It was all about the FIRST

Boca Juniors 1-2 Manchester United

That is how the match ended in the first semi final of the Audi Cup 2009. You might guessing that United goal scorer probably came from Owen, Rooney or Berba -whose all scored goal on the pre-season so far. Then you would be wrong because United goals scored by "veteran" and by a debutan whom both scored their first goal for the club. 

United came out strong on the first half eventhough both team played "cool" and calm but United showed plenty of determinism and willing to score. Meanwhile Boca relied heavily on their playmaker, former Barca man, Riquelme which they struggled to cope in the first half. United's opener came from a freekick and it was ANDERSON who stroke a beautiful left footed shot passed Abondazieri. It was his first open-played goal for United and he did some dancing to celebrate. United then kept the pressure and it was rewarded with the second goal from the new boy from Ecuador, his name is ANTONIO VALENCIA. Rooney passed the ball to him and he skip passed two defenders before launch a shot that should have been saved by the keeper. Anyway,who cares???It was his first game and he scored his first goal. 

Boca then scored a goal in the early exchage of the second half and wow it was a great goal. They got lucky on right flang but it was a great cross from the right hand side and finished off with a volley on the left side that left Kuscak with no chance.

United defended well for the rest of the match and win it to have the right to play the host, Bayern on today's final. Bayern meanwhile trashed Milan 4-1 on the second semi-final.

What a final it will be if these two play "seriuosly"..

image:www.manutd.com

The New away Kit

Like the club's new red and white home strip, the black kit features a special commemorative tag at the side of the shirt and large chevron across the chest, reflecting the design of the shirts worn by United when the team won its first FA Cup in 1909.

The black shorts have a blue stripe along the side, a red devil graphic on the back of the waist band, while the draw cords feature 'MUFC' on the tips. The black socks have a blue chevron on the calf.

The Reds will don the kit for the first time during Thursday's Audi Cup match in Germany against either AC Milan or Bayern Munich. And Patrice Evra says the players are all looking forward to running out in their new attire.

image and article:www.manutd.com

Preview: Audi Cup 2009

Next stop for United is the Audi Cup 2009 in Munich, Germany. It is part of the team pre-season tournament. There will be four teams competing here, the host Bayern, Boca Juniors, Milan and United. The red devil will face Boca Juniors on 29th of July and after that Bayern will play Milan. The rule is simple. Both winners face down on the final, the losers face each other for the third place play-off.

What are the odds for United?I think that as United face Boca first, it means that the challenge will not come any easier. Boca did not perform well back home, but they always proved to be a handful everytime United played them including the last time they played around 4 years ago or so.

South American team seems to have the ability to troubled the European side and it has been the case time and time again. The European side might well come out as the eventual winner but seldomly done it the easy way. If United keep the tempo they played for the most part of their Asia Tour,maybe Boca will fit that quite nicely. United must avoid conceded first in order to avoid Boca control the rhytim and slow the pace down. They must attack and score first and make sure they can have a grip on the match. Otherwise Boca will prove to be a pain in the neck.

Supposing they made it through to the final, it will be exciting if they can played againts Bayern. I would like to see how Frank RIbery played againts the team that has been trying to get him so bad.Maybe it will turn out to be a transfer afterward just like what happen to Ronaldo back in 2003.Who knows...

image: www.google.com

Thats a WRAP!!

    Manchester United Asia Tour 2009 has come to an end. The last match of the tour was played in China, where United trased local side, Greentown by eight goals to two. It was an enjoyable match to watched as United stars turned on a great show especially Berba whose skills and dancing has mesmarize the spectetators and million watching at home. 

  Owen has also showed a great performance last night. He scored two goals and one of which were a beauty. Berbatov set him up stylishly and he controlled the ball on his chest before scoring with a half-volley from the edge of the penalty box. Great goal and what an exciting player to watch. Will it be a re-born Owen next season?Only time will tell.

   The living legend, Ryan Giggs scored a hat-trick on the second half. The first two was a goal at the highest order meanwhile the third was quite a formality. The 35 year old man from Wales has proved that he still got it and he is not done yet at least for another season.

  The only concern was Ben Foster. He conceded two goals and he did not looked too convincing along the tour. He made a blunder againts Malaysia XI on the first match and came on as substitute last night and conceded two. The second goal conceded after his past was carelessly taking care by a tired Fabio, but I just think he still got some work to do considering that Van Der Sar will retire on the season after the next one. So, he better becareful because Tomasz has set his aim of playing more regular first team match.

   So, the tour has been done. The good think was that fans got to see their favorite players while United could added their fund on their account. In terms of football side, their appereances in the far east could help raise the level of football in this part of the world. The class, well let say that to be fair, only Seoul FC gave them something to think about apart from the first shaky match in KL. Other than that I think United showed professionalism and lifting up to their reputation. 

   They cancelled their trip to Jakarta and what a dissapointment it was for the fans. Jakarta has a huge United fan base but a five seconds bomb has taken away the dream of millions from many months back.

   Now, United are heading to Munich for the Audi cup where they will face Boca Juniors. Great prospec and it will be a great test for United. Boca might not be as strong as they used to be, but south american team always proved to be a test for a european team when they meet. So, we will be looking forward to that.

   Thank you for a great weeks in Asia and please come again including to Jakarta. Glory Man.United.

Lets talk about the new Kit

New Season New home kit!

