Manchester United won its first title since David Beckham left by outplaying division one Millwall 3-0 in Saturday's FA Cup final.
The fact that the man who destroyed Millwall was Beckham's right wing replacement made the victory even better for manager Alex Ferguson.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the 18-year-old Portuguese star signed after Beckham's departure to Real Madrid, headed the Reds in front at the Millennium Stadium. And, although Ruud van Nistelrooy added the two others in the second half, one was a penalty and the other a close range tap-in.
PHOTO: AP
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson gave Van Nistelrooy the man-of-the-match award and that drew laughter from Ferguson, who believed Ronaldo is the best teenager in European soccer.
"There's no question you've seen the potential of that player better than anything in Europe," said the Scot who has been a manager for 30 years, 17 at Manchester United. "What we have to do is realize that potential," Ferguson said.
"He's 19 in February. You just take the components. He's got a terrific physique, balance, pace, two feet, technically terrific. That's the potential that's there to try and develop."
PHOTO: REUTERS
After losing the league title to Arsenal and flopping in the Champions League, the result meant the Reds ended the season with a title to lift some of the gloom hanging over Old Trafford.
"Winning the final and scoring two is fantastic," Van Nistelrooy said. "I missed the last penalty I took but I was convinced I wouldn't miss this one.
"Millwall were well organized and did very well so all credit to them. It's the biggest cup in the world so I am very proud."
PHOTO: AFP
The triumph also meant a shutout victory for goalkeeper Tim Howard, the first American to win an FA Cup final. He didn't have a shot to save, fielding a series of crosses from a Millwall side who created very little to worry him.
The American, who started the season helping the Reds win the Community Shield by beating Arsenal on penalties, was taken off seven minutes from the end so that Roy Carroll could make a Cup final appearance.
"For me it is awesome to win a cup and get a medal in my first year. It is a good feeling, better than advertised," Howard said.
His opposite number, however, had defied Manchester United with three standout saves.
Andy Marshall made top quality saves to keep out a Roy Keane long range volley and an angled shot from Ronaldo. In the second half, he blocked a firm shot from Paul Scholes.
After Paul Scholes had shot tamely wide from 20m, Ronaldo went on a typically intricate run through midfield only to be felled by David Livermore.
The incident provoked an angry flareup with Wise pushing Ronaldo in the face and then United midfielder Darren Fletcher ran 15m to shove the veteran Millwall star. Several players began pushing each other before it calmed down and Ronaldo's low free kick flashed past the post.
United maintained the tempo and Keane collected an inside pass from John O'Shea, teed up a volley and drove a dipping 25m shot that Marshall acrobatically tipped over the bar with his right hand.
Millwall had done little to threaten Howard in the Manchester United goal. But the Reds needed a well-timed tackle by Mikael Silvestre on Paul Ifill in the 26th minute to prevent the Millwall midfielder getting in a shot in front of goal.
Manchester United almost took the lead three minutes before half time when Gary Neville's right wing cross was headed on by Van Nistelrooy to Ronaldo, whose angled shot was blocked by Marshall.
But Ronaldo put Ferguson's men ahead a minute before half time when Gary Neville floated a cross over from the right and the 19-year-old Portuguese star arrived unmarked to head home from close range.
Wise, known for his on field misbehavior, gave Neville a shove just after halftime whistle. Referee Jeff Winter, standing nearby, encouraged Wise to run off, running with him to the touchline.
"My players have done very well but had we not gone in 1-0 down at halftime it might have been different," Wise said. "That goal killed us off. We made a mistake and we got punished.
"I wasn't fully fit but we had so many kids on the bench we decided I had to play and we would see how it went.
Scottish Cup final
Henrik Larsson scored twice in his final appearance as Celtic rallied to beat Dunfermline 3-1.
Larsson is leaving Celtic after seven seasons. He equalized in the 58th minute, an angled shot from the left, after Dunfermline had taken a surprise 1-0 lead in the first half.
Dunfermline defender Andrius Skerla headed the opening goal, beating Celtic's rookie goalkeeper David Marshall.
Larsson put Celtic in the lead in the 71st minute, receiving the ball from Alan Thompson with his back to goal just inside the box, before turning and scoring across Dunfermline goalkeeper Derek Stillie and into the net.
Stilian Petrov made it 3-1 in the 84th minute.
Dunfermline last won the Scottish Cup in 1968.
Greek championship
Panathinaikos won the Greek first division championship for the first time since 1996 after beating Paniliakos 1-0.
Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe repeated his previous week's performance against Proodeftiki, coming off the bench to score a late winner.
Panathinaikos fans stormed the pitch in the western town of Pyrgos when referee Vassilis Terovitsas whistled the end of the dramatic match.
The title is particularly sweet for Panathinaikos, ending a streak of seven consecutive championships by bitter rival Olympiakos Piraeus.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich secured a spot in next season's Champions League when it beat Freiburg 2-0 in the final round of the Bundesliga season to finish second and give coach Ottmar Hitzfeld a dignified departure.
Hitzfeld's successor at the Bayern helm, Felix Magath, suffered a bitter setback when his Stuttgart lost 2-0 at Leverkusen and dropped to fourth to lose a possible place in the lucrative Champions League.
Leverkusen leapfrogged over Magath's team to finish third and will play in qualifying for the Champions League.
Sebastian Deisler scored in his first start in six months and French international Bixente Lizarazu converted a penalty in his farewell game to secure second place for Bayern.
Lizarazu is leaving after seven seasons in Bayern, which also decided last week to end Hitzfeld's contract one year early and bring in Magath. In six seasons with Bayern, Hitzfeld won four Bundesliga title, two German Cups and the Champions League in 2001. But the club ended without a title this season, hastening Hitzfeld's departure.
Magath had said his ambition was to guide Stuttgart to second place and go to Bayern on a high note. But goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Bernd Schneider ruined Magath's departure and lifted Leverkusen to third place. Stuttgart, still seeking a new coach, will go to the UEFA Cup. Bochum beat Hannover 3-1 to finished fifth and clinch the remaining UEFA Cup berth. Eintracht Frankfurt and 1860 Munich dropped to second division, joining already relegated Cologne.
Eintracht lost 2-1 at Hamburger SV and 1860 Munich fell 3-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
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