Wayne Rooney will team up with Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United in one of the most potent strikeforces in European soccer.
The trouble is -- when?
Van Nistelrooy hasn't kicked a ball all season after a hernia operation and Rooney is recovering from a broken bone in his foot.
Neither striker -- who each scored four times at Euro 2004 -- is expected to be in action for a month, and United is already seven points behind Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League title race with just four games gone.
Rooney signed for United on Tuesday in a deal which will amount to close on ?30 million (US$54 million) when all the terms are fulfilled and all the bills have been paid.
At age 18, he is a rising star of the future and has joined one of the few clubs that can make him reach the top. One of the stars of Euro 2004, Rooney has masses of potential so long as he keeps his temper and doesn't fall into bad company.
"It was a tough decision to leave Everton, the club I've supported and played for all my life, but I'm excited to be joining a club as big as Manchester United," said Rooney, who has signed a six-year contract.
"I feel this can only improve my career, playing with top players in top competitions like the Champions League and I can't wait to meet up with the team."
Rooney was due to appear before reporters at a news conference at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
"I am very excited, I think we have got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years," said United manager Alex Ferguson.
Rooney joins Van Nistelrooy, Alan Smith and Louis Saha in an impressive squad of strikers as Ferguson bids to launch a stronger title challenge than last season, when his men finished 15 points behind Arsenal in third place.
Having made his debut at age 16 and become the youngest scorer in the Premier League's history, Rooney eclipsed Michael Owen as England's youngest international and youngest scorer. On the down side, he became the youngest Premier League player to receive a red card.
His departure from Everton, the team he supported as a boy, has angered the Toffees fans who thought he would have stayed there his entire career. But Rooney was determined to leave when Newcastle and Manchester United came in with offers and promised him European soccer.
United went on to outbid Newcastle and the Magpies' failure to recruit one of the best young talents in English soccer was one of the reasons they fired Bobby Robson on Monday.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS