Blame Rooney, Not Ronaldo

It is a team game and all who wear those abominable English kits share in this failure, but most especially not Rooney but rather Ericsson, an overrated coach if there ever was one. He was outcoached so badly by Big Phil that it was embarrassing, no matter who the “first team” coach was.

Dave hamildav@yahoo.com

Bob Interesting report, however I still think Ronaldo has a lot to answer for. If he hadn’t done the fateful wink and laugh to his Portugese team mates (still makes my stomache turn everytime I see it) and interferred I am sure Rooney would still have been on the pitch with a yellow card. I am sure when Ronaldo and Rooney meet next time at Old Trafford, Ronaldo’s ‘bits’ will be in the toilet paper that Rooney makes of him and sent airmail to Portugal. It was a very sad day for England and Alan Shearer is right. All said the England squad did really well and I for one are proud of them don’t think it should have ended this way.

Finally ,its no one but the credit goes to Ricardo , who did the tricks , and saved 3 great penalty shot , and England lost in the battle. Also Christiano Ronaldo put the ball in the net in the penalty under a great pressure. excellent game!!

same thing always

the cycle

english blame something else for there crappy football

they have been always over rated

they never win any tourneys

it will now be 2 yrs of excuses
and 2 yrs of hype for 2010

iv said it many times

england is like the ugly girl with hot freinds always trying to squueze her ugly head as a world football power

but ultimatly will laways be in the football powers shadow no matter how much make-up she wears

Hey, Diane, didn’t the smile and wink come after the red card? How would that affect the outcome of the card if it happened after?
I hope Rooney does have a punch up with C. Ronaldo, maybe then Ronald will have a word with Carvalho and the next time Manchester play Chelsea Rooney might leave yet another broken foot.

Sadly, Alan Shearer’s comment says alot about the mentality of (not only) English football. It’s tempting to let emotions rule post-game analysis and as Bob righly points out, Ronaldo is an easy target. Let’s not forget the Ref who “had it out for them”

But if not him, who? The national treasures that Rooney, Beckham (whose mysterious injury and quick exit has been barely mentioned by the press) and Lampard have become? The manager whose logic in choosing a team defies a rudimentry knowledge of world stage football (a shallow bench indeed)?

The talent was there. It was mismanaged. To everyone calling for Ronaldo’s head, all I can say is where were your outspoken indignations to remove Ericsson when it became apparent that he was proccupied more with money and power rather than English football?

Vinlondon has it right. Ericsson is a disgrace, and not just for his lack of leadership abilities. he is one selfish wanker. Even his cold, emotionless comments to the media afterwards showed he really wasn’t hurting as long as his bank accounts and the superficial women, who are only there with his ugly ass because of his money, haven’t left. And to think this wank is being considered as the answer to Real Madrid’s problems makes me sick.

Dave hamildav@yahoo.com

Rooney is to balme but why did Ronaldo get involved. He tried to influence the refree to get his “friend” sent off. ERooney to balme, Ronaldo must still hang his head in shame. The only way to describe this talented footballer is as a cheat.

Same old, same old, Englands best performance is the one in which they leave the tournament, usually with 10 men on the pitch and after a penalty shoot out. The facts are England as a team are like Real Madrid (or Brazil this year) a talented bunch of individuals who don’t play as a team, sure Sven’s and McClarens formations didn’t help,in fact they contributed to Rooney’s frustration but ultimately Englands performances were poor throughout, Beckham is highly overrated and was a passenger for much of the time, Rooneys performances were reminicent of Beckhams in 2002, well below par. I am pleased for Hargreaves he was brilliant yesterday, but where was Lampard and Gerard, where did Joe Cole Go! The best side in the World did go out in the quarter finals, in a penalty shoot out and they were mis-managed in their final game and they were Argentina.

For Rooney to dig his studs into a player’s groin area deserves a red card, and if the player on the receiving end had done something to cause such a reaction that contravened rules of the game then that player,Cristiano Ronaldo, should also have been sent off. The referee was standing a few feet away from the incident. What, in the hell, was Rooney thinking of getting away with it? I don’t closely follow English football, so from all ardent fans of the game in Englad can anyone tell me if Rooney a little bit more than tempremental? Or is this just a one off thing?

What Ronaldo did was SMART and belied his years. He must have believed that infuriating the immature Rooney might lead to his recation and possibly a red card. It was a good tactical move, and no worse than all the flopping that gores on in this Cup. If you can’t keep your head when all about you is chaos, you are a lousy warrior.

Dave hamildav@yahoo.com

I will never forget the Man Utd v Millwall FA Cup final where Ronaldo stole the show, scored a goal and set up another one and basically was man of the match.

Now since I had a serious wedge on the man i was counting the cash only for that clueless dimwit Erikson to vote for Ruud Van Nist man of the match. That Swedish f’n fanny licking twat knows F All about football.

At last the English will see the fanny licking wanker as what he really is……….just that.

Shearer’s comment is like a verbal version of Argentina’s brawl against Germany. Professional soccer doesn’t need such behavior.

Hey Philip, Re your blog, Yes you are correct the “wink etc” came after the Red card, my interpretation is Ronaldo telling his team that he had succeeded in achieving what I believe was a set up to rile Rooney enough to get him sent off, Ronaldo saw the opportunity and took it. Ronaldo in my opinion should have stayed well and truly out of it, the ref was there right next to the incident, it did not need Rinaldo with his theatricals (before the red card) to encourage the ref to present a Red card. I still think Rooney would only have received a Yellow card if Ronaldo had kept his stick beak out of it. Just my opinion and Yes I am gutted with the turn of events and I apologise if I have offended anyone, not intentional and nothing personal ment. The calibre of the England Squad should not have come down to this.

As for his inspired gamble on Theo Walcott, that turned out a trump card, didnt it. Twat.

Cant believe “Burns” got paid 5 million quid a year.

For those of you who didnt notice,

Shearer was as drunk as a skunk. Slurred words, dishevelled look, you name it.

rooney should be suspended from playing football for england till he sorts out his temper. he constantly get carded for agruing in the premier league and must be seen as a too big of an unknown and is not a team player.

as far as i’m concerned just because you play for the same club does not mean you are friends and ronaldo is portuges first and manchester united second. do people expect him to hand the match to his man u team mates. what rooney did was wrong. although it looks worse in slow mo.

ronaldo is an arrogant character though and probably will win few friends acting the way he did. country first club second. i think ronaldo is out of favour at man u anyway. he is too error ridden and tries to be too clever and tricky and it sounds like the team have had enough.

england would probably be a better national team if more englishmen could play in the premier league. doesnt arsenal only have 5 englishmen on a 20+ man roster. its like there cricket leagues. too many internationals playing in spots perhaps englishmen should be playing. how could chelsea supporters be happy with squads of foreigners. its who you can buy and not who you can develope these days. the spanish leagues the same. they have hundreds of brazilians playing in spots the spanish could be playing.

If Shearer said that, that is disgraceful, but I’m not sure that he did. This quote is picked out:
‘I think Wayne Rooney should go back to the Manchester United training ground and stick one on Ronaldo’

but in the article itself he says: ‘I think there’s every chance that Wayne Rooney could go back to the Manchester United training ground and stick one on Ronaldo because he hasn’t helped him there. We all know he’s frustrated but he can’t do that.’

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/england/5137378.stm

Perhaps a BBC mistake?

The problem with 4-5-1 formation by Sven is that it subjected Wayne to a number of times workin too hard on himself and ended up gettin alota cards. (either if its yellows or reds). I still prefer the 4-4-2 which Owen pairs up with Crouch. He should have tryout Crouch pairing with Rooney. Crouch Rules!! Sven sucks… And by the way, Wayne ain’t tat immortal for a one-man-striker-show. That’s the truth.

italy, brazil, france, portugal germany. all have one thing in common, none of those countries have leagues dominated by foreigners and have a great deal of players playing in the more lucrative leagues. the fact england could not fill a world class side from the premier league alone should be worrying. although you couldnt leave beckham and owen out from the premiera but they also had a player from the german leagues. so where is all the premier league players. playing the bottom divisions. all you unhappy english and spanish fans upset at your teams constant failings at the world cup just need to look at who you support in the local comps and count the foreigners lapping up all the top league experience in your local teams. chealsea, arsenal, manchester united and real madrid, barcelona. good sides but where are the locals.

It is always easy to blame on external factors…..weather, C Ronaldo, etc. They have the full squad in the first 60 minutes of the game and nothing happened. What make the English think that with Rooney, the game won’t still go to penalty shoot out? If Rooney was there, will they actually win on the penalty too? Why can’t they just admit that they are not good enough and they are really crap at penalty? History has proved that FACT over and over again.

Hmmm, i’d like to ask a question if you don’t mind: Why did Eriksson become your national coach in the first place?

I mean, i’m German and we’d never have a foreigner as coach for our “Mannschaft” as the whole team (incl. coach) is supposed to represent our country.

Moreover, i’m somewhat interested in why he’s worth 4352345 millions of Euro per year – hope you guys realize he’s the most overpaid national trainer ever. Abandoning national identity in favor of commerce and a “must-win-at-all-costs”-mentality serves (in my opinion) no purpose.

Oh btw: Sorry for any typos or grammar errors you might find here – English is my 2nd language ^^

half the teams in the world cup have international coaches, some countries dont have a top league like the germans, italians, french. the english leagues are just about all foriegn coaches as well. so they dont have any really qualified coaches too call on. probably get a brazilian like most of the countries.

STOP all this Fair play shite
The only way England would ever get to the finals would be to become cheats like
argentina portugal italy spain Germany and other hot head countries

England Brazil Japan Australia Sud korea and African teams can hold there heads up because there above
the disease thats rife in fifas so called beautiful political free game

well, England never a stood a chance to go far in this competition. Even the world cup qualifiers were a disgrace. It’s time for a complete reshuffling, players and coach.
Regarding Rooney, it’s typical of a situation of despair. When you have little, you try to mythfy the little you have. Rooney is ok but he is not yet in the top ten forwards in the world.
Hope can achieve a lot but reality reasserts itself in the end.

Michael from Germany…

Your coach is an American. He now pays taxes there. So, as most of the rest of the developed world, he now lives in a place where English is the first language. His children will be speaking English and playing on US college scholarships.

Get out of the first half of the 20th century and into the 21st…

> half the teams in the world cup have international coaches

I realize that, however it doesn’t really serve any purpose (again, just my opinion). Look at Eriksson while they play the national anthem. He doesn’t sing, apparently he doesn’t care, there’s no unity. He’s certainly not a person players consider to be “one of them”.

If the coach is no “figurehead” so to speak, if the coach doesn’t represent national (football-) traditions, does not “live” them, well why would you want such a coach?

There are lots, lots of fantastic and famous English (Ex-)Players who would do a – obviously very subjective opinion – much better job, e.g. Shearer or Lineker et al.

> Your coach is an American.

I am sorry to disappoint you, but he isn’t and he’s still paying his taxes in Germany. He’s living in the US though ;)

Well,… it sucks to be England right now.

PT fan!

Watching the game on the BBC, I was disgusted with Shearer. I thought Ian Wright was bad but Shearer is just a complete pain.
Analysing the sending off in the studio, the first thing they comment on is the fact the Portuguese players crowd round the referee. Nothing about how Rooney should have been sent off for stamping on a player. Only that is was shocking the way the way Ronaldo was so obviously trying to get Rooney sent off, and how he shouldn’t do it to a team mate (even if Ronaldo was trying to get Rooney off, he’s playing for his national team in a world cup quarter final, do they think he’s going to think about his fellow Man U players at that point ?).
Ronaldo didn’t do anything to Rooney, and Rooney pushed him, right in front of the referee. If he was sent off for the push, it’s his own stupid fault. Yet all the people in the studio said was that it was Ronaldo’s fault and Rooney should get his own back on him. How pathetic. They’ll never just admit their team aren’t good enough, it’s always down to something else.
Good luck Portugal !!!!!!

well, England never a stood a chance to go far in this competition. Even the world cup qualifiers were a disgrace. It’s time for a complete reshuffling, players and coach.
Regarding Rooney, it’s the typical example of a desperate situation. When you have little, you try to mythfy the little you have. Rooney is ok but he is not yet in the top ten forwards in the world.
Hope can achieve a lot but reality reasserts itself in the end.
Hopefully you will be avenged by France and Italy will lift the trophy as they should.

hi the 2nd comment “fab” who the hell do you think you are? oh yes we didn’t win did we oh just remind me what group canada were in? oh whats that they werent in 1! n plus thats rich that is a clone of america your just a binch of american rejects!

I’m going to keep this brief. Rooney is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and that’s understating it. This is not the first time he’s been provoked and then been sent off; a more mature player would have learned to control his temper by now. It’s in the best interest (if not an outright responsibility) of his club to help him with this, and frankly, if Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t send him to anger management classes now he isn’t doing his job properly.

Having said that, that spaghetti-haired stepovery see-you-next-Tuesday Ronaldo deserves everything that’s coming to him. Rooney will have to wait in line behind Van der Sar and Van Nistelrooy, though.

Firstly, many people are mentionning Eriksson and his ability and a manager: that’s outside this debate.

Secondly, other people are making quite frankly insulting remarks about England and our inability to win anything.

Thirdly, people are misquoting Shearer.

Fourthly, people are questionning Rooney’s ability. again, outside the debate

Too many people here are talking about irrelevant points. Please watch the video of the incident, and please think about the use of the word ’stamp’. Rooney does not stamp, he treads. Is it intentional, that is the question. Personally I think not: he is being pulled back by two players, putting him off balance. He could have fallen down himself and claimed a free-kick but he doesn’t. That’s a good temperament. He continues. Eventually he falls but still thinks only about winning the ball. He gets up again, he right leg touches the floor, his left leg the player’s groin. Can anybody see a change of action in his left leg’s movement. I can’t. Does he push it harder than you would if you thought it was to simply touch the ground. I think not.

Then his team-mate, a friend comes along to try to persuade the ref it was intentional. The ref would not have sent him off. Rooney gives him a push to tell him to stay out of it. What is wrong with that? He says something like ‘What are you here for?’ Or ‘What are you saying that for?’ Wouldn’t you do the same? That’s not petulence: it’s being disgusted with someone who you know, work with and who has not the slightest ounce of honesty and integrity to his name. Who else but the greatest cheat in the game: Christiano Ronaldo. Blame? Are you all watching the same game?

watching the match yesterday,couldn’t help but realize how overrated england was.They sat back and just kicked it around, never attacking.Not only was portugal the better team but they were much more exciting to watch.Beckham is a hasbeen and needs to just finish out his career in the american MLS, maybe he can do somthing again playing in our second tier soccer league.He sure doesn’t belong on the world cup stage anymore,nor does england for that matter. By the way beckham… don’t forget to bring your HOT wife(even though she can’t sing)with you when you come to the states!!

“Ronaldo deserves everything that’s coming to him” – just like he deserved that vicious cleat to the thigh in the Holland game, right?

DIANE:
THE WINK – I saw Ronaldo nod at Scolari who was making gestures to him to slow down. Were we there to listen to the conversation? Maybe they were saying, “Shoosh! That referee! He’s a stud!” How the heck do we know what was going on?

Gattuso, during Australia-Italy did something similar and to someone who wasn’t in his team at home (that I know). The fact that Rooney and Ronaldo play together explains Rooney’s gesture, in a way. But the referee had to take it as a physical offense and expell Rooney. (After he stomped a man’s most sensitive part… Ouch! He’s a big guy!)

TROY:
FOREIGN PLAYERS – “italy, brazil, france, portugal germany” don’t have leagues dominated by foreign players? I don’t think that is correct. Look at Inter (my childhood team, sob!) and you’ll see that foreigners make up the majority of the official team. France? I don’t know, they look pretty dark to me to be pure Frenchmen!

I do agree that there is an element of pride that is lost, but, hell, that is the market, and you cure that only by imposing restriction at a national or international level. But then, what about all those African, South American players who live on a modest wage, who have to hitch a ride to go the game, who live with friends when they play in another town? Shouldn’t they have a chance too to make some money if they play well?

THE COACH:
Listen, when Brasil won the World Cup with Scolari, all I heard from Brasilian fans, leading up to the finals, was how bad he was. Then, Brasil won and everyone started saying what good tactics he had, etc., etc.

Leave Ericcson alone. I would blame the overpaid players who, with the millions they make, cannot spare some energy to try to win a game for their country.

BTW:
Shearer should lose his job.

European players (and it seems South American referees) do not know how to handle Rooney’s astonishing strength – perhaps unparalleled in football. Maybe Rooney himself has to learn to manage his rugby physique more carefully too, especially in light of all the decisions that are going against him, as it is turning into more of a curse than a blessing. He can wrestle the ball from any player, or even as we saw, many players at a time. He can hold on to the ball despite being felled to the floor, getting up and muscling in all over again. Clearly the referee wanted to interrupt all this, as it is a part of the game difficult to control. A free-kick in Portugal’s favour was the decision, and the intimidated ref initially stood firm.

Is it possible FIFA are now investigating Rooney’s ‘violent’ conduct to legitimise the bizarre decision that followed, changing the game and appearing to all now, surely, very contentious. The referee may well say he showed the red for a ’stamp’ – but obviously it was for the ‘push’. Portugal’s deliberately orchestrated fracas, intending to make run-of-the-mill physicality look like mindless violence, provoked a gentle (and now wholly regrettable) push on the loathsomely narcissistic Ronaldo, the like seen in many matches, often rarely noticed or punished (at most with a yellow card). But this manufactured hysteria seduced the referee into pandering to the convenient prejudicial characterisation that Rooney is now finding difficult to shake off – the hooligan-on-the-pitch, the personification of British bulldog thuggery. It is a shame, but a reality, that our nation’s often distorted reputation extends now to our most talented player. He needs now not just to keep cool under pressure – which I feel he has managed to do extremely well over the last few years, and you can argue never lost it last night, either – but has to match the extraordinary talent with a similarly extraordinary ability to blank out the opposition. His future depends on it, clearly – either he can find a way to perform the same way without falling prone to this targeting (all great players inspire underhand reactions from intimidated opposition), or if he’ll need to continue in the same vein, in which case we’ll have to get very used to a mixture of euphoria and despair.

When I saw the incident with Rooney in live-action, I thought that Rooney had been fouled as he broke through the two players. I wondered why the referee didn’t call the foul.

Then when Rooney was called for the foul, I thought, “Oh, that’s not right.” But I thought it would just be a foul and change of possession, nothing more.

After seeing Rooney’s “step” in slow-motion, I still don’t agree that he did it intentionally.

Now, I’m not a referee; so, if he deserved a card (yellow or red) for the infraction, I’ll let others debate that point. However, I agree Jimmy Melrose (see above) – he wasn’t trying to step on the player.

However, I also don’t fault Ronaldo for pleading the case with the referee. EVERY match I watch has players pleading with the referee for him to call a foul or to show a card. Ronaldo was doing what every player does.

I also don’t see that Rooney’s shove of Ronaldo was particularly violent. It did seem to me that Rooney just couldn’t believe that his clubmate would do that. Very naive on Rooney’s part.

I’ve seen shoves like that in other matches of the World Cup with no foul called or card shown.

unfortunately the English media in particular will hound Wayne Rooney having insisted that he be included in the squad in the first place

WHEN ROONEY PUSHED RONALDO TWICE RONALDO DIDNT EVEN LOOK AT ROONEY AND FOR THE WINK SITUATION THEY WERE HAVIN A LAUGH AND PAULETA WAS HAVIN A LAUGH AS WELL. ANYWAY FOOTBALL IS PHYCILOGICAL ASWELL AND THE PORTUGUESE WON THAT BATTLE..WITH RONALDO “NOT BEEN FIT” HE WAS ALWAYS GONNA PLAY.

ENGLAND DID WELL WITH 10MEN BUT THERE IS NO NEED FOR EXCUSES BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS CONTROVERSY IN EVERY MATCH NO MATTER HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL, BUT ENGLAND SHOULD STOP LOOKING FOR EXCUSES AND JUST REALISE THAT THEY ARE OUT AND WILL HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER 4 YEARS TO TRY AND WIN THE CUP.

BUT THIS SITUATION HAS BEEN STIRRED UP TOO MUCH AND ENGLISH FANS NOW ARE BOUND TO TAKE IT OUT THE PORTUGUESE COZ WE’VE DONE THEM NOW 2 YEARS IN A ROW….THANKS TO RICARDO WHAT A HERO. PEOPLE SHOULD REALISE ITS A GAME OF FOOTY, ITS ALL FUN AND PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE A LAUGH BUT WHEN IT GETS VIOLENT ITS STUPID, AND ITS ALWAYS THE BLOODY ENGLISH STIRRING IT UP LIKE ALWAYS.

ENGLAND HAD JUST MANAGED TO GET TO THE 1/4 FINAL ANYWAY. SCRAPPED THROUGH THE GROUP STAGES AND PLAYED EASY ENOUGH TEAMS…WHERE AS PORTUGAL BEAT HOLLAND AND MEXICO, TWO VERY STRONG TEAMS…ENGLAND HAD SWEDEN AND JUST MANAGED A DRAW.

NEVER MIND ITS ONLY A GAME OF FOOTY AND THE BEST TEAM WENT THROUGH.

FORCA POTUGAL!

fifa are c***s, the ref’s a c**t and ronaldos c**t!

well its penalities again ! England three lions have been dismissed having failed to find the net in another penalty shoot out………so its a myopic three lions who after all aren´t renowned for the penalty taking prwowess ……..raaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

The problem is not with Rooney.

The problem is that the incident is the result of poor refereeing. We have seen in all the matches, the standard of the referees of the world cup.

Rerefee’s do not know what is the difference of diving and a bad tackle and a professional foul (professional will better know how they do it)

FIFA rules are in the book. Referee has the authority.

Not the best teams are in the semifinals.

agreed – this world cup referees were trying to be tough on diving, but what about all the screaming and writhing on the ground – how can you penalise this? Just has to be tougher standards all round – cards should be reserved for blatant and serious cheating, not a few kicks round the ankles. It won’t impede the ‘beautiful’ game to let some physicality back in – best players have always been tough – Maradona could be kicked all day and he still ran rings around them. Rooney is similar – he can handle it – many softer flair players don’t improve the game by dropping to the floor every few mins

Kicking in the groin is a Red Card! Kicking a fallen player in the groin should be punishable not only with a Red Card but with monitary consequences also. Pusing another player on the field in front of the Referee is another Red Card! Blame Christiano Ronaldo all you can, it was Rooney’s doing.

Michael:

Explain to me then what Klose and Podolski are doing in the Mannschaft. BY your logic, since they were not born in Germany, the should not be representing your country either.

I bet you if Germany gets too much into trouble in the future and can’t get a good coach, they will hire a foreigner too.

Good football knows no boundries.

there was no absolutely no kick in the groin, and if you send off every player who ‘pushes’ then we’d be left with 7 a side each game- sure he shouldn’t have reacted but it was minor – penalise the actors and protestors trying to get the opposition in trouble, not those who are passionate to play and win

As far as the Rooney incident, whereas it was the stomp or the push that led to his departure, his constant bickering, swearing and complaining to the referees helped.

If the referee has to constantly remind you to stay quiet, and you keep insulting them, you are putting yourself in a position to be carded at any slight provocation.

Players from the other team will know that as well and will poke and prod until they get that reaction and an expulsion.

In other words, Rooney is out because he lacks the smarts to realize this (and because he stomped on a player’s willy and pushed another one)

To all the English fans in Berlin that were gloating Argentina’s defeat in PK’s to Germany. . . All I have to say is “chau” see you in 2010…

Ronaldo has the looks and manner of a weasel. His step-over crap is not pretty to watch, but he is a danger as a player. He is a true piece of Eurotrash and lacks integrity so long as it will get him the win. He tried to make Crouch feel guilty for not kicking the ball out when one of his Portuguese was on the ground faking injury (calling on Crouches sportsmanship). Meanwhile Ronaldo is the last person I think of when it comes to sporting players. He is a weasel, notwithstanding that he is effective and at least has the bravery to run at players with the ball which is something England only started doing once the crisis set in (after the sending off). England’s loss was due to a bunch of things. Lack of ambition for one. idiotic lone striker tactic which ended in Rooney’s frustrated stamp. Awesome penalty-saving by the Portuguese goal-keeper. He has to be man of the match by far.

many players bicker and swear at the ref – he’s just made an example because he represents what many still think of English and football – hooliganism and thuggery. He needs to recognise the targeting even more now – i wouldn’t deny he’s aggressive and passionate and has in past let his temper get the better of him – but he’s changed in recent years. Pity opposition and refs can’t as well

Rooney was fouled by both players before he ever stepped on that guys nuts. Not to mention the reason he stepped on the package was because he was held in a scissor hold. We’ll just have to wait and see Ronaldo cry like when Portugal gets outed… Remember Euro 2004…

> BY your logic, since they were not born in Germany, the should not be representing your country either.

Incorrect – they ARE German citizens (Klose immigrated when he was 8 years old, Podolksi when he was 2). Eriksson however is NOT a English citizen, he remains a Swede, he was only hired with the Euro Championship 2004 and World Cup 2006 in mind. He doesn’t want to immigrate, so what’s your point?

> I bet you if Germany gets too much into trouble in the future and can’t get a good coach, they will hire a foreigner too.

Unlikely, we always had German coaches (Nerz, Herberger, Schoen, Derwall, Beckenbauer, Vogts, Ribbeck, Völler, Klinsmann) and we still have a gazillion options for our next coach -> there’s no shortage of ex-World-Cup-Winners who became coaches after here in Germany ;)

I agree,England has itself 2blame.The lads haven’t playrd to our expectations.Truth be told Wayne Rooney is not the most disciplined player.He deserved the boot he lacks discipline.The lads were to dependant on Rooney too,he was too isolated and too glorified.

