LDU Quito 0 United 1
United set the seal on an historic year by becoming the first British side to win the Club World Cup to end 2008 as the best team on the planet.
First-half dominance gave way to second-half nerves as the Reds were forced to play 45 minutes with only 10 men following Nemanja Vidics sending off, but a 73rd minute goal from player of the tournament Wayne Rooney gave United a deserved victory.
Sir Alex Ferguson had shuffled his pack, making four changes to the side that beat Gamba Osaka, while Liga de Quito coach Edgardo Bauza - managing the Ecuadorian side for the last time - named the same XI that started against Pachucha in Wednesdays other semi-final. There had been pre-match speculation that the tough-tackling South Americans may target Cristiano Ronaldo, and sure enough, Claudio Bieler was in the book just two minutes into the match for a rough shoulder-check on Ronny. The Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov made it clear he was wasnt going to stand for any nonsense during this game, and the yellow card was duly shown.
With the eyes of the world on this match and a sell-out crowd of 68,682 inside the Yokohama International Stadium, United were determined to put on a show. Wayne Rooney had enjoyed a highly eventful 20-minute introduction to the Club World Cup at the end of Thursdays semi-final, and Uniteds no.10 looked to begin the final where he had left off. He was involved in a handful of attacks in the first 15 minutes, and let fly with two powerful shots that made keeper Jose Cevallos realise he was in for a busy 90 minutes. Meanwhile, proof of Ronaldos global popularity was never more evident than during his stay in Japan, and the best player in the world was showcasing his full repertoire of tricks and flicks to the delight of the sell-out crowd.
While the Reds had dominated the early exchanges, the Ecuadorians enjoyed a couple of breakaway attacks, generally started by Alejandro Manso. In fact, the clearest chance of the lot fell to the underdogs just five minutes in. The playmaker Manso passed a free-kick short to Bieler, who found the defender Jairo Campo unmarked in the United box, but Edwin van der Sar was relieved to see his shot flash wide of the post.
This was unreflective of the flow of the match however, and Quitos first-half chances ground to a halt as Uniteds stranglehold on the match grew stronger. Cevallos goal was peppered as chances fell to Carlos Tevez, Ji-sung Park, Michael Carrick and Ronaldo to name but a few. But it was the on-song Rooney who came closest, and continued to give the keeper nightmares. Combining to great effect with the industrious Anderson, Wayne rounded the half off with another long-range shot that whizzed wide. Against all odds, the first half remained goalless.
Although United were in complete control during the first half, the first meaningful action of the second 45 made the Reds' mission to be named the top side in the world all the more difficult. Vidic became tangled up with Bieler, and as he attempted to free himself, clashed with the striker. The referee immediately flashed his red card and United were down to ten men - shortly afterwards, Sir Alex sacrificed Tevez to patch up his defence with young substitute Jonny Evans.
The all-action tempo of the first half slowed almost to walking pace as the Reds, still the team in charge, adapted to a new system. Manso remained a danger to the European champions, looking to exploit the spaces in midfield, and the little Argentinian magician had van der Sar at full stretch to palm away a swerving shot. This gave the Ecuadorians a shot of confidence and were soon handed another opportunity by Patrice Evra. The full-back misplaced a pass straight to Manso, and as he advanced, the excellent Anderson made a lung-bursting run to intercept on the edge of the box.
It was beginning to look like a nervous last period for United, but the Reds breathed a planet-sized sigh of relief after opening the scoring on 73 minutes. Carrick found Ronaldo on the 18-yard line and the Portuguese maestro slipped possession left to Rooney, who guided the ball past Cevallos. Wazzas delight was evident, and his third goal of the tournament put him joint-top of the Club World Cups all-time goalscorers.
The Reds tried to find a second goal to kill the game off but almost conceded an equaliser instead when, with a minute of normal time remaining, Manso very nearly sent the game into extra-time. Again advancing with intent, he let rip with a brilliant long-range shot that was tipped over by van der Sar. Just as in Moscow last May, the Dutch keeper had the final say and helped United lift arguably the biggest prize of all.
Source
:devil:
