James Lawton: Stellar show by faithful Torres eclipses Ronaldo's self-service

James Lawton: Stellar show by faithful Torres eclipses Ronaldo's self-service

Was it really just that Rafa Benitez picked up Sir Alex Ferguson, put him in his pocket, and administered the mother of all tactical tours de force? Or could it also have been of some significance that Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning world player of the year, was at times made to look like an inconsequential bit player beside his potential successor Fernando Torres?


Naturally, given all the previous, the Benitez-Ferguson issue had most play, and certainly it is true that the master of Anfield's deployment of both Torres and Steven Gerrard achieved a remarkable coup in the disintegration, for a day at least, of Nemanja Vidic.

But then we can go only so far with Benitez versus Ferguson, partly because the Liverpool manager, except for urging potential allies to attack the centre of United's defence with as much resource as they can muster for the rest of the season, largely resisted the urge to give back some of the recent ridicule aimed at him by the Old Trafford commander.

Their rival achievements and strengths are well enough established to override any sweeping conclusions based on a single match between the teams, including the theory that Vidic has necessarily been diminished to the point that he is no longer one of his team's greatest strengths but suddenly a most glaring weakness.

Less speculative is the fact that Benitez has in Torres a brilliant centrepiece to all his hopes while Ferguson in Ronaldo does not. Certainly not for so much of a season which some expected to be nothing so much as an extended coronation; nor, on current evidence, in the foreseeable future.

No doubt there will be cries that this is harsh, especially when it is remembered that Ronaldo headed United beautifully into a secure position against Internazionale and then nosed United into the lead against Liverpool.

Yes, there is some danger of over-simplification, not least in the fact that if Torres received magnificent support from such as Gerrard and Javier Mascherano, Ronaldo was not exactly surrounded by optimum performance from his team-mates, either against Internazionale or Liverpool. Indeed, if you wanted to define United despair at the end of a week of considerable dishevelment it was probably the sight of Michael Carrick, arguably their most influential player this season, being withdrawn from the challenge of breaking down a Liverpool defence which had allegedly become slow enough to be charged with loitering.

However, there can be no dispute about the fact that against Real Madrid and United, Torres was nothing less than luminous as he made Fabio Cannavaro, Italy's captain and the man of the 2006 World Cup, look old and distraught, and then proceeded to undermine so severely the Player of the Year candidacy of Vidic. This was not so much a surge of form as confirmation of both superb talent and a burning competitive spirit.

Among his other woes, Ferguson could only have yearned for even hints of such commitment from his own superstar.

In a few weeks of fragile fitness Torres has become a fierce disciple of Benitez's cause. He wears a Liverpool heart on his sleeve, while, it it is difficult not to conclude, Ronaldo mostly sports one kind of advertisement or another for himself. Ferguson will no doubt bridle at this suggestion as much as the one that Benitez took him to the strategic and tactical cleaners, but the belief here is that it will be with less justification.

Whatever the undoubted cleverness of Benitez's work in Europe, where he twice left the messiah Jose Mourinho resorting to nothing more resourceful than long balls, he has never before been close to Ferguson's supreme quality of investing unbridled faith in his players.

This was most startling about Liverpool's eruption against both Real and United. Neither triumph was, whatever Benitez's most fervent admirers say, primarily about tactical pragmatism. They were the fruit of players operating at the peak of their powers. Torres and to an almost equal extent, Gerrard, played with a wonderful freedom and while Benitez can fairly claim that he has not often enough had both men available at the same time, there is also no great case for him, as there is for Ferguson, as a coach with an instinct for taking away the leash – at least until now.

For Ferguson the agony last week was the underperformance of players he has nurtured so relentlessly. While Torres flew, Ronaldo mostly fluttered. Yes, there are some considerable points to be made in defence of Ronaldo. In every game he attracts small battalions of markers. His physical resilience is remarkable, and, a glance at their records tells you, far more so than the injury-prone Spaniard. He remains, with the possible exception of Wayne Rooney, the United player most likely to produce a sublime intervention, as we saw last week when the two of them combined to snuff out the rising hopes of Mourinho.

So where is the most pressing point of comparison? It is in the sense of Torres' commitment, of a determination to inflict all that he has for the benefit of the team.

Torres and Gerrard are at present emitting it from their very pores. Lionel Messi, along with blinding virtuosity, is doing the same on behalf of Barcelona. But Ronaldo is not and this, surely, gives Ferguson quite as much concern as the fact that Vidic went missing for a day.

Ronaldo's absence, after all, has been rather more protracted – a fact illuminated by nothing so much as the passion of Fernando Torres.

Pressures of modern life no justification for rabid hatred

My colleague Sam Wallace's vivid update yesterday of the level of hatred now so commonplace on the terraces of English football deserves a better reward than the one I suspect is even now heading his way.

Unless I'm much mistaken, it is a chiding letter from a lady academic who insists that, far from being a matter for censure, even the most rabid rivalry of fans is healthy ballast for them to carry through the pressures of modern life.

I learnt this after reporting on the occasion when the then Manchester United player Alan Smith broke his leg horribly at Anfield – an occasion marked by cries of glee from the terraces and, it was reported later, attempts to obstruct the ambulance taking him to hospital.

Earlier there had been the traditional chants about Hillsborough and the Munich air crash, and before that an incident which was as bizarre as it was appalling.

Some Liverpool fans were diverted from paying their respects at the grotto dedicated to the victims of Hillsborough by the sight of United fans, flanked by police, being marched into the ground. Mourning for Hillsborough broke up amid shouts of "Munich scum".

All this seemed to be something of a mockery of the idea of sport. Soon enough, the chastisement came in. What is needed, apparently, is a proper grasp of the dynamics of British life.

The trick, apparently, is to look below the surface and see the real meaning of such behaviour. It is about the exerting of self-worth, of providing a valuable edge to the monotony of the daily round.

If you happen to be wondering, the message came via email, not a man in a white coat.

Khan must stop playing the name game if he wants world crown

Amir Khan looked a lot better at the weekend. Only once did he offer his chin to Marco Antonio Barrera, a mistake that was swiftly followed by an expression of severe regret and some work that showed the clear influence of his excellent new American trainer Freddie Roach. Under such a man, it may be possible for Khan to avoid the worst implications of being unable to take a serious punch on the chin.

However, it was clear that in serious terms the fight was virtually meaningless even before a clash of heads left a gash in Barrera's forehead that required not so much an inspired cuts man as an industrial sewing machine. Barrera, a truly great fighter in his long time-expired prime, looked old, fought old, and could do next to nothing to provide the "test" for which he was ostensibly hired.

Barrera wasn't a test. He was a name. This, of course, didn't stop one leading bookmaker offering 6-4 against Khan being crowned a world champion before the end of this year. This represents, we are told, the fighter's ascent to the "next level". No, it doesn't represent that at all. It is the grievous exploitation of the reputation of a fighter who no longer exists.

Ronaldo reaps the rewards of feeling at home in England

Ronaldo reaps the rewards of feeling at home in England

Two dramatic nights of Champions' League football last week confirmed that all four Premier League representatives will continue to carry the flag into the quarter-finals at least. Whether it is really the flag of St George or, as Fifa's Sepp Blatter would prefer, the Premier League pennant – "I don't know if it's English football," he said of the leading clubs in Manchester on Wednesday – is not the issue under discussion here.


What was interesting was the impression, after spending those two nights at Anfield and then Old Trafford, that further domination of Europe's leading club competition by Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal will convince an increasing number of players that England is the country in which their bread is best buttered.

United's Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance, emerging from the holders' dressing-room after a comfortable victory over Internazionale, did not look or sound like a man desperate to be associated with the Real Madrid team humbled so comprehensively by Liverpool the previous night. Doubtless there will be another Ronaldo-for-Madrid saga to come, especially with potential new presidents of the club having to make wild promises about whom they will sign, but the World Player of the Year did seem genuine in his appreciation of United and of English football, as well as his own good fortune.

He should have had a word on the way out with Patrick Vieira – surprisingly selected for Inter, then replaced at half-time after a wretched 45 minutes – about the wisdom of leaving the Premier League.

Having sought confirmation that Vieira's former club Arsenal had won their penalty shoot-out in Rome, Ronaldo said in his improving English: "It's really fantastic to see four English teams in the quarter-finals again. The Premier League is in my opinion the best league in the world and the most competitive."

As for the prospect of becoming the first side in 19 years to become champions of Europe for two seasons running: "We need to take it game by game, we have a long way to go. But the team's more experienced, more mature, we are the holders of the Champions' League and we want to win it again.

"To be honest, I don't care who we have to play against," he added. "They will all be tough. In my opinion Manchester United is still the best team in Europe, but we have to play good to win the competition because the others are good and you have to respect the opponents."

It was unrealistic to expect a season as sensational as the last one from the Portuguese, when his extraordinary total of 42 goals helped bring about a League and European double, plus a clutch of individual awards. Yet the firm header that sealed victory over Inter took him to 17, still ahead of those other prolific non-strikers Frank Lampard (who also decided to stay in England when he might have been in Jose Mourinho's Inter team) and Steven Gerrard. It was the latest performance to confirm that he, like United, is also benefiting from experience and maturity. "Individual awards are nice but the most important is the collective," he said. "I'd prefer to win the Champions' League and FA Cup and Premier League."

And his personal contribution? "I feel very good, I'm 100 per cent. The tough thing is from now, the big games and the big decisions are coming and Cristiano Ronaldo is ready. I'm happy, it's the most competitive league and I feel happy here." It was even possible to forgive the lapse into speaking about himself in the third person.

The night before, Gerrard had been less concerned about who Liverpool might draw next than avoiding having to play the second leg on Wednesday 15 April, the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough. The Liverpool captain lost a 10-year-old cousin in that tragedy and would like Uefa to show some understanding in arranging the quarter-final dates.

"I don't think we should have to play on a day like that, it should be a day when we remember people that we lost," he said. "We'll have to wait and see what happens, but hopefully there's a way round it. If we win, we'll dedicate it to those people."

SELECTION DILEMMA FOR FERGIE

SELECTION DILEMMA FOR FERGIE

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has added to Sir Alex Ferguson's selection dilemmas ahead of the Champions League clash against Inter Milan, according to full-back Patrice Evra.

United boss Ferguson admits his squad is playing so well that his "biggest concern" is which players to use and when, with his hungry squad coming in and out of the starting XI without disruption to performance levels.

That was the case at Craven Cottage as Cristiano Ronaldo was rested and did not travel with the squad, while ฃ30million striker Dimitar Berbatov was an unused substitute in the FA Cup quarter-final win.

Rio Ferdinand went over his ankle but Jonny Evans came on and he would relish a chance to face Inter.

John O'Shea also picked up a knock and it could lead to Darren Fletcher becoming a makeshift right-back on Wednesday - but that would not be a huge problem, given the ease at which Ferguson's players have adapted this season.

"My biggest concern is picking the right team and I'm leaving out great players all the time and that is not easy for me," said the United boss.

"I hope by the end of the year we all recognise that everyone has made a great contribution."

Tevez put his case forward with two first-half goals against Fulham, the second a stunning 25-yard drive.

"He does not play every game but when the boss puts him on the pitch he is a different class, an unbelievable player," said Evra.

"He deserved to score two goals and now against Inter the boss has a problem to pick he team."

Wayne Rooney added the third and Ji-sung Park sealed United's place in the semi-finals with the final strike in the 4-0 win, with the South Korea midfielder hoping to erase the memory of missing the 2007 FA Cup final against Chelsea.

"I missed the chance to play at Wembley last time because I had an injury, hopefully this time I'll be there to play and experience it," he said.

The win over Fulham kept United on course for a quintuple, having already lifted the Carling Cup and FIFA Club World Cup earlier in the season.

However, Evra added: "None of the players are talking about this. We're not thinking about winning five trophies."

Rather than looking at an unprecedented trophy haul, Evra is focused on getting the better of Inter boss Jose Mourinho this week after the 'Special One' won the Champions League with Porto by beating his old club Monaco.

"When I lost against him with Monaco I was eager to face him for Manchester United against Chelsea," Evra said.

"And when I won my first Premier League medal he was still the manager of Chelsea and it was a nice little victory. I'm not thinking about revenge but it's clear I don't want to lose against him."

The message from the United dressing room, after extending their unbeaten run to 15 games, is that they do not fear any team.

Midfielder Michael Carrick said: "As a squad we're playing well at the moment and we're looking forward to every game.

"Fulham is a tough place to come, it was a good win and obviously fills us with confidence. We're looking forward to Wednesday now."

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson feels United are impossible to catch when they go a goal ahead.

"Your only chance is to go a goal up," he said. "Of course, it's possible they can win the lot. They have a great springboard in the league but in the cup they will play good opponents as Chelsea are through.

"Certainly on the performance I've seen I wouldn't want to bet against them.

"And as far as they're concerned the task that's the most difficult is the Champions League, but I'm certain that Sir Alex will be anxious to make certain the good performances they've given in recent weeks will do on Wednesday night, and they'll see the tie with Inter off.

"If they go through that one they can go all the way."

RONALDO TRIES TO CONTROL ANGER

RONALDO TRIES TO CONTROL ANGER

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he is trying to improve on controlling his anger.

Ronaldo's treatment at the hands of opposition defenders has again been in focus after an incident with Newcastle defender Steven Taylor last week.

The Portuguese winger has also escaped punishment himself this season after kicking out on several occasions, including clashes with Stoke full-back Andy Wilkinson and Tottenham centre-half Michael Dawson.

The World Player of the Year accepts he is targeted by his opponents and also acknowledged his battle to keep his temperament in check.

"I am a target of course, so it is difficult to avoid certain things," said Ronaldo in The Sun.

"I try to control my anger. Sometimes it's not easy, though, and it is something I have to improve on.

"Sometimes it is difficult because of the atmosphere in the stadium and the importance of the game.

"I'm only 24, but I have a lot of experience of big games and that helps because you learn through situations.

"If someone kicks me, I get up and I go again. I am not afraid of being kicked, it is part of the game.

"I see it as a challenge that they have to kick me to stop me."

United face Inter in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Old Trafford on Wednesday night and Ronaldo is confident the holders can go through after a 0-0 draw in the first meeting in Italy.

He added: "We have to score now and we have to win. It won't be easy, but I am confident we will win.

"In the first leg we had clear opportunities and we should have taken them. But we have another opportunity and have our fans to back us up.

"It's hard to win the Champions League and the feeling it gives you is amazing. I want that feeling again and again."

I love swagger of Ronaldo, says Ferguson

I love swagger of Ronaldo, says Ferguson

The purposeful way that Sir Alex Ferguson is trying to tone down the old adversarial persona in his weekly press briefings and instead ease unobtrusively towards Manchester United's 19th title has been absorbing to behold in recent weeks. But it was with a barely concealed sense of glee yesterday that he was able to seize on Arsène Wenger's claims that Cristiano Ronaldo displays a "provocative" type of "arrogance" and agree with every word the Frenchman had said.


Ferguson redefined the quality as a "nice arrogance" – a footballing oxymoron if ever there was one, but a mark of greatness, according to Ferguson, and symptomatic of those legends of the game who simply have "belief in themselves". The Manchester United manager raised his eyes to the ceiling and laughed when it was put to him that he might seek to limit that arrogant quality in the player. "I don't see why I should restrain him," he said. "That is the way he plays. I enjoyed watching that. Christ, I paid £10m to watch that."

Many will agree. Others might reasonably argue that Ronaldo's arrogance is as evident when he does not have the ball at his feet – niggling opponents and officials and indulging in the histrionics which have made him as much a source of frustration as delight this season – as when he does. It certainly might be easier to view Ronaldo's tunnel spat with Steven Taylor at St James' Park on Wednesday with a little more sympathy had it not come in a season when the Portugal winger squared up to Emanuel Pogatetz during United's 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough in December and had he not been fortunate to avoid censure for kicking out at Celtic's Scott Brown, Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, and Andy Wilkinson, of Stoke City.

Other football people have different words for the characteristics which can earn Ronaldo a rough time. The Villarreal manager Manuel Pellegrini used the Spanish word encarar, which translates as challenging "face on", as the reason why so many of his players fouled him at El Madrigal stadium in November, though the winger dished out some petulance that night, too. The debate will rage for as long as the player is plying his trade but Ferguson, who includes Ronaldo in the 20-man squad he takes to Fulham in the FA Cup today, says the player's assuredness puts him in the hallowed company of George Best and Johan Cruyff.

"All the great players have the courage to want the ball and express themselves," Ferguson said. "It didn't matter who they were playing against, they wanted the ball and they wanted to play. That is a vein that courses through all the great players you can name. And they get treatment from defenders. George Best got it. Cruyff, too, if you remember the tackles the Brazilian defenders gave him in the 1974 World Cup. Maradona and Pele had it. That's what great players do, they express themselves and that frustrates defenders. Defenders don't enjoy it. You can also understand him lashing out when he keeps getting kicked and nothing happens. If you are not getting the protection sometimes you can lose your temper."

After playing in 13 of United's last 14 games, Ronaldo looks due a break, with Ferguson openly admitting that, in a week which he believes could define United's season – "the next seven days are important and if we navigate them properly there are a lot of exciting days ahead for us" – Internazionale in the Champions League on Wednesday night represents his overriding priority.

Though he avoided the question yesterday of whether his current squad are even better than last season's – the best ever as he called them back then – a full sweep of five trophies would settle the argument and it is hard to believe that the thought of the place in the football firmament that such an achievement would offer United has not crossed his mind. That may stir their competitiveness today.

Fulham have Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora likely to start up front and Diomansy Kamara pushing hard for a place. Ferguson may find starting places for Carlos Tevez, Nani, Anderson, as well as Jonny Evans or Darron Gibson, though Gary Neville will not be back in training until next week, with Wes Brown and Rafael da Silva facing longer recuperations.