Dom

“always the bloody English stirring it up….”

Hmmmmmmm obviously living in England has rubbed-off on you my little Portugaleeze friend.

The difference between Rooney and Ronaldo is cleary defined in that one moment. I suggest we keep Rooney and you can keep Ronaldo.

But on one thing we agree, Forca Portugal!

Jodido: yes.

Rene: explain to me how Eriksson represents ‘good football’, exactly. He has been a complete failure, because he’s not the right type of manager for a national team. I would argue that Eriksson’s undeniable qualities as a club manager (caution, ability to spread resources over a long season, recognising the value of a boring draw) are exactly what disqualify him as the manager of a national team. With a national team, every game is (or should be) make or break, and you need to take risks. Eriksson never has (he brought Walcott along but he was never going to play him), and never will.

Jezza:

You miss my point. For every Eriksson,the is a Scolari, a Bora Milutinovic or a Beenhaker that leads a country to overachieve with limited resurces.

Heck, I’m grateful that Mexico had Menotti for a while. He was the catalyst that brought Mexico to modernity after all those dissapointing years of being on the bottom of the list after every world cup.

So by “good football knows no boundries”, all I’m saying is that it shouldn’t natter what nationality your coach is, as long as he is doing so to the best of his ability, and with the intention to make that national team better.

Jezza, you answered just as I expected a hooligan Limey would. So much for fair play, eh?

No player deserves to be injured to the point where they can’t continue playing in a match.

FIFA are to investigate Rooney who got sent off for violet conduct. FIFA will not investigate Figo’s headbutt as the ref gave him a yellow card.

FIFA Fair Play my arse!

To the Canadian person who wrote the second comment “fab” All I want to say learn to speak and write our language before you think of slagging it and us off.

At the end of the match the score is 0-0. For all the histrionics with Rooney, Ronaldo the referee etc., England can still win. The Portugeese keeper is magnificent and the English in the shootout all look defeated before they step to the ball. England has no one to blame but themselves. They folded at the worst possible time.

I’m sorry for England and believe me, no fan of Ronaldo, but I can’t believe the defense of Rooney which is basically coming down to “Ronaldo made him do it.” Beyond the fact that these are grown-ups here and I don’t know about the rest of you, but that defense never even worked for me when I was a little kid, there’s the fact that these are highly paid professionals and part of their job is keeping their cool in situations like that. Players bait each other; fans bait players. It’s all part of being a player, just like dealing with the pressure is—and if you can’t deal you don’t belong there.

I like Rooney a lot as a player, but he has to learn to control his temper.

ronaldo deserved a yellow for instigating, rooney a yellow for unfortunately reacting, a free kick for the portugese for the debatable foul,although all i saw was rooney typically competing for the ball with two opposing players one of whom who was pulling him to the ground! being a british born canadian, the silver lining of the event was, on canada day,watching owen hargrieves tear up the pitch,and made all canadian football fans proud by playing honest,hard,sporting english soccer, no diving, no whining,no alterior motive other than to play his best start to finish,..ronaldo take note!

I don’t believe that foreign coaches should manage teams in international competitions.

I know that these comments are not related to the topic of the post; however, I am addressing the issue, as others have already brought it up.

Please keep in mind that I say this knowing that the ranks of American managers are very thin. I don’t know which American coach could step in and replace Arena (though he needs to be replaced).

A team consists not just of the players, but of the coaching staff as well. The team (including coaches) should be of the nationality of the nation they represent.

I am not opposed to having naturalized players and coaches represent the teams.

Just because a nation’s coaching ranks don’t have much talent is not an excuse to have foreign coaches.

Using that justification, then a nation could justify having foreign (non-naturalized) players on their teams because their player pools are small.

Keep nationl teams representative of their nations – at all positions.

This incident is reminiscent of the 1998 Argentina-England match where Beckham kicked an Argentine and was sent off. He remained the darling of Englsh football and his failure to play the ball on the sideline in the 44th minute lead to Ronaldino’s glorious run and assist to Rivaldo which wasted Owen’s beautiful goal.

I would say that the rules of football are a bit skewed when in the same tournament Holland’s Bergkampf is not sent off for stomping on one of Serbia’s players. The problem is that the rules of soccer/football are not uniform and are discretionary. There is too much action on the pitch for one referee and two assistants to cover all of the field and action.

Yellow and Red cards are not uniformly given…leading me to believe there should be a time penalty for these infractions and the team should play short for a period of time rather than for the rest of the contest. Ten minute and twenty minute send offs would be far more equitable unless serious injury was the result leading to that player’s removal from the pitch.

However, one cannot and should not excuse Rooney’s actions. As Beckham remained the darling of English football after his disgrace in 98, and his failure in 02 lead to the defeat to Brazil, Rooney will remain England’s now and English football and their steadfast followers will be the losers.

Ok here’s my take on the incedent. From the view of a Portugal fan, but I’ll try to keep it a neutral opinion unlike a lot of you have been doing. Rooney stomped on the players crotch, that right there, is a red card plain and simple. Ronaldo didn’t need to intervene, but I doubt that had anything to do with the ref’s final decision because he was already running at Rooney with disciplinary intent. Ronaldo just did what most team mates would do when they see their player possibly injured out of malice. He went and gave the ref a piece of his mind. That’s not what’s wrong with the picture, any other player would react the same way in teh situation, and you all know this. What’s wrong is Ronaldo’s teasing wink after the card was issued, which was immature and made it look as if his intent was solely to get Rooney the red card, and that his mission was “accomplished” so to speak. But that’s not what he was thinking about the second he ran over to the ref to complain. The well being of your fellow player is more important than what most of you thought was a selfish plot to take Rooney out of the game.

For those of you watching the Cup, you had to notice Rooney’s maltempered demeaner in the Ecuador game..he spent most of the game screaming and gesturing, mouthing obscenties at the officials and the opponents. Winston Churchill he is not…can’t take the slightest bit of pressure and when things don’t go his way, WATCH OUT, your team is going to be short a player soon. Wayne Rooney is nothing but a reflection of a country that was and always will be, overrun by beer drinking alcoholics, HOOLIGANS, bent on destruction and violence to achieve their goals….ask the fans of their opponents. What they did in Albufeira Algarve, destroying the city after losing to Portugal in the Euro Championships, was deplorable and a reflection of a long, infamous history of violence. I see people complaining about Ronaldo’s whining..have you been watching what I have, Wayne Rooney is unrivaled at that part of the game. As for Alan Shearer, who’s he? Won nothing, done nothing…just shut up and collect your money for your “expert” analysis. Don’t incite people to further your own agenda Mr.Alan Hooligan. Don’t forget where the word “hooligans” was invented and certainly don’t forget those who died because of this kind of behavior. In closing, I just want to say that if ever there was a team that deserves to lose against Portugal, it’s England, for the theft of the ‘66 semi-final…and also to show that all the Pound notes in the world can’t buy you dignity, grace and sportsmanship.

When we won against the Netherlands, everyone blamed the Referee. No one thought we were going to win and that it was just “LUCK” that we did even though 3 of our best players were taken out of the game.

When we won against England, everyone blamed Cristiano Ronaldo for WINKING at SCOLARI after ROoney got Red-Carded. And the English made it sound like all we did was tell Rooney to STEP ON THAT GUY’S CROTCH AND PUSH RONALDO and BOOOOOM WE WON THE GAME! hahaha.

I wonder what everyone will say once we win against France?

I find it hilarious how people are such SORE LOSERS. u lose u lose. If we had lost against England, which I thought we we were going to, especially because Everyone was ROOTING for you guys. We , the Portuguese FAns, would have accepted it.

We played without DEco and COstinha and half of team had yellow cards and we would have said “WELL DONE MATE” if you guys won. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE it was all about what happened in THE END.
In the PENALTY KICKS – Rooney did not step on someones CROTCH. ROnaldo didnt TEASE ROONEY.

The reason we won was because of TEAM WORK. and because we got THREE GOALS and you guys ONLY GOT ONE. THanks to the TALENTED RICARDO.

When we won against netherlands all i heard was “YOu guys were lucky but England wil Kick your guys’ ass especially cause you’re team will be weakened then”

When we won against England I was hoping to hear a “good job” but all i’ve heard and still am hearing is “FRANCE WILL EAT YOU GUYS ALIVE”

I’m glad nothing gets to me cause I sure will punch someone in the face if I was a hot tempered loser like ROONEY.
I’m glad that I surround myself with Fans who are in here to watch the BEAUTY OF THE GAME and to not point fingers when the game isn’t involved.

Goodbye

Bob, your comments have some truth to them. But Ronaldo still acted with little integrity. How he acted reflects on his feelings toward the English fans he plays for in the Premier league.

Ronaldo is an unlikable character because of his stupid games and whining.
He had few friends in England before the world cup and now has fewer still.
Shearers comments were emotional which echoed my own outrage but at the same time Rooney sealed his own fate by reacting.
Had Rooney stayed on the pitch, I believe England would not have won the game.
After Rooney’s exit, I felt England really stepped up the game and when Beckaham limped off England started to look like a threat.
It all comes down to negative attitudes that are strong in England and poor coaching tactics.
Lennon was the much needed inclusion in the squad which we saw too little of.
One more point, To all the foolish England fans who got drunk and threw bottles and the ones who booed Owen Hargreaves early in the tournement,
I wish you good mental health.
Owen Hargreaves was my man of the match playing in his natural role and a real English hero.He made me feel proud to be English.

NIce reportage and hyperbole, but thats not what Shearer said.

Shearer said: “I think there’s every chance that Wayne Rooney could go back to the Manchester United training ground and stick one on Ronaldo because he hasn’t helped him there. We all know he’s frustrated but he can’t do that.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/england/5137378.stm

read the article before you post shite like that…

FRANK LAMPARD IS STILL THE BIGGEST CULPRIT FOR THE ENGLAND TEAM….HE SHOULD VOLUNTARILY DONATE ALL THE MONEY THAT HE EARNS TO A CHARITY TO REPENT FOR HIS CRIME

1. Rooney can and will be a great player he just needs to control his temper and develop mentally.
2. Real Madrid needs C.RONALDO to continue the tradition of overhyped arrogant failures (FIGO and BECKS) i forgot pretty boys.
3.HARGREAVES and CARVALHO were TERRIFIC!
5. Shame DECO couldn’t play.
6. SHEARER=IDI0T
7. Rooney deserved the red it isn’t grape stomping season yet!

AND TO THOSE WHO WONT STOP Criticizing ROnaldo.

How would you guys’ Feel if One of the Portuguese guys Stepped on Rooneys CROTCH or something??
WOuld you leave him alone???

OBVIOUSLY NOT.

Cristiano Ronaldo was obviously UPSET that that STUPID rooney stepped on his TEamMates CROTCH. thats what a REAL TEAM player does. a REAL portuguese who cares about his CO-Portuguese player.

TO diane:
WHy would Cristiano LEave ROONEY ALONE? huh? just because they both play for MAN U he doesnt have any right to defent his poor teammate who is sitting there crying in agony about his balls being STEPPED ON?

You guys are a bunch of SORE LOSERS.

BLAME ROONEY for being a 4 year OLD. blame him for not having any brains left in that small head of his. Who causes a scene in front of a referee?? seriously? He deserved that RED CARD. Stop blaming Ronaldo. and accept that fact that you guys LOST.

goodbye.

Rooney screwed up and Ronaldo played him like he knew he could. That the ref appeared to be influenced by Ronaldo is sadly disappointing. Crouch was great, though.

i m sorry to say this to those who blame ronaldo for the expulsion of rooney. if you are a soccer player , you will know that ronaldo didn`t do anything bad , but just apply the rule governing soccer.every team comes to win not display emotion .
ronaldo is there to carry on his country in the fair manner not care about what england people think.and with no offense real soccer player should know that the referee is the only judge of the game and all decisions come through him.so please let be realistic and apply soccer rules and knowledge that being emotional.

A few points I’d like to make:
1) I was at the match and the behaviour of many english “fans” was disgraceful. Jeering at the portuguese fans and throwing beer and pushing old men. Disgusting display of why the English are hated around the world.
2) Having said that I also met and chatted with true English gentlemen who honour their country by their civilised behaviour and fair play. Too bad they are overshadowed by the trailer park trash that seems to follow England around the tournaments and tarnishes the country’s image.
3) The English (here I’m referring to the yobs and hooligans at the match and in Gelsenkirchen) talk a lot about fair play yet I saw none on their part after losing. I saw some fat tart spitting on some bloke’s portuguese flag, tossing off a car full of portuguese children and yelling obscenities and “CHEAT” everytime they passed a portuguese fan. This was the behaviour I saw from many, many of the English present (thankfully not all).
4) There was no cheating at this match. The game was played hard and was intense (the English put on an impressive display down to 10). In the end England crashed out due to Rooney’s shameful behaviour, nervousness and a great performance from Ricardo.
5) Shearer shame on you for your comments. I used to be a fan but your attitude disgusts me. You are encouraging the sour grapes mentality and condoning violence in football, precisely why England has such a bad reputation.
6) Rooney only has himself to blame. He got the red card for kicking an opposing player in the nuts with his studs. That’s a red card anywhere in the world and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets further banned after FIFA reviews the video. Again I believe Rooney is a victim of the violent yob mentality that i described above and is condoned and encouraged by the English press and apparently players (Shearer).

To sum up: England you only have yourself to blame. Suck it up and take it like a man. And if you can’t eradicate the yob culture then perhaps you shouldn’t be allowed to compete in any of the tournaments.
There, it had to be said.

To all the civilised english fans out there, I believe it is in your own interest to rid the sport of this yob mentality. After all, it is England that pays the price for its tolerance of these animals.

and who really cares about Ronaldo WInking??”?
We are all human beings. we have EMOTIONS. what did you expect him to do? CRY right after Rooney got red carded??? I think he cries enough and its about time he does something else besides pouting and crying.

Whenever Im in a competition and my competitor does something that worked to MY advantage. Obviously that makes me HAPPY. Ronaldo wouldn’t have been able to PREDICT that ROoney was going to STEP ON THAT Guys CROTCH AND PUSH HIM. He’s not GOD.

It’s just obvious that Rooney has a bad temper and because he got red carded for that.. RONALDO. SCOLARI and the PORTUGUESE team all had EVERY SINGLE RIGHT TO CELEBRATE. and if that means WINKING. then whutever. let them wink. they weren’t about to JUMP up and DOWN and HIGH FIVE each other were they? The media would have a field day if they did esp bec this one WINK already game em much to talk about. imaging if they were actually screaming with jOY?

We didn’t Deliberately PHYSICALLY hurt ROONEY and try to get him out of the game. He is the one who stepped on our guys’ willy. so BACK OFF. and send ROONEY to one of your guys’ very POSH school to teach him some manners and to learn to control his TEMPER.

Rooney is a punk, who deserved to get thrown out. Ronaldo was only going over to see if his teamate was alright and Rooney pushed up out of the way. It is a red card read Law 12, section 2.

England’s exit comes down to the “ards” not being able to deliver during the tourney: Gerrard, Lampard and Retard (Wayne Rooney). Arguably two of the best midfielders in the world, the first two had very subpar matchs in the tournament. Rooney on the other hand was injured and valiantly recovered, working hard to get himself fit. He would have been much admired for that gallant effort, if not for his awful childish display and red card. He’s got to figure out what his team needs from him (to stay on the field) — and this is based on his behavior across many matchs — not just what he needs emotionally at a point in time.

I think most of you people are very iggnorant and do not look at the full picture. Over all the game was pretty much 50/50 like most suspected it would be. Both teams are strong but have different ways of playing…In my opinion Portugal was the better team because i dont kno if anyone noticed…but in the second half England was just more focused on defending…they had 8 out of the 10 players up at their goal (10 bc Rooney was out by then) To me a good well balanced team should not have to be playing all defensivly…(they knew they were in deep water..that is why they changed their tactics)
On the other note….Ronaldo and Rooney are teamates on Man U so all you people who are sitting here complaining that England lost because Ronaldo “set Rooney up” better go watch the game again…Because i dont think Ronaldo made Rooney grab Carvalho and the others to not let them get to the ball and then step on carvalho’s groin whether or not it was an accident…oh and Rooney did NOT have to push Ronaldo….he could have ignored it…so you sore losers out there get OVER IT.. England lost because Portugal was Better!

interestin entry i must say and i definitely enjoyed reading it. :) it basically sum up what i’m feeling. ronaldo is not to be blame- rooney has himself to blame for not keepin his temper in check. clearly you have illustrated your point and i see no reason why ppl should refute your arguments.

well abby

i live in canada and im not canadian

everything i said is true

its sad tht the english media over rates england but every wc they make themselves favorites

“we are gonna win this time!!!”

oh please you won once at home
and besides that is there any other trophies?

no so that leads me to believe that england is a farce

As a Portuguese-American I am very proud of how far Portugal has come. These last games are going to extremely hard on any losing team, but you can’t just blame the other team for your loss. England didn’t lose just because Rooney got a red card. In the end it came down to penalty kicks and if it wasn’t for Ricardo, then who knows how the game would have ended. As for Ronaldo and his whining and pouting, leave it, did anyone make a comment on Beckhams pouting yesterday??

Viva Portugal!

“Real Madrid needs C.RONALDO to continue the tradition of overhyped arrogant failures (FIGO and BECKS) i forgot pretty boys.”

ok.

what’s with dogging on Figo?

if you’ve got an issue with hard working players who devote their best effort to playing a game in order to win, then i do believe you should start watching another sport.

what needs to be said is Portugal has made it this far without having to step on anyone’s groin and i think its high time people stop sugar coating their own teams flaws and blaming their losses on another team. It doesn’t make a difference whether Ronaldo winks, crys, pouts or laughs. It’s about playing the game honestly and winning.

Looks like that’s what Portugal has done.

Forca Portugal!

The only thing Ronaldo did was sell out Rooney to the ref. I don’t blame him. England played a terrible game, and they should take responsibility for that. When it comes down to it, it’s your club versus your country. Which would you pick? I stand behind Ronaldos decision 150%. And if England doesn’t want him, some other team will, that’s for sure. And even if they dont [oh yeah, sure.] women all over the world will still adore him.

It’s Rooney’s own stupid fault. However, Ronaldo wasn’t helping and the interference wasn’t necessary. I agree that Rooney would have only received a yellow card if not for Ronaldo’s provocation. Rooney has only himself to blame for getting into that situation, but Ronaldo definitely exploited it. The question is, was it a clever tactical move on Ronaldo’s part, or a dirty trick?

still an England fan all the way, despite the disappointing performance at the World Cup. it’s bullsh*t when people claim Beckham isn’t a great player — tell that to Ecuador! true, his value is on the set pieces and ball placement, but he can bend and cross it like no other in the league, except for maybe Zidane.

trying to blame Ronaldo is pathetic!!!

how can you cry for Ronaldo’s sportmanship to defend Rooney steeping Carvalho groin area and then pushing another player right in front of the referee???? Is that your sportmanship?!?!?! Rooney can step, push, etc etc but noone can annoy the semi-god?!?!’

Rooney is violent and a model of stupidity.
England should choose another player as their leader, role-model, god, because this boy is a disgrace!

How do you dare talking about sportmanship!?!?! you have a lot of nerve or you are blind!!!

Everybody knows some english are sore loosers and all the world is astonished with this pathetic attitude. Suggesting what Shearer did should give him a police arrest for inciting violence!

a good advice: shut up talking about Ronaldo and thank God for losing in a game where you did well.

UNioNHaCk, you’re f***in stupid! Arrogant failures and pretty boys? I can only laugh… i think u and the rest of the English should continue to play cricket and forget football. When Figo arrived at Real Madrid, he took the team on his back, was spanish champion, won the champions league and was considered the best player in the World. Any doubt? No.Just your stupidity!

I think Rooney and Ronaldo are just two sides of the same coin, immature brats without a hint of personality. A dumb Englisch brute and a showboat…

Can they play ? Frankly, I don’t know, but both of them didn’t perform in this cup at all.

The real loosers of this match are the British fans, in and out of the arena they displayed a quite despiseable behaviour. And I consider myself a britophile .

I’ve always supported both English and Portugese football, so I had no favourite in this game.
Portugal looked stronger throughout the game, and England never looked really strong from the start of the tournament.
The ref confirmed that the red card was for the boot in the groin, so it’s got nothing to do with Ronaldo.
Would England have won with Rooney? Unlikely as he didn’t have any help up front, and Ricardo would have still kept his cool and made those brilliant saves. At the end of the day, Ricardo was the player who took England out, and Portugal further.

Next time rooney wants to step on anyone’s crotch in a game, he should make sure the referee isn’t standing behind him! Ahahaha! It was bloddy hilarious seeing him do that, with the referee one meter behind watching it so close!
Força Portugal!

I can’t believe how English fans do not pin the blame on the real reasons their team lost the game- horrendous penalty kicks and Rooney. That guy is an animal. he is a disgrace to not only English football but to the sport itself.
That guy is an embarrassment to the dignified players on the team like Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Hargreaves, etc.
Some fan djustified that beast’s behavior as being “just passionate and emotional” after his groin-stomping yesterday.
Let’s see how emotional Rooney will feel when he is watching Portugal play France Wednesday. I hope his white trash girlfriend is around then in the event he feels an urge to trample on some crotch.

JANUS from Belgium-
I could not agree with you more! Very-well written and very very true!
Thanks for that post!
It is true that not all English fans are the hooligans that show up at the games and cause problems for everyone else. Although I was rooting for Portugal because in my opinion they were the underdogs preceding the match, I felt the sorriest for the old “English gents” who, like you said, pay tribute to their country and team by behaving in a civilized manner, even when their team loses.
It’s a pity that more trash can’t be filtered and banned from the games permanently.

Klinsman sold out…. he might as well be American.

Well! A kick in the nuts in football for the english people is something usual.. maybe for you only a yellow card is right! come on! think a little further!! We have tryed to score much more than you guys! you where afraid and all the world saw it!

Be nice!

I am ashamed of my countrymen!!!! They have outplayed themselves yet again. a true english tradition. Even there colonies have won independence against them. But to the heat of the matter, was it not the same rooney that has been sent off for his childish attitudes so many times in the league? Everyone is blaming ronaldo and talking about friend, but why did rooney not behave friendly and appologise to the recipient of his studs or even show some concern if he reaaaallly did not mean to do it?? All these english footballers are now good actors, like becks, puking on the field trying to get simpathy one day and then limping off the next, again trying to get sympathy!!!! Typical English always looking for someone else to blame. Soar loooooooooooooooosers. I wonder how much we paid for the 66 cup???

christiano ronaldo is a sly football player and portugal did not deserve to win. rooneys attacked was provoked as far as i can see.. Ronaldo obviously knows what would wind the englands chance of succsess up and has passed his knowledge on to the other portugese team members. C Ronaldo is HATED by many people and i wish france all the best in thrasing protugal in the semis!! whooooo GOOOOOO FRANCE teach ronaldo a lesson or two!:D

alex:

I´m very happy to know that like you are many other english. And we are happy to be in your conscience in the next days. About france I think we are going to play with mature players and forget child behaviors like we saw in our last game. Make a little favour to the comunity: “grow up!”

” Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the blame for England’s World Cup exit? ”

Hell no!

England played like crap in the first half. They deserve to loose. Their entire campaign was weak and uninspired and it caught up with them yesterday.

They have noone to blame but themselves.

First of all, CRonaldo’s wink shows some complicity in getting Rooney sent off i.e. getting Rooney to shove him which added to the earlier foul and may have put Rooney over the top into the red card.

Whether it was planned fom the start is conjecture but I say it’s typical Big Phil tactics i.e. negative football and not allowing your opponents to play either by denying space, hacking, playing psych games, winding players up whatever. He was well known for this at Cruziero and then later as national team coach of Brazil. His club teams in Brazil always played ugly football. He has brought that sordid but pragmatic style to Portugal and sad to say they are winning with it.

Rooney bears some personal responsibility for losing his cool but the coaching staff of England bear the greatest responsibility for not anticipating this collateral attack from Big Phil(foul, get rid of key players, flop and waste time, and play counters). He did it to them when Costinha was sent out to put Rooney out of the game in Euro 2004 which he promptly did with a brutal tackle on Rooney’s foot. England collapsed after the loss of their talisman and lost, why would they think that Big Phil would try anything different this time around?

Also let us not forget that Rooney was being mugged by two Portuguese players jsut prior tot eh red card, and where was the call then? The ref took an eternity to make a call and when he finally did it ended up being Rooney’s retaliation. About 5 secs went by where 2 Portugese were on either side of Rooney hanging all over him not even trying to play the ball. If he had been an Italian or a Portuguese player he would have flopped immediately and got the call, but by trying to power through it and stay on his feet like a man, he got no call and as he started to lose the ball and his cool got a red card instead.

Lastly Ericsson is a an average coach at best. He subbed in Crouch when it was clear that if there was any time to use young Walcott it was with 10 men when you are packing it in and playing for counters. That means you need pace up front and yet we were treated to the sight of the ungainly stickman Crouch running his heart out but with no chance of getting to those balls that were played out of the English defense. A fast striker could have got to them and maybe made something out of them when there were only two Portuguese defenders marking the lone striker and almost a half pitch of space behind them. A quick ball over the top or through the gap and it becomes a track meet. Crouch could never have won that track meet, Walcott could which is elementary coaching 101.

A final note that was positive from this game and that was Owen Hargreaves. What a performance that guy put in. He was everywhere running his guts out, all heart and resolve, playing positve fotball getting into the attack and running back on defense creating chances and making his penalty kick unlike his more heralded colleagues J. Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, et al. He reminds us of the English players of old before the glitz, glam, and hype except that he is really a Canadian and plays all of his football in Germany and so was out of favor with the English press and public. Man of the match for me and I dare say his performance in that match was as inspiring as Zidane’s in the Brazil game and both rank up there as two of the best this Cup.

