Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney claimed his second major award of a remarkable season yesterday when he was named Footballer of the Year for the first time by the Football Writers Association (FWA).
Rooney, who has scored 34 goals for United in all competitions this season, took 80 percent of the votes cast by members of the FWA.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was a distant second in the voting, with Manchester City’s Argentine frontman Carlos Tevez in third.
“I am delighted to win an award with so much history and tradition, and to follow a long line of wonderful players who have been honored by the FWA since 1948 gives me real pride,” Rooney said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank my manager at United, Sir Alex Ferguson, the coaching staff and my teammates, without whose help and support this award would not have been possible.”
Rooney, who was voted PFA Player of the Year on Sunday and also the Premier League’s fans’ Player of the Season this week, has successfully filled the void left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, although the tail end of his season has been interrupted by injury.
He is unlikely to play in United’s final two Premier League games as they try and overhaul Chelsea at the top of the table because of a groin strain, having recovered quicker than expected from an ankle injury.
Rooney will be presented with his trophy in London on May 13.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
RSS