Robinho all set for Sunday |
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Daily Mail
"Robinho v Ronaldo: The boy from Brazil has the swagger to take on his United rival"
They love their big fights in Manchester. Look no further than Ricky Hatton's Las Vegas invasions for proof.
But there is a heavyweight clash at Eastlands on Sunday: the reigning European champion and undisputed - not least by himself - finest footballer on the planet versus the challenger, seeking his first title and a place in football's pantheon.
In other words: Ronaldo v Robinho.
Few would have believed - when the Brazilian arrived at Manchester City for an eye-watering British record £34million amid the Real Madrid disinformation over his attitude and motives - that he would deliver quite so swiftly or so potently. The doubts had been dispelled long before his fabulous goal against Arsenal last weekend - the most delicious chip outside Harry Ramsden's - and Eastlands was already savouring a derby with more relish than usual.
He has the goals, the swagger and joie de vivre about his game that lifts 40,000 off their seats in an instant. And, crucially for Hughes and City's new Abu Dhabi owners, he has the ambition. Even to become Manchester's No 1.
Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, is top dog. At the moment. Robinho gracefully acknowledges his rival: 'For what he did last year, I think he deserves to win the world footballer of the year award.' He sits cracking his knuckles, keen to join the fray.
They clashed on the international stage earlier this month, with Ronaldo allowing his suspect temperament to re-emerge as Portugal stumbled to a 6-2 defeat, but there will be no attempt to exploit any perceived weakness there, says Robinho.
'That's not the main thing we have to look for,' he says. 'Manchester United have Ronaldo, Rooney, some great players. The main thing is to mark their players, do our best, play our football and try to get some goals.'
All week, he has been buttonholed by City fans begging him for another of his exquisite strikes in the game that matters most. 'I understand them and I love their passion. It would be like scoring for Brazil against Argentina.'
At a club desperately seeking heroes, he has become an instant icon and the boy from Sao Paulo revels in the adulation with a smile on his face, on and off the pitch.
The Guardian
"Robinho in love with the ball and in love with City"
It all comes back to a variation of the old Mrs Merton question. So, Robson de Souza, what was it that first attracted you to the multi-billionaires Manchester City? Or to use the phrase that has been cruelly bandied about in the Brazilian media, what could it be that possessed you to join the club they call "the wrong Manchester"?
He is the first genuine superstar of Manchester City's Abu Dhabi revolution. But not everyone is buying into the argument, as put forward by City's executive chairman Garry Cook, that tomorrow's Mancunian derby will feature the biggest club in the world - and Manchester United. Pele has questioned whether Robinho "needs counselling". Marcelo Teixeira, the president of Santos, has talked of "one of the most disgraceful episodes in Brazilian football".
And yet there is something compelling when Robinho looks you in the eye and tells you he isn't bothered because, quite frankly, this is the happiest he has ever been as a professional footballer.
"What people have to realise is that I want to be here for many, many years to come," he says matter-of-factly. It is the kind of statement that could be accompanied by a fist on the table. Instead, Robinho is smiling, showing off those perfect teeth, as he has done so many times since his £32.5m signing from Real Madrid. "Some people seem to think I'm here only for the money but that's not true at all. If I only wanted money, I would have gone somewhere else. I had offers from Saudi Arabia and Japan and I could have earned much more over there."
Fair enough. Besides, who really cares what Robinho earns when he is capable of such rare moments of genuine sporting beauty as City's second goal against Arsenal last weekend? It was his eighth in 11 league games and ninth in total, a scoring burst that makes him confident enough to say his target is 30 for the season but that "anything is possible" so he won't rule out emulating Cristiano Ronaldo's total of 42 last season. Later, he admits daydreaming about scoring the winner when Manchester's step-over kings line up against each other tomorrow. "I imagine," he volunteers, "it would be the same feeling as scoring for Brazil against Argentina."
He is good company. This is his first major interview since moving to England and, true to form, the most expensive footballer in British transfer history arrives in a chauffeur-driven Bentley. The diamond-encrusted watch on his wrist is presumably not from H Samuel either and, in a blow to Stagecoach users across the north-west, it soon transpires that he has not been getting around Manchester on the bus, as had been reported. "I used the bus when I was growing up in Brazil," he smiles. "I don't want to diminish anyone who travels on the bus but I haven't done that for a long time."
Superstar footballers often find the most peculiar things written about them and Robinho is braying with laughter as he tries to comprehend where the story originated. And again when he reveals that, no, it is not true he has been watching Coronation Street to improve his English. "Very funny," he says. "Hahahahaha."