England deserved better, they had the talent but the coaching and tactics let them down.

Im glad Brazil lost because they have been arrogant of late especially that fat bum,Ronaldo.They think that they can allways win without working for it and this arrogance caught up with them against France.In their game with Ghana,Ronaldo never exchanged pleasantries or jersies with the Ghana players after the match.Thats sickening.

Much talk has been made about Ronaldo’s friendship with Rooney. But what about his friendship with Carvalho? His commraderie and team spirit? His national pride? It appears that the ref was about to let yet another major card-related injustice occur in this tourney, by only giving a freekick to the bullheaded and tempermental Rooney. I would have done the same thing, for my friend AND fellow teammate AND fellow citizen, Ricardo Carvalho. Why should his friendship with Rooney trump all of this in allowing the latter’s temper to run amok? By setting aside his friendship with Rooney in favour of his team and country’s interest, Ronaldo made a very principled decision. When on the football pitch, he owes NOTHING to Rooney.

I agree with the main post. Whatever you may say about the circumstances that led to Rooney getting a red card, in the end, it was Rooney and his temper that brought the ire of the ref. After all – it’s SOOOO obvious that it was Ronaldo’s fault that Rooney defended the ball flailing his arms like a baboon, went down grabbing Carvalhos thigh, stepped back and maliciously tried to smash his balls, and then pushed Ronaldo when the latter was trying to talk to the ref.

So typically English. Let’s divert everyone’s attention from lacklustre play and failed strategy by externalising anger on something easy. In this case, an “other” – notably a darker skinned, ethnic “other”: Ronaldo. Let’s cast aspersions on the character of someone else, by undermining their footballing acumen. Just take a look at http://www.ihateronaldo.com to see what I mean. If only the English would devote the same misguided zeal towards improving their skill and teamwork ability, then maybe they would be able to win these games with pride, with little need to foam at the mouth.

England team really sucks for theres enough blame to go round.From an incompetent coach who plays one man up front,Rooney who is so childish and who is no star but the English press imposes him unto the coaches,overated players like Lampard and Gerrard,overall lack of killer instinct on the part of the players.But I feel sorry for Ashley Cole cos that guy works so hard.
Tony Anakani,
Houston Texas,USA.

And Rooney wasnt fouled in that tangle up prior to the ref browing the whistle? 3 players around him and you honestly believe nobody fouled him? The fact that it was Portugal makes it even more likely that a foul was committed. That theatrical whiner Ronaldo must have rubbed off on his teammates.

As for the foul, well, let me put it this way – if Rooney really wanted to sterlize that joker, he would have. Carvalho was up and running within minutes. You dont need to take one to the cojones to know it takes longer than that to recover.

Our Bermudian friend need only remember the villification of Beckham and not his “ethnically darker skinned other” Simeone. To make such claims of racism are idiotic. He should quit his hypernationalistic blabber about countrymen and accept that the least Ronaldo could have done was stay out of it.

Anybody who thinks Ronaldo was driven by nationalism is clearly misguided – this is the same kid who’s resgional accent resulted in such mockery that he nearly got kicked out of Sporting Lisbon’s academy.

Rooney was most certainly at fault for letting his temper get the better of him, but lets not absolve Ronaldo for his less than acceptable behaviour. Football acumen is all very well, but football is a sport. Ronaldo may be a brilliant footballer but to try and send someone off in this manner reeks of a lack of sportsmanship.

When was the last time you saw England players crowd and pressure a referee for a red card?

The reason Hargreaves is such a gentleman is that he plays in Germany, where people seem to teach life lessons as well as soccer lessons. The English have always been bullies stealing what they can’t earn through hard work, i.e., the world’s most famous pirates…too lazy to work hard for what they want. As for Beckham, he’s a product of good old fashion marketing…never having accomplished the slightest thing, he’s a fake in the worst way….a way to sell England’s jerseys, nothing else. Someone referred to the Ecuador game, he did nothing…Mora the goalie was way out of position when the free kick was taken. I implore anyone to show me his body of work with a winning ending…stupid spiceboy.

Wayne Rooney is a disgrace. The only thing worse than his actions are the excuses everyone is making for him. He chose to step on Carvahlo’s groin and then proceed to start shoving people trying to break up his little tantrum.
How do you excuse that? If you’re England’s coach I would recommend the Ozzie Guillen approach. Publicly villify him and tell him to grow up.
I don’t know a whole lot about Ronaldo’s actions at Man U, but I do know he has played in the Cup with dignity and maturity… unlike Wayne Rooney. This is a TEAM sport. If he can’t keep his anger management issues to himself, then maybe he should take up a sport where only he can blame failure on himself, like tennis or pole vaulting. If blame were to be placed for England’s loss it only lays on the heads of Rooney and those dopes who keep making excuses for him. Grow up!

Portugal is my home country and when people blame things on my people I get pissed. What kind of crap is it blaming it on Ronaldo. That’s just bull****.
Rooney stepped on carvalho’s nuts and went and shoved ronaldo. What the hell is that. It’s a red card, that’s what it is. tough sh*t for rooney. go home. Portugal desserved and they did, because england sucks at penalties

England without a doubt exploited Wayne Rooney. His foot injury was not properly healed, at least psychologically, and he shouldn’t have been fielded. Bent or Defoe could have done better, but both are dark-skinned blacks. England knows Rooney has a thuggish disposition, and the English Football Association and/or Manchester United should have assisted him to control his temper.
Wayne’s red card has nothing to do with pretty boy Cristiano Ronaldo. FIFA should impose the stiffest fine possible. The whole world was watching and you don’t want impressionable youngsters
learning to play soccer in every corner of the globe to think that you can stomp an opponent in the groin and go scot-free.

I’ll keep it brief:
English football is just lame. As for Portugal….
au revoir!

Though I am not an England, I am very suprised about how the national team did it. One of the best soccer nation could not accomodate a group of wonderful players. Do not tell me I am wrong about the quality of Lampard, Gerrard, Cole, Terry Cole and some others , Of course I never agreed on recruiting Ronney, but that was one of my team. This great nation who I do not belong to has wonderful schools and the football is a way of leaving. You mention Brazil in America continent, I tell you about England in Europe. Soccer is like that. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THIS GAME IS GETTING BETTER AROUND THE WORLD. JUST WAIT FOR AMERICA IN THE NEXT WORLD SOCCER CUPS. IN SPECIAL WAIT FOR R.L.He is getting ready

Rooney may have a bad temper, but I don’t think he should have been red carded. I think he should have been yellow carded for the push on Cristiano Ronaldo. If you really watch, Ricardo Carvalho’s was holding Rooney’s left knee between his knees when he was on the ground. Rooney had to balance his weight on his right foot. So in order for him not to fall on his face, he would have to plant his left foot somewhere…unfortunately it was on Ricardo Carvalho’s groin because he didn’t let go of Rooney. He got what he deserved. With that being said, sorry England lost but maybe it’s about time they got rid of that old good-for-nothing coach of theirs. And for Portugal, good job on making it this far, but your pretty boy Ronaldo and oldtimer Figo will not win you a World Cup title this year.

This debate is pointless, everyone will interpret different things from replays…initially I thought there was no doubt of Rooney’s intent to injure Carvalho, after watching it a few more times I’m not so convinced…either way he made his own downfall by acting out with a push (particularly in light of the melee between Arg and Ger)…the referee was giving Rooney a free kick and he blew it…He might of got a yellow if not for the push…anyway Ronaldo did the smart thing, he knows Rooney so he took a perfect oppourtunity to give his team advantage.

In respect of Cristiano Ronaldo Alan Shearer, what you said was a load of crap. What you said could not have been more retarded. How dare you send rooney to go and beat up ronaldo. And anyway, Ronaldo probably won’t be back in Man U after portugal wins the cup this year. Alan shearer, you’re an old bag, go home and take a nap.We all hate u. Long live Portugal!

Rooney is bad tempered, ugly and slow. He’s quite the player. the retarded player. he goes and steps on carvalho’s nuts, then when ronaldo went over to talk to the ref, rooney goes and shoves ronaldo. What the hell you cow! England makes rooney sound like another pele. He’s not, he’s just another englishmen that had some skill with the ball at his feet. lucked out that’s it. but england never makes it to the finals. just because they’re slow and have no clue what they’re doing. bad tempered idiots.

I think even if Ronaldo had demanded that the referee red card Rooney, and cheered and applauded when he was sent off, it’s still Rooney who did the stomping, still Rooney who shoved Ronaldo, and still Rooney who lost his temper. I don’t care if Ronaldo insulted and cursed him and his entire family, it’s Rooney who chose to react violently. Martin Jol wants to know where Ronaldo’s sporting values are when he really should be questioning Rooney’s. I say Ronaldo’s are in the right place, he stuck for his Portuguese teamate and did the right thing. Now, was Rooney thinking of his teammates, fans, and country when he let his emotions get the best of him? Does he really have the team’s best interest at heart? I think this kid is out for himself. All that skill and talent are a complete waste on this selfish little boy who’s prone to temper tantrums. This spoiled brat is in need of a good spanking, and not the kinky kind. Grow up and quit shaming your country and team. People with his attitude kill the fun out of the sport.
Face it:
England was not very good. Rooney had not scored once.
Rooney got himself red carded.

You know, as harsh as critics are on the Brazilian team, no one is harsher than the brazilian fans themselves. I used to think of this as a weakness but after seeing how other teams and fans react after losing, such as England and Argentina, I think it’s great that the Brazilians at least took responsibility and did not blame France or made excuses. If you’re going to lose, at least do it graciously.

Rooney’s talent and potential is beyond dispute but his sportsmanship rates with the worst in the game. Despite the fact that I criticize him a lot for the latter, I don’t think his step on the Portuguese player was intentional – the way I see it, he was trying to stand and keep his balance. Therefore the red card was too harsh, but if you run up a bill like he did in his career then you’re walking on eggs and eventually pay the price.
Ronaldo’s behavior in this incident is also proof that his bad reputation is just as well deserved. Maybe Rooney should have stepped on his groin instead … :)
I see a very disturbing trend developing in front of our eyes, as a backlash of the sea of yellow/red cards : players rushing in the referees’ face and gesturing, talking, sometimes screaming and demanding for booking their opponents. Very degrading and unrespectful behavior that I hope FIFA is planning to stop soon.

Since I don’t believe that one single player can win or lose a game, the responsibility for the loss against Portugal is a collective one that rests on coach and players. There were many problems from top to bottom, Rooney’s expulsion is just one piece of the puzzle. I am sorry to see England leave – I think their results don’t do justice and they could have been a much better side in this WC had they fired on all cylinders … but drama and joy go hand-in-hand, it is part of why we wait patiently for 4 years right ?

(in my case, being a Hungarian, I’ve been waiting for those lost “magical magyars” since 1954)

Be good humans

What you always have to remember is: the Ref only saw it once and in real time. If your first impression was that he intentionally kicked him, likely-hood is, that the Ref (who by the way was very well positioned) had the same impression.
Rooney’s a moron. I mean, how stupid do you have to be. Very. But hei – I wouldn’t put the full blame on him. The big problem for England was that it’s hyped mid-field (o-tone English fans: we have the strongest mid-field line in the world…and are going to win the cup) was a complete failiure. And I have to admit that searching for the errors with the coach is probably the right thing. The talent is there…he didn’t make it work.

Anyhow, after Brazil and England…I want to see Italy fall. Then I’ll be happy with whomever wins the cup! ;)

Troy: I agree, I would never field Rooney either – well, unless the only alternatives are Micheal “I-need-1-million-chances-for-a-shot-on-goal” Owen and Peter “I-can-score-against-Jamaica” Crouch. ;) England has great strikers. Just watch EPL…they have Henry..oh, wait…but Saha…hm, nope…Shevshenko…ahm, wait…Drogba…oh…damn…there must be ONE English striker. Viduka? Nah, not even the one that suck are English.

Hahaha. Looking forward to 2009, when we will hear all the ‘we are going to win it this time – for sure’ talk. Always cracks me up. ;)

I can’t believe that anyone with a brain would think that Ronaldo was the reason for SAINT ROONEY’S dismissal…well of ocurse it was all planned anyone could see it…before the game started Ronaldo and the ref had it all planned out…
Do you seriously believe that if it had been RONALDO WHO step on Joe Cole or Lennon’s balls that Good gentle rooney would have just stood there andf said nothing?…perhaps he would have sprinted 40 yards and put his arm around ronaldo and told not to worry about it, it was not intentional…
You people make me sick…
So far I don’t think Portugal has shown much …in fact they have played below expectation…hopefully that will change next match when they playted a trully TALENTED team like the French…
AS FOR YOU VICTORIA CRISTANO RONALDO…you go girl…you tell these idiots exactly how it is
VIVA PORTUGAL

Gian Luca. Personally (only my opinion) I think you are talking out of the wrong orifice, I suggest you read the Jimmy Melrose blog 2/7/06 2.53p.m that guy has it in one. I tell you I certainly would not like to be Ronaldo when he goes back to the Man U ground. Not only I but a lot of people are disgusted with his behaviour. Also please becareful in your use of “stomping’ which according to the dictionary quote “to tread or trample heavily or violently” unquote and I think that any fool would agree that this was not done by Rooney.

I totally agree with the article…Rooney is the one to blame…he is immature punt…evryone talks about him like he’s already PELE or Maradona…frankly I haven’t seen any evidence of that in the last 2 years…
Ronaldo did what any true patriotic individual wiould do when they see a fellow countryman go down and get abused …iis called PRIDE in wearing your country colors…so they are teammates at MAN U…who cares…this is a different competition…besides I doubt very much that Ronaldo or any other player in the world would have such great power as to influence the ref in just 2 seconds…PLEASE!!!!
England played well, especially AFTER rooney was thrown out…HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM….makes you wonder eh?????…it was 0-0 after 120 minutes…they still had their chance to win…BUT thanks to KING RICARDO in net and a certain CRISTIANO RONALDO Portugal are through to the next match and hopefully that is the last we will hear of SAINT Rooney and his sorry display…

VIVA PORTUGAL………….

at the end of the day the game was won on penalties. no team deserves to loose on a penalty shoot out. at the end of the day portugal won, its heart breaking but perhaps if rooney didnt get sent off england may have been able to apply enough pressure in the box and score a goal. simple as that. its all a what ifs. you cant blame ronaldo for rooney. rooney probably said a few words to the ref as well which probably gave hime the card. although it doesnt look deliberate at all. slow mo makes the foul look bad, i agree i dont think he was getting a red untill he retaliated and said a few things as well as the push. rooney just needs to keep his mouth shut.

too much money not enough sense. i’m suprised if sir alex puts up with it next season at man u. i would be telling him even if the ref penalises him for something he doesnt agree with, that if he opens his mouth in argument he might as well just walk off himself and have a shower and go home.

Blaming Cristiano Ronaldo on the incident is stupid. The ref was standing next to the play when it was happenning and he was taking his time and wanted players to stay away before he pulled the card. But, players did not give time and Rooney pushed Ronaldo which hastened the decision that he was giving anyway regardless. Violence do not have a place in this game. hooliganism should be left home, commentators on tv, oh what can i say about that idiot Shearer fueling the sentiment instead of downplaying it in front of the tv audience. He can say whatever he wants in his own privacy, but not on tv. We all knew and know now more than ever that England is overrated. Whenever they qualify for a tournament their press makes them the favourites. Thank god Nike and espn attempts to do the same with the us team did not materialise in the states. God for the english they reached this far because of teams that could’ve beatem them easily if they did not pay attention for the hype and fooled by the false strenght of the team. I am sure any team in the world can beat england easily if they don’t read the english press first, but unluckily they do read that damn press and they suckered psychologically. Making a normal team bigger than what it is, either is because of economical gain or plain stupidity, I’ll leave it for you to decide wich is the truth.

Please read: FAB, IVOR AND JANUS’S POSTINGS AND THAT WILL SUMM EVERYTHING. Well said Lads!!

Arrigato Diane,
Wakarimas, hay!! Englanda, hay goodaa, hay!..
I’ll tell you what, they are far from goodaa!! hay, sayonara!
Zico goodaa!

I can’t get over the crap i’m reading.Bottom line penalty shots.England doesn’t have a goal keeper worth shit and Portugal has the almighty Ricardo.That’s how and why England lost

People that are blaming Ronaldo for Englands exit need to remove that incident and look at everything else in the game & tournament. Sven should never have taken two injured palyers (roo & owen) and a child (walcott). Defoe & Bent must feel badly for their teamates but i’m sure they are also thinking things could have been different if better selections were made. England was doomed from the start, & regarding roogate…he is immature & needs to grow up! If rooney was a foreign player playing for an england club with the same behaviour it would not be tolerated. Also, I lost a respect for the Eng. squad & their lack of heart. Other than Joe cole, Lennon, Owen H. no one stepped up their game. Therefore, that’s why they’re at home, not b/c of Ronaldo.

THANXX TOZE :)

you’re right. France is a great team and we’ll show the world what we’re made of this wednesday.

And I still can’t believe that eveyrone is blaming C Ronaldo.
The losers don’t seem to acknowledge the fact that besides Rooney getting sent off….there was a game called FUTBOL that they were playing.

Everyone seems to think that the reason they lost was because Rooney got sent off and Beckham got injured.
I didn’t see any goals when those TWO WERE actually on the field playing. They made more HEADLINES and became MORE popular when they left the GAME.

I’ve seen the replays of the incident and right after Caravalho fell…Ronaldo came rushing and tried to talk to the referee. Ronaldo didnt even TALK/LOOKED at ROONEY. Rooney just PUSHED him right after he tried to talk to the referee.

IF any of you dumbos would watch the replays you guys would see that your precious ROONEY PUSHED RONALDO TWICE. 2x. yeah 2x!

1) FIRST PUSH = RONALDO IGNORES HIM AND KEPT TALKING TO THE REFEREE.

2) SECOND PUSH = RONALDO STILL IGNORED HIM and you can tell that he was just trying to defend his teammate who was in the ground.

AFTER THE SECOND PUSH Both the English and the Portuguese guys STOPPED ROONEY from PUSHING RONALDO AGAIN.

DID YOU GUYS SEE RONALDO PUSH ROONEY BACK?????? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo. I wonder why. Maybe because He cared more about his teammate than pushing the ENGLISH guys around. If I was Cristiano and that ROONEY guy PUSHED ME..I woulda kicked him in the nuts myself.

Ronalo is a disgrace to football world. He didnt look at Rooney because he was too ashamed too. He knew he is wrong. He knew he is trying to stir up Rooney emotions and he is doing it, hoping that Rooney will explode. When Rooney pushed him , he is smiling in his heart!!. He looks arrogant and cunning. We dont need this kind of guy to play. Soccer game is supposed to be fun to watch. This guy totally ruin every game with his stupid whining. It really makes me sick. Slap his face and ask that arrogant dude to shut his mouth and play like a man.

England has enough blame to spread around among themselves without blaming Portugal and Ronaldo. They take 4 forward to the WC of which one is injured and may not play. One has been injured since New Year’s Eve and had hardly played since. Then they pick Walcott but don’t even use him. Playing with one forward will not bring you success at this level. As to Rooney, I am not convinved he stepped on the Portuguese nuts on purpose. It was obvoius that Portugal was running out of gas. Why not use his sub and bring in Walcott or someone who has some attacking abilities? Why take off Lennon who was a sub and was playing very well? Was it because Lennon can’t kick PKs but his replacement couldn’t make his neither. Portugal did just a slightly better job at the PKs than England did. Two of the Portoguese kicks went wide. The English PKs were so weak it was pathetic. Even Hargreaves almost missed but he had enough on the ball that it bounced off the goalies hand into the goal. The rest of the England team kicked like senior citizens or should I say “Girliemen”?

Another thing:

Rooney just smashed the nuts to Carvalho because he hates the fact of someone else having a bigger tool than him. The red card was right because if it wasnt shown, someone else would be smashed in the nuts again so many times as possible.

if england and the english fa is so overated then how come so many of you are watching so much of it? i thought the posting was about saturdays game, specifically one incident,yet i cant believe how much anti-english sentiment there is, most pro english fans are posting comments about the actual match whereas a lot of you are using this as an excuse to slag off english football and make generally negative comments about the fans, the team, the league, and anything else english that you dislike. and as i mentioned a lot of the postings that criticize the english team being so overrated reveal a lot of attention and emotion to said team, if england is so overated why do so many of the critics have so much insight and knowledge of the english fa and the national team? posted from canada.

Why blame others? England has been over rated. It is the case of , if you are in the land of the blind, one eyed Jack is the King. Sorry mate, the World Cup is fully sighted. I never enyoyed so much everytime I see England got kick in the butt. I would stick one up Alan Shearer. Your over rated Roo or rather I call him Gooney(King of Goons) deserved the red card. All these years since my student days in the 80’s in England, because of the hype and self praise, my friends and I have recent English National Football. We rejoiced and screamed in estacy when Ronaldo scored the winner. Ha ha ha.

see the comment from “gooney” in malaysia and he/she emphasizes my point!! canada

Why is everyone jumping on Alan Shearer based on a misquote? It seems like half the people posting flame here don’t even know who he is even though the man is all heart and one of the best players in modern English football. He IS Newcastle, and will be for a long time to come. And he is a class player.

If you think he is not class watch this (Shearer’s testimonial at his last game, where he came on after his career-ending injury to take one last PK):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7jqQdDcucw

Alan Shearer’s great goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByPF_NOYoRo

I’ll tell you one thing, Shearer would have nailed 10/10 penalties against Ricardo, and Ricardo is damn good at stopping penalties. ;)

Oh, c’mon James. If Christiano Ronaldo is a disgrace for football, Rooney is even more so. I don’t like CR either. But Rooney is a moron and he has prooven it – yet again. If CR really did plan this (as Rooney claims), well, then Rooney si even more of a monkey to fall for it, than I thought. It’s like the police announcing where they have speed cameras and you get caught speeding anyway!

I could not have agreed more with Gooney Laughing Club and I am heartened to know that there are so many of us here in Malaysia who hated English National Team especially Roo… yes I like the new moniker Gooney, the King of Goons. He is a goon or a moron. What has he done for the England’s team to be rated so highly and the savior to the team. One think is for sure – the English are gentlemen, fair and straight forward but when it comes to football they think with their arse!! I am also very pissed off with the Malaysian press who sing so highly of the English squad .Another lot of misguided fools. I can agree that the English Premier League is entertaining but then again lets not forget you have the likes of Thierry Henri, Didier Dhogbar, Michael Essien to name a few and yes Chelsea coached by a Portugese and Arsenal coached by a French. Thats the difference, the Portugese and French Teams are still in the World Cup not England. Wake up England, its an illusion, the EPL is great not because of the English. Maybe one fine day when you learn some skills from the foreign legions you might stand a chance, otherwise dream on.

Wayne Rooney is an arrogant bulldog and is over over rated he sucks he comes no where close to other young players
Torres, Tevez, Messi, C.RONALDO these are players of note. His wild and has no football sense. C.Ronaldo did not do anything wrong but was pushed around by all his team mates Neville Ferdinand and Rooney. People should judge the game and not the player. That was a fair sending off. Shrek should go play rugby he’ll get his match their

hey you guys.

Hating isnt good. Stop hating the players. Stop blaming. Y’all must look real old with all the stress over hating someone. I mean it does give you wrinkles you know.

To those who won’t stop bashing Ronaldo, it’s kind of sad cause he would never know what you guys think. and frankly, he doesn’t have time to care. Well he gets paid MILLIONS to play. it don’t matter if y’all don’t like him. He doesn’t know any of you and in the end, he will be proud of his accomplishments and all you guys did are waste your guys’ time bashing someone you don’t even know.

You guys should get a life. Im assuming you all are UGLY and don’t have any talent because if you guys were actually good looking……….you guys would be out there partying, having fun, laughing and meeting other good looking people instead of wasting your pathetic time hating Ronaldo.

Anywayz, I’m not trying to pick a fight or anything because as my momma told me once ” NEVER PICK A FIGHT WITH UGLY AND UNTALENTED PEOPLE because THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE”.

My momma also taught me that the Insecure and very ugly people always tend to make fun of others so that they can feel happy even for just a second. It makes them feel superior because as i’ve said, they got nothing to be proud about. And I can tell you all that it is TRUE. I’ve traveled lost and met many people and the ones who are always causing drama and hating on others are the ones who have no lives, no real accomplishments and the really ugly ones. the ones who are ugly inside and OUT. Good thing I’ve only MET these people and don’t ASSOCIATE with them.

I feel really sorry for you guys, I mean World cup is supposed to be something fun. For the whole world to get together and you guys are ruining it for yourselves. You guys are being such sore losers !

I mean when the Portuguese lost 2 years ago to Greece.. I cried but I never hated on them greeks. Well thats because I don’t need to hate other people to make myself feel better..there is no need for that.

So for those who are bashing the gorgeous Ronaldo. Please get ur faces fixed (your eyes perhaps to see the games better without being so biased) because trust me, when you guys are beautiful…yoou won’t need to bash other people and it feels much much better.

And to those who play sports and are complaining that Ronaldo is a cheater or that he sucks or that he cant play. Try and work real hard and maybe you guys can make it to the WORLD CUP and THEN have the right to GO tell him what you guys think. Well that is if you guys even MAKE it to the world cup….suckerss

To those who have nO talent at all or whatsoever. I really have nothing to say. Go to school? try to be smart and earn some money so you guys will have other things to do than just sit around makign fun of Ronaldo.

BTW. that ROONEY GUY must be the stupidest hot tempered person I have ever seen.

You can push people around but why would you do it right in front of the referee? He must be hitting the ball with his head WAYYYYYY WAYYYYYYYYYYY too much because I doubt he’s got any brains left.