United had revealed their new home kit for the next season. It was the one inspired by the Old Trafford comemoration after a century of servinf the club. 

Red is still the coulor of the kit. A "V" stripe is on the chest part of the kit with Nike logo and club eneblem still right where it supposed to be. AIG logo still the main sponsor at least for this season as the AEO logo will replace the "contrversial" insurance company's logo started next season.

The real sense i got from this new kit is optimism. I think the new kit showed great sign of promise that United will still do something next season and hopefully win something. I would like them to win another BPL title and UCL title along the way. The desing looks more futuristic in my opinion. It symbolises the energy of the players. It looks cool but elegant in someway. What is lacking for me is desing on the backside. I think they should keep the litle stripe on the neck and on the down side of the kit as of last season. I think it looks strong and give a sense of confidence.

Well,get the new kit it is available in your local Nike store started from 16 of july 2009.

image:www.google.com

So MANY to catch up

Its been a while since i last wrote.Anyway, there were so much going on surrounding the club. Where to start??let see..New signing probably will be the best place to start.

Michael Owen, Gabriel Obertan and Valencia. There are three players United have sign this summer ahead of the pre-season tour 2009. Obertan, a young and talented frenchmen is quite a surprise signing after they failed to sign Benzema and Ribery. Just don't get me wrong, this young prodigy is a player woth silky touch but lighting speed. He played well and scored a goal againts England U-21 earlier this year and has been a figure for Bordeaux last season. A loan spell to lower league side has not made him shine-off from the spotlight. United's scout has keep close eye on this player for quite sometime. Now, with his signature secure, United are looking to maximize the talent and hopefully he will contribute a lot for United. He won't be in action until October due to slight injury. Meanwhile, the other two are not new to the world of football. Owen and Valencia could be something for United considering the fact that these two are still hungry for title.

Asia Tour 2009 has been marked by a tragedy. Just two days before United scheduled arrival in Jakarta, a bomb blast at the Ritz Charlton hotel and JW Marriot in the capital city of Indonesia. Later that day, United rep. David gill and Sir Alex said that they have CANCEL the plan to go to Jakarta and played againts Indonesia All Star. What a tragedy!! I would like to send my deepest condolence to all the friends and families of those affected. I was also extremely dissapointed by United's decision to cancel their trip to Jakarta. It was a headache for the LOC but as SAF said, it was the best decision they could take regarding the situation. Who ever did it, it has broke millions of football lovers in Jakarta and Indonesia after a promising period that was said United will not only came here to play but also conducted a lot of activity with kids and media. It was set to be a great time for Indonesia people to show the world that we are a save country but 5 seconds blast has destroy months of preparation!what a shame!!

Instead of travelling to Jakarta, United decided to play two matches againts Malaysia XI. Two match with a very different approach,result and style of play.

During the first match, United started brightly but played poorly after the first twenty minutes only thanks to Owen late strike that helped United to a 2-3 victory with both goal conceded thanks to Van der sar and Foster blunder. Nothing really interesting during the match except the instroduction of Owen the fantastic goal by Malaysian player with Rooney's kinda shot from long range.

To "replace" the 20th of July match between United vs Indonesian All star, they played the second game againts the same opposition with 10 changes made from the first match. Owen and Macheda started upfront, and stroke two early goal to gave United a comfortable 0-2 win. There were difference on the spectator numbers from the first to the second match. Once again, a shame!!Had UNited came to Jakarta that day, there will be a full-house at th GBK Stadium with over 90 thousand supporters watching the defending English champion. I was so so dissapointed.

Now, United are on their way to Seoul to play a friendly match againts Seoul FC on Friday. It wil be adifficult task with Korean team as they are probably one of the best team in Asiaand played in one of the best Asian league, the K-League. It won't be a walk in the park for United, with the weather a lot friendlier to them but opponent of a world-class standard. What a match it will be..

After that, United will go back to Europe, to compete on Audi cup in Germany and then a friendly match againts Valencia at Old Trafford before the Community Shield game againts Chelsea at Wembley. A busy pre-season with the lost of ROnaldo and Tevez looming large ahead of the new season.

The real question now, How United will cope without Ronaldo and Tevez???

image:www.manutd.com

Owen SIGN For United

What a SHOCK!!

Just after the confirmation that Benzema has choose Madrid instead of ManU, the news broke in.

Michael Owen, once a promising and prodigy of English football sign a two-year contract deal with United.

After Newcastle relegated to the championship football next season, Owen became a free-agent, so there were no fee involve on this transfer. Maybe it was the right gamble for Sir Alex considering the fact that United need replacement for Ronaldo and also Tevez.

Owen, who started his carrerr at United's rival Liverpool, was once a highly rated player after his performance on the 98 World Cup in France when he scored a memorable goal againts Argentina. In 2001, he was also part of Liverpool team that revive back after "long-sleep" including winning the UEFA cup title. In 2004, Owen joined the club that i hated the most today, Real Madrid, with all sort of promises. But injuries and lack of appereance made him a house hold name on the bench, he moved to Newcastle after one season with the Spanish "giant". From 04 to 09, he played for Newcastle 71 times scoring 26 goals on the process, proving that he still got the instinct to score goal. His downside was his injuries, especially after suffering a knee injury on the WC 06. He failed to keep Newcastle on the BPL next season and rumour said that he will joined Hull, before United stole him from them.

So, now Owen will wear the Red of United.

Welcome to OT and please bring us GOALS.

image: www.manutd.com