Ronaldo's 'nice arrogance' suits Ferguson

Ronaldo's 'nice arrogance' suits Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has no intention of telling Cristiano Ronaldo to curb his flamboyant style.

The Manchester United winger has been at the centre of more controversy this week, having harshly been booked for diving during the Carling Cup final before getting on the wrong end of a rough-house tackle from Steven Taylor at St James' Park on Wednesday.

That incident led Arsene Wenger to claim there is an arrogance about Ronaldo that rubs opponents up the wrong way.

Rather than bristle at Wenger's comments, Ferguson actually agrees with them.

However, that does not mean he wants Ronaldo to do anything about it.

"There have been many different great players over the years but they always had a touch of that nice arrogance," said Ferguson.

"They have the courage to always want the ball. It courses through them all, and there is nothing wrong with it.

"I don't see why I should tell him to stop. That is the way he plays, and I enjoy watching it. I paid £10million for that."

The fee Ferguson paid for Ronaldo when he signed him as a 17-year-old from Sporting Lisbon was actually £12.24million.

But his point is obvious enough. Through their trickery and skill, great players can often make others look stupid. It is not a new phenomenon.

"It can antagonise people," said Ferguson.

"George Best said he got the treatment. Johan Cruyff was another example when Holland played Brazil in the 1974 World Cup, Maradona had plenty in his day, I am sure, Pele as well. That is what great players do.

"They express themselves to a point that it becomes frustrating for defenders."

Those great players also shared a tendency to react every now and then. Best had a fierce temper; Cruyff served a one-year ban when he became the first Holland player to be sent off, while Maradona was dismissed during the 1982 World Cup Finals, red-carded after the red mist descended against Brazil.

It is little wonder therefore that Ronaldo has reacted with apparent petulance at various times this season.

"It is understandable if you keep getting kicked and nothing happens," said Ferguson.

"Sometimes you can lose your temper. But I think that the moments that Cristiano has shown little flashes have been nothing. They get made big things because of who he is."

Taylor escaped the additional punishment Ferguson had expected for the challenge on Ronaldo.

The United boss might be a bit bemused about the intricacies of the disciplinary system. But as title rivals Chelsea and top-four battlers Arsenal are among Newcastle's next three opponents, he is happy that Taylor is involved.

"The disciplinary situation does confuse you at times," said Ferguson.

"No one is really clear about it. But in actual fact we did not want the boy suspended - because now he can play against Chelsea and Arsenal.

"In Newcastle's position, with the injuries they have at the moment, it would have been devastating for them to lose that player. I am not really upset about it at all."

RONALDO PLAYS DOWN INTIMIDATION TALK

RONALDO PLAYS DOWN INTIMIDATION TALK

Cristiano Ronaldo does not believe that Premier League defences set out to give him a rough time.

The Manchester United superstar often finds himself on the wrong end of full-blooded challenges, with the last week once again seeing him fall under the microscope.

He was clattered by Newcastle defender Steven Taylor shortly before half-time during the Red Devils' midweek win on Tyneside, with Sir Alex Ferguson disgusted that particular challenge failed to result in a red card.

It's not the first time Ronaldo has come in for such treatment, with his showboating antics often riling the opposition.

However, the Portuguese winger accepts that taking a few knocks is part and parcel of being a world-class performer.

"On the pitch I'm a target for defenders, so it's difficult to avoid certain things," he said in the Daily Mirror.

"But I don't believe people just want to do something wrong on purpose. In my experience, the game is not carried out that way. I've never had any serious problems.

"I do remember when a goalkeeper said that the only way to stop United is to target Ronaldo - I went on to score two past him.

"But I don't agree when people say that to stop United, you only need to stop Cristiano. I don't like it when people say that."

While Ronaldo has yet to replicate the astonishing form which saw him win the 2008 World Player of the Year award, he remains an integral part of a United side which could yet secure an unprecedented quadruple this season.

"I don't like to relax," he said.

"I have to continue winning awards and trophies because I'm still young. I have a big path ahead of me and I want to stay in this important position, so I have to continue playing like I'm playing.

"I feel I'm at a club that gives me a guarantee to win titles and trophies. That makes me very happy. When we play for the Premier League or whatever, we know that we can win something.

"The Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup are all important, because if we win them it improves our confidence.

"We're doing well in these competitions and we want to win them all. It would be good. Last year we did the Double and this year we have opportunities to win them all.

"We have to continue working as we have been, because we're on a good path. To already be in the history of United is an enormous privilege and makes me very happy. It's a privilege to work with a group of young and old United players."