth Bale as he has tremendous pace.

4) Also I think adding one young striker to the squad would be fantastic. The perfect one would be Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid.

If you have any more players or you think these players aren't good enough the please leave your comments.

Ronaldo named Red Cross ambassador

Ronaldo named Red Cross ambassador

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is the ambassador for the UEFA EURO 2008™ Score for the Red Cross campaign

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has been named ambassador for the UEFA EURO 2008™ Score for the Red Cross online fundraising campaign which kicked off on 26 March.

Purchase virtual goals
Internet users will be able to help their favourite side win the title of Most Humanitarian Team by purchasing virtual goals on scorefortheredcross.org. They will also have the chance to win attractive prizes including tickets to UEFA EURO 2008™ matches. The winning team will be announced on 6 July. The Score for the Red Cross campaign, jointly organised by UEFA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), will benefit land-mine victims in Afghanistan by providing them with artificial limbs, physiotherapy and vocational training.

'Everyone's a winner'
Winger Ronaldo said: "Land-mine victims need determination and a lot of encouragement on the road to recovery. I have a lot of respect for them and I want to support them. The great thing about this campaign is that everyone is a winner when it comes to giving and receiving. The website offers football fans a chance to have fun while making a difference. What could be better than that?"

Humanitarian ambassador
Born in Madeira, Ronaldo was discovered by Sporting Clube de Portugal at the age of eleven. In 2003 he joined Manchester United FC where he has won high praise from fans and team-mates and helped the club to the Premier League title in 2006/07. Ronaldo has also earned 54 caps for Portugal, scoring 20 goals. He took part in UEFA EURO 2004™ – where his side reached the final as hosts – and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, helping Portugal finish fourth in Germany. The 23-year-old is now proud to be competing at UEFA EURO 2008™ and to be a humanitarian ambassador for UEFA and the ICRC.

National-team support
A series of friendly internationals took place across Europe on 26 March. Before the games, many national teams, together with their National Red Cross Societies, publicly showed their support for the Score for the Red Cross appeal. UEFA will donate €4,000 to the ICRC for each goal scored during UEFA EURO 2008™.

For more information on the ICRC in Afghanistan, visit: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/afghanistan?OpenDocument