Cristiano Ronaldo was only doing his part. He saw a teammate go down in agony because his groin was stepped on. whatever. it doesnt matter if Rooney did it intentionally or not. Ronaldo had every right to come up to the Referee and tell him that that was CLEARLY a foul.

If Rooney was the ONE who “accidentally” stepped on Ronaldo’s groin, would you English losers say that Ronaldo purposely told Rooney to Step on his groin so that he could get RED CARDED? Probably, considering that you guys are such sore losers, you would do everything.

Jodido: I’m not English. If you think that the English are the only ones who don’t like Ronaldo, you are severely deluded.

Rooney is an idiot, but Ronaldo is a deeply unpleasant little twerp. The fact that he’s ‘gorgeous’ doesn’t enter into it.

If Ronaldo had stamped on Steven Gerrard do you think Wayne Rooney would have stood idly by…or any other England player for that matter?

being english, im probably expected to stick up for rooney – but i still think he over reacted foolishly (you can rant and rave in the changing room but not on the pitch) the great shearer would have kept his cool on the pitch (although obviously off the pitch he needs to be careful bless him). Ronaldo is a little sh*t but people like him are just to be ignored as he is harmless. although the diving this world cup has gone up because of the terrible reffing showing that they will buy it everytime –

the refferees have ruined this world cup as it is no longer a contact game. As for the nut cracker by rooney – it was obviously an accident, thats with out question – its just the silly ness afterwards that ruined things

This is what the whole Rooney situation boils down to:

1. One player being sent off doesn’t lose any team the game. A combination of skill and luck (mostly skill) are what makes teams winner or losers.

2. No one forced Rooney to step on another player’s groin, and no one forced Rooney to push another player.
If someone tried to egg me on to do something like that, I’d have no problem saying no.
If Rooney really is such an amazing player, and such a strong person, I’m surprised that peer pressure is being used to excuse him.

Let’s see how the World Cup goes, and how all these teams play, but don’t blame Portugal for England not winning. They lost because they didn’t score during the game and they didn’t get enough penalty kicks. End of story.

the game was awful everytime figo got touched he dived.
rooney got sent off for basically no reason (well he did hit that guy in the balls)
but it was probably accidently
but them 2 portugese player were pulling him and grabbing him and after he got sent ronaldo winked at the coach,
even though they both play in manchester united if i was the manager of man u i would sell ronaldo right away.
and why put an argentinian ref in the game when england and argentina are like huge rivals in football so i dont know what that fab from canada is chatting about if u scroll down a bit you will se his comment

Rooney is a disgrace, He is horrible and aggresive and doesn’t deserve to play. I HATE HIM. Ronaldo is a GREAT player and didn’t mean any harm, He was playing for his country. It is understandable. Wouldn’t Rooney do the same if it was ronaldo?

I’m willing to give Rooney the benefit of the doubt and say that it’s possible that he stepped on the guy’s groin accidently.
What I don’t understand is his reaction afterwards. If I had accidently stepped on someone’s groin, I would feel terrible and my first reaction would be to apologize and see if he was ok. Instead, Rooney reacts by pushing and shoving at someone else who had not touched him. It was actually this reaction that lead me to cross off the “accidently stomp’ theory. He just didn’t act like someone who didn’t intend to cause physical harm.

TO VictoriaCristianoRonaldo :

I completely… 100% agree with you girl.

It’s so TRUE. No one cared about the precious ROoney while he was still on the Field PLAYING. HE never even scored ONE GOAL. NIL. ZERO. and when he got sent out. WHOA. The Camera finally zoomed in on that ugly face of his and made HEADLINES.

The new mobile phone from “Sorry Eriksson”

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/5648/sorry7ax.jpg

WE HAVE TO BLAME CRISTIANO RONALDO.

HE planned this ALL ALONG.

He told CARAVALHO to go in between Rooney’s Legs and to make sure that ROONEY steps on his CROTCH.

And then he made sure he RAN to the referee to demand a FOUL.

He also told Rooney to push him right in front of the referee so that the ref would give him a red card.

Ronaldo also Paid the REFEREE because he is SOOOOOOOO RICH!!!

Cristiano is a GOD.

Rooney’s reaction after stepping on the groin did him in. His attitude in general has done him in. Didn’t he spit on a ref against Villarreal back in September ‘05 because he didn’t agree with a call or something? To be a great player you have to feed off your emotions, not give into them. I’m sure he has a lot of talent, but he was never the reason England struggled. England didn’t play well aside from segments against Sweden. This was the team many people thought could/would beat Brazil. No way!!! Lots of talent, we all know it, but somehow couldn’t piece it together. Was it the coach??? The injuries to the two first choice strikers??? Perhaps a combo. I don’t like Erickson, but I also think much of the play on the field falls on the players. Even the players know that it was there fault. Pre-tournament interviews a couple players said something along the lines of ‘if we lose it is because we weren’t good enough.’ Players take the responsibility for losing, not midfielders of opposing teams.

remember! all you that are hatting our team by now! if you wish that france beats portugal next game..be carefull! you might have another nighmare that night, and the day after will be..you know! hope you get another excuse for a possible winning.

i think that both players showed a shameful display of how football is today. i saw the match live and all the replays afterwards. rooney was not facing the player he stomped in the balls. actually, it was him trying to find balance and accidentally just stepped on the portugal player. given that, he should have been given an offense, a yellow card in my view since it was clearly accidental. C. ronaldo on the other hand was not actually going to see if his team mate was okay. if he did then he would have knelt down and actually asked his teammate if he was okay. instead he went straight to the ref. although i did not know what he said to the ref, it was clear that he was trying to influence the ref to send of rooney.

in my view he should have just left it alone and saw if his teammate was okay. instead he resorted to tactics that was unsportsman like and uncalled for. that was why rooney pushed him. and of course, rooney also has a short temper (which he should really work on because he can reall be a great player)

all in all i think the two of them should be blamed. i was really disappointed when i saw that international football had come to this (uncalled for behavior, dirty tactics) it was even more present with the netherlands portugal game.

sourgraping won’t help either. i think that football organizations should do something about this. the way the games are being played nowadays are not at all good.

It’s been overlooked that there were a number of defenders pulling Rooney down, all Rooney was doing was trying to keep possesion of the ball, something that is rarely seen in football now. If a player is touched slightly they fall on the ground and act as though they are really in pain, in most cases that is not the case. Rooney did well keeping the ball and he was just trying to keep his balance as the defender was yanking down on his shirt. NO WAY did he stamp on the players groin on purpose, he is not that type of player. The red card was uncalled for, a yellow maybe but being sent off, no.
As for Ronaldo as a team mate of Rooneys he soon darted over to the ref, I have no doubt that he was trying to cause a problem. To do that to your own team mate is just criminal, Ronaldo deserves a little of what hes got.
England are not being bad sports men regardig the lose to Portugal, we are just sickened we were knocked out. But so were the other two top favourties to win the World Cup!!!

It was the Ref, no it was the coach, wait no it was the evil Ronaldo with his wink. It’s nice to see the English players don’t have to take responsibility for their loss. They are pampered by fans with lists of creative excuses.
I love to hear the post analysis. Did Rooney Intentionaly step on the groin? Some “Experts” say “No” some say “Yes”. But everyone seems to be confident in their answer. There is subjectivity in soccer and where you have subjectivity you will have “Experts” who have the ability to objectify a situation. The “wink” has become a justifiable outlet to express anger at the oppenent rather than their own team. I think for the fans of England the road to recovery is to realize your path of thinking. You are not an “Expert”, you don’t know the intentions of all players and refs. But beware if you happen to be on the losing end as England was there is a good chance that the “Expert” in you will steer toward putting blame on the oppenent and ref. You have to realize being angry at another teams players will not help your team win another game. Making excuses for your team certainly will not aid your team to more wins in the future. Once you broken this down you will be able to focus attention on how to make your team better. So if you are just venting say so otherwise you will be held accountable under the special title of “Expert”.

Im a very patriotic gal and have been supporting the socceroos. Since their tragic loss to Italy iv been watching all the WC games from a much more objective angle. The Eng/Por game was a demonstration of the failure of the world to enjoy the 2006 WC’s theme of UNITY and MEETING FRIENDS.

Rooney’s world cup hopes were not shattered by Ronaldo but his own eruptive temper and lack of discipline. You had just TRUDGED on someone’s nuts! In situations like this, you are, in a way, obliged to appologise to the player because a decent person will realise that they would be in a state of incurable pain if it were him who had been poked in the private by several metallic bolts on the bottom of a football boot. Rooney admitted that his anger was sparked by Ronaldo’s interference but if he knew Ronaldo’s intentions, he would never have conceded to Ronaldo’s “evil plans”.

Now, im not saying that Ronaldo is an angel, but he surely doesn’t deserve ALL the blame that has been laid on him. Yes, he did immediately run up to the referee after Rooney’s nut cracking, but his actions showed patriotism and support for a teammate in dire pain. This said, his wink and cocky smile after Rooney was red carded was very immature and gave viewers the impression that he HAD “masterplanned it all along”. (although i find it very hard to believe that one of Portugal’s game plans was to make sure one player’s nuts got truden on so Ronaldo could demonstrate his victorious cockiness and get England’s “star player” off the field -_-’)

I think that once the WC has ended and emotions have settled, the world will be able to finally recognise what this WC has shown everyone. Both England and Brazil have now lost. Both teams comprise of the world’s most famous and well-paid players in the world. If their individual skills are as well as they are rated to be, why would their WC dreams by shattered? The coaches should realise that the WC is about teamwork. Having 11 individually talented players rampaging on the field would be like playing football solely relying on luck. England is a great example of this. I seriously don’t understand why Erikson would have his arrangement of a dominant midfield and leaving Rooney as a lone striker. I mean…how is a team going to score goals if the ball easily reaches the penalty area but is left to one striker against a comparative giant defence??

I do not like with c ronaldo tactical, not fair. I hate C Ronaldo !!!!!!!!!

Well, Mohammed, IT IS a free world and a free blog. You can hate whoever you want. Doesn’t mean most of the things said about several POR players, e.g. CRonaldo, are actually true. Cheers.

It amazes me that the english players say that they would never do what ronaldo did, bull, country comes first before club, it always has and it always will. Ronaldo did nothing wrong, and to think he influanced a ref, ya ok cuz that happens all the time. Players over react to any of their teamates being hurt. Wheather it was done on purpose which woulnt be the first time rooney has done that or wheather done accidentally players over react. I dont know what the big deal is. Rooney did something stupid and he got punished, good lord people grow up.

angelica
i couldnt have said it better myself, very well written

Ita with the above. Besides, I think it’s funny that Ronaldo is getting crap for doing what was right and Rooney is off the hook for shoving and trying to beat up his “teammate” Ronaldo. @@ If we’re talking sporting values, now where’s the love from Rooney for Ronaldo? At least Ronaldo didn’t try to beat him up. And you know what? If this idiot had put his hands on me, you’re damn right I would be winking and smiling when his behind was sent off. I think if anything he’s the one that owes an apology for both Carvalho and Ronaldo.

rooneys step was only because he was held in a sissors grip and the push wasnt even a push to hurt him it was just like stay out of this decision
ronaldo is a sleezebag
i hope he gets runned out of manchester united
the whole incident should have just been a yellow card at most
the referees retarded
and he had made bad calls on both sides
this one being the worst

i think its been talked to death and no one is going to change their opinion whether they’re for England/Rooney or not

Rooney was set up from the start, 1st by the Manager who di not give him the support required up front, 2nd by Ronaldo who set out to get him a red card before the kick off go here to see more photo’s http://forum.axia.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=4942

Somehow,i just think that Christiano Ronaldo is too much!
He winked right after the red card was shown to Rooney . From my point of view, C.Ronaldo wants to get Rooney out of the game . Without Beckham and Rooney,there’s more chances of winning this match.If you were Rooney, wouldn’t you be angry??? especially right after you recover from having a broken leg??? Can you imagine ..what if Portugal win World Cup?How will Rooney feel?
Have you people think about this?

Exactly! christiano ronaldo is just some lame stupid selfish arrogant player! hate him ! ish…hope rooney box his disgusting face and leave him Blue-blacks! All because of him…damn!

Rooney’s Revenge:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOZr5kP0Rnk

Having played soccer for many years here in the States way back when slide tackling was the exception rather than the rule, slide tackles were treated with the same action as Rooney took.

That was a great way to eliminate the dangerous slide tackle — not by the referee, but by the players themselves. Don’t slide tackle and you don’t get stepped on!!

Rooney did the right thing.

Until FIFA eliminates the fake grevious injuries (rolling on the ground) to get a stoppage or card, then returning to play seconds later without any evidence of the injury, the acting will get worse. How about a five minute penalty (no return to play) if you have to have the trainers come on to the field. The faking would stop quickly if your team had to play short for five minutes!

the portugese made the brits bite dust and thats all about it. blame it on ronaldo or anyone, what makes the difference is that they are long gone.
why can’t they take this by their stride i dont understand. wud rooney have still been around i am sure it would have been no better. ricardo was a true rockstar. ronney is a brat as it is. you dont step on the oppoment’s groin and get away with it.
lol
ironically he got his balls crushed.

sincerely, i wish rooney was still on to eat the potugese dust.
good going boys.
@brits: learn to loose, coz it’s becoming a habbit now.