The Scotsman
"Tom Lappin: City's challenge to Manchester royalty leaves United twitchy"
WAYNE Rooney's timing has been a little awry lately. It might explain why he has had a barren November after his personal goal glut in October. It might also imply he chose exactly the wrong moment to offer a condescending put-down of Manchester City's pretensions.
Pointing out that City are not exactly setting the Premier League alight, he confidently predicted that, after tomorrow's derby at Eastlands, it would be United who would emerge as the Kings of Manchester. After a momentary shudder at the thought of ADVERTISEMENTa royal dynasty from Manchester (in gilded hoodies?), the thought occurs that this is not a game that United should continue to take lightly.
His manager Sir Alex Ferguson was continuing with the airy dismissals on Thursday, although his is more likely to be a considered tactic than an honest opinion. Ferguson doesn't have the background for snooty hauteur, so he quickly descended into spiteful sniping. Using his Methuselah-like status he brought up the Sunderland Bank of England side of all the talents, relegated 50 years ago. He omitted to mention another star-studded wealthy club of all the talents, relegated 34 years ago, United waved on their way in the Manchester derby by the saddest back-heel of all time courtesy of Denis Law.
This is ancient history however. In a derby, the axiom goes, history counts for nothing, even recent history like the fact that Sven-Goran Eriksson led City to home and away wins against United last season, a glitch that didn't spoil United's season but added a little superfluous asperity to Sir Alex's scowl. Reminded of that on Thursday, he mumbled something ungracious about United being unlucky.
Form isn't supposed to count for anything in derbies either, which should be a consolation to United. City followed up their scintillating dismantling of Arsenal with an impressive win on Thursday night away to Schalke 04, with a performance that was substantially more impressive than United's draw of convenience with Villarreal. Moreover, it was achieved without the participation of Robinho, or his compatriot Elano. It was achieved because the defensive gaffes that have characterised City's erratic season were eliminated, because the team rose to a substantial challenge.
Mark Hughes would hate his team to be characterised as a northern Arsenal, only willing to put in the effort when their opponents were prestigious, but it is apparent that they enjoy matches where they aren't expected to win. They outpassed and outmanoeuvred Arsene Wenger's prodigious technicians, and it's not unreasonable to expect them to offer similar problems to United tomorrow, all the more so after Rooney and Ferguson's put-downs.
Ferguson's disdain for City is misplaced at the present. There is only one side in Manchester made up virtually entirely of global superstars acquired at immense expense and it's United. As the home-quarried gems like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville begin to rage a little less at their fading lustre, United will be even more of a buying club. Even their English stars like Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves and Wayne Rooney cost United £100 million to acquire. Ferguson, shocking as it may seem, is being a tad hypocritical when mocking City's project of buying the best on the market.
Besides, Hughes seems keen to show that lavish spending might not be necessary. Ironically, for all the South American genius on the roster, City's most solidly impressive player at the moment is Stephen Ireland. It's difficult to know what the profile is in Dubai (er, don't you mean Abu Dhabi? WTPS Ed.) of the occasionally mendacious midfielder who declines to play international football even after they named the national team after him. If they know anything about football in the desert though they will be purring over his commitment, invention and steady supply of goals.
Second only to Ireland in City's team on Thursday was the gifted left-sided attacking midfielder Daniel Sturridge. He has a name that sounds like he should have been in the Eton Rifles with David Cameron, and his vision, passing, touch and intelligence ooze aristocratic class. It's been a generation since United's academy produced a player of that calibre. Or one like Micah Richards, whose inevitably illustrious England career is on temporary hold.
The trick for Hughes of course is to maintain a route into the first team for the academy stars while accommodating the big names that the Dubai owners will be recruiting. Ferguson has an unassailable point when suggesting that great teams have to be developed organically rather than assembled briskly at the check-out. It is premature and not a little insulting though to imply that Hughes doesn't know that.
Of course, Hughes will have headaches, but in the meantime the rest of us can enjoy the fact that the Dubai takeover has been such an effective wind-up of the United manager, requiring another shade of puce on the palette. Rooney may be proved right tomorrow, and United may remain Kings of Manchester, but how long will it be before the pretenders are offering a sustained challenge?
In the modern Premier League nothing is impossible. Sir Alex continues to dismiss the idea of City signing Cristiano Ronaldo as a bizarre fantasy. It probably is. Because Ronaldo is far too mature and selfless to be interested in relentless ego-massaging and huge amounts of cash. Isn't he?
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