Portugal V Italy in the final would make for a great game of duck’s and dives, we could yet see a record in bookings and red cards?

Rooney steps on Carvalho’s balls, C Ronaldo approaches and is shoved, all this happens 2 meters in front of the ref. Only in the brains of some english can this be CRonaldo’s fault… The cameras nevers showed, but actually C Ronaldo secretelly kicked the ref, Rooney, their families and much more people still to be identified…

This is too funny, man… :-)

People expect CRonaldo to cry because Rooney is sent off? Or Carvalho to appologise for deliberatelly putting his testicles under Rooney’s spiked boot (I guess this makes an SM fan out of Carvalho, right)?

What exactly needs explanation…? And this is actually printed and read and people read it and just don’t think!!! These are the facts! How on Earth can they be possibly interpreted, other than what the ref decided…?

If Rooney, in fact, intentionally stepped on the guy, he definitely deserved to get sent off. The thing that bothers me is I still can’t tell if he did (it’s hard to position limbs when you’re off-balance), and the fact that the Portuegese had been flopping around in various degrees of pain all game.

In Rooney’s defense, he might not have realized that he actually hurt the guy (Portuegese had been “injured” almost constantly througout the game), and he’d been provoked by his teammate Ronaldo constantly. Did anyone else notice when Ronaldo kissed Rooney at the beginning of the game? That may-or-may-not have been a friendly gesture…reminded me of the scene with Sunshine from “Remember the Titans.” I know I’d be mad, whether it was friendly or not.

I predicted before the first ball was kicked that Rooney would get sent off. He has a very short fuse and it’s common knowledge. Any manager worthy of the name would tell a couple of his players to rile Rooney to get the opposition to 10 men. After that it was a forgone conclusion that England wouldn’t go all the way.
As usual the World Cup is more about the referring decisions than the game. It’s time replays were used. By the time everyone on the pitch has finished arguing, they could have replayed the events and come to the correct decision. This would make us all feel better about the entire spectacle. Can’t believe how many times a player falls down because he looses the ball and get a free kick! The referees were supposed to penalize the diving.

Finally, an article with some common sense. How very refreshing, especially after listening to the BBC commentators tonight bleating on about the incident.

Rooney only had himself to blame. He has got to learn to control his temper or this sort of thing will happen again and again.

I suppose Cristiano Ronaldo will be hated for all eternity now just like a certain Argentinian chappie. Although I hope all these Ronaldo haters realise that he will love all the attention and will play even better because of it.

Ronaldo didn’t complain to the ref about a teammate. In that game, Rooney was on the opposition. F*ck all that they’re teammates at Man. U. Players lobby refs heavily for penalties all the time, its part of the game.

Pedro P

For one thing you daft brush, the ref was not going to book Rooney because he did not see his boot slip onto his balls, 2nd if Ronaldo had stayed away and not pushed his geasy head into the fray, the game would have been played with 11 men on each team. England would have won in the last 5 mins due to tha fact that Portugal can’t make it past the box without the help of a ref. Game over. Just like tonight with France 1-0

I think Wayne Rooney should go back to the Manchester United training ground and stick one on Ronaldo”
– Alan Shearer

BTW this is wrong

Alan Shearer

I think Wayne Rooney COULD go back to the Manchester United training ground and stick one on Ronaldo”

i think it is SHOCKING that ronaldo
got the blame for all that all he was trying to do was point out that
wayne rooney stood on his fello team mates groin and even tonight everytime stunnin c.ronaldo got the ball everyone booed this jst shows hw england are such bad losers and jst admitt tht they r crap!!! and i hope tht c.ronaldo should go 2 real madrid because he is 2 gd 4 man u
ronaldo country comes first before man u and i think ronaldo should go bk 2 man u and get wayne rooney in the changing rooms and stick 1 on him.rooney should control his temperand i absoultley hate those english commentators always goin on about hw great england are which they r clearly not i had 2 turn the volume down because i was sick of listening 2 them
and im lovin wat lynn sed :)
ronaldo is goin 2 luv the attention and so he should in my eyes he done nothin wrong

this must be a joke! an italian broadcaster shows a fight after the germany game on the news and a german player is ejected from the italian match. then ronaldo gets away with a vengeful wink? both actions show that there were ulterior motives. ronaldo did this knowing the english team were relying heavily on one of their last two remaining strikers. italy did this knowing fringes was, like rooney, a threat to the outcome. unfortunately we as people are far too predictable. watching these actions from the states we can formulate an unbiased opinion and both accounts listed above are outright wrong. the only fortunate outcome of this debacle is that ronaldo bows out of the show and must return to practice later this month with man. u.

its unbelievable how the english and fans who really do not have professional knowledge on what fair play and the soccer sport is about, use a star player as is Cristiano Ronaldo as a scape goat for the untolerable actions of another player of the opposing team. It is extremely ignorant for people to get far besides the point and acuse a player for the failure of a team. As far as i recall Rooney did not have a smile in his face when “untangling” himself from da portuguese players and its unexplainable that Carvalhos gonads felt like the grass *shm*.Regardless my point is c.Ronaldo is bein blamed for something while Rooney has the nerve to be offended. In my opinion Ronaldo is being attacked because ppl do not tolerate the fact that he is young, he has talent, and rather than just be flashy about his moves he actually succeeds in doing them. People will never be happy with the triumph of others and being a Portuguese player in an english team (Man. Untd)he wont be gettin (if he ever did) support from his team players. oh n by the way its nice to see Rooney remembered C.Ronaldo is in his team in the Premier League when he pushed him in one of his mood swings. In conclusion its out of the ques to blame C.Ronaldo for Rooneys fouls and to blame him for his skills and talent. I would also find myself being arrogant if at the age of 21 I am such a recognized and key player to a victory,an important game, or team. He should defitnely move to Real Madrid… he deserves better

yes, jx, u’re making a HUGE amount of sense… ronaldo should have been penalised by FIFA cuz he winked and should’ve been suspended for the next match… oh god he has committed such a crime… unbiased opinion indeed, i’d say. sensible too.

and cliffy, it is indeed interesting to know that you can see what exactly happened from the ref’s eyes. fyi, the ref was standing right next to them at the time of the incident, and being a ref of a game, i’d be pretty confident in putting my money on the fact that he WAS actually taking a close look at them while they were going at it. i wonder who’s ‘daft’…

rooney is childish with a bad temper, and ronaldo is a cocky diving wh0r3 that should not have been involved in a teammate’s ordeal. enough said.

Blah, blah, blah, bunch of sore losers you Pommies are, always blaming everyone else, I’m beginning to think that you guys share the same ancestry as those whinny Italians. England didn’t loose because of Rooney’s sending off or Ronaldo’s perfectly legitimate reaction, they lost because they played boring football. It amazes me how a bunch of top players from arguably the most exciting league can resort to punting long balls for 90 minutes to a single striker who’s only weakness is his ability in the air. Watching England, at the world cup, is like watching a bunch of toothless geriatrics slobber over a slice of sour dough, disgusting, frustrating, and just plain old boring.

The World Cup was always going to be a disaster for the English and their scarecrow of a coach, the warning signs were all there: firstly, England cannot win outside of the country- even though the support from their fans made every match feel like it was played at Wembly; secondly, Snore-Goran Erikson is the geriatric eating the bread, how he built such a magnificent resume through playing boring football gives me, a degenerate ex-pothead with an addiction to slatternly hoes, the hope of becoming the next Dali Lama; finally, a young, fit, proven, goal scoring, electrifying, and the second best English striker, one Darren Bent, was not included in the squad. Darren Bent, who scored 18 goals for struggling Charlton, was omitted for Theo Walcott, who hasn’t even played a single game for his club. What a farce, what incompetence, what a boring team, and how rightly deserved that England was knocked out.

I think it’s important to note that infringement or not, there were a couple of failings on the part of the referee which somewhat discredit his booking.
For a start, many would argue Rooney had been fouled at least once immediatly prior to his foul, and second, for a referee to hesitate and then let his decision be influenced by a shouting player is unacceptable.
Foul or not, it was poorly enforced.

This forum revolves around Rooney & Ronaldo and what happened prior to the red card. We can all make our own minds up and challenge what Sven attempted to do like 442 541 etc. We all know he tried hard but was not the man for the job. Sending one player up front when Portugal had no intention or ability to strike at goal from less than 25 yards was clear evidence that we needed to take the game to them and hit them on the break with a 442 system maybe using Crouch and Rooney together.

But we are not discussing Team play here, only the late red card and the way it was enforced by what is clearly a set up by a Club team mate Ronaldo, he will no longer be required at Man United as of from September that is for sure. And players will remember Ronaldo as a diving untrustworthy twat that given the situation will drop you in the sh*t as quick as a WINK.

And if you watch the video and take in the way it was set up you will open your eyes to what happened at that time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqC3NE7TYVE&search=rooney

rooney may not have deserved a red card, but it is a rediculous assumptiuon to make that it was ronaldo intention, or “mission” to get him sent off.
everyone knows that a player has NO effect on a ref’s decision making.
and the wink? so what. ronaldo’s known for his facial expressions.

The best thing for Ronaldo to do NOW is to leave English soil. His stay at Man U is no longer welcome. England comes first to Man U. He will for ever be remembered for the wrong. The ” hand of god” was maybe better than Ronaldo’s betrayal. But people still remember Maradona for that…..what more for Ronaldo’s evil influence on the referee.

Sepp Blatter has ruined this World Cup for so many teams. He is extremely opinionated and anti-English. Being born and raised in a country forever living in the shadows of the western allies’ he is bound to show bitterness; one would wonder if he remembers the world cup?

After accusing England and SINGLING THEM OUT as having played the most boring football in the tournament (at least we scored goals)he has since encouraged anti enlish sentiment accumulating in, what

I belive, the targetting of Rooney by officials and players alike is due to Blatter’s stance concerning English football.

Blatter should not be in such a prestigious and influential position as he is!The stronghold of his (narrow minded, authoritarian) postition will be echoed again as we see the FIFA pannell “dish-out” an international ban to Rooney whilst Ronaldo will get off scott free amidst a world cup final ravaged with cheats

fanuel u sed england comes 1st before man u but then doesnt portugal come before man u then 2 ???
alll ronaldo was doing was pointing out that shrek (rooney) delibratley stood on his balls! i think it is sooo unfair tht ronaldo is gettin the blame. who took the red card out the refs pocket ???? it wasnt ronaldo. ronaldo even sed in an interview later tht nite tht he never ment 2 get shrek sent of and tht their friends. he also sed at the france game tht he liked the booing he gt.england r jst sore faced losers who hve 2 blame every1 else.even at th start of the england v portugal game wen fego was doin his racism tok all the england fans were boing him. i jst shws yhoo hw sad england supporters r

england

sharkey you obviously know your football !

Your quote…

“rooney may not have deserved a red card, but it is a rediculous assumptiuon to make that it was ronaldo intention, or “mission” to get him sent off.”

Are you nuts!!!!

I assume Ronaldo was pleading to the Ref in Rooney’s defence hahahahahahaha

“Shrek”?!? LOL! That’s funny, he does look like him.

Frankly, I think if Cristiano Ronaldo has that kind of influence on referees then I’m surprised he didn’t get more players red carded! He should’ve gotten some of the defenders red carded and increased Portugal’s chance of scoring while he was at it. Not to mention his red carding powers would’ve certainly been useful in their match against France. Zindane at his worst is a bigger threat than Rooney at his best after all.

It is amazing what British press have done about Ronaldo/Rooney story.

Portuguese team it is not respected, only because the size and Political importance of Portugal. I am Portuguese and I am proud of it! France only won, because referee was too Pro-France. After a very meticulous game study, we can see that the Referee was done a very clever job. who plays football like me for more than 15 years, knows what a referee must do to clean a game. For me we are the CHAMPIONS. All the rest doesn’t matter! We have a very nice and cool country, we are waiting everyone including British or Gaulish to enjoy our safe sun.

Very bad press, something can happen to Ronaldo in England when he returns there, and then who are the responsible for that!!

greetings from Portugal

portugese team is not respected on or off the field for obvious reasons, they are blatant chronic cheats and ironically the worst cheats make the sorest losers as recent reports have further proved, from the coach on down, a game plan relying so heavily on tactical cheating was always going to backfire eventually!

I am sorry, but this is starting to get a little ridiculous. It is one thing to accuse C. Ronaldo of diving and being dramatic; however, to state that it was his fault that Rooney was ejected is ridiculous. If the referee was really influenced by him, then it is the referee’s fault. To blame Ronaldo for doing something that Rooney himself would have done if it were his team, seems patently unfair. Using the wink as proof of his cheating is even more ridiculous. The wink could have meant anything from Carvalho is okay to we got this game now. It is impossible to know what he meant by that wink, and to assume makes people look like asses. Stop blaming C. Ronaldo for something that Rooney did.

So if the English are not cheats then how do you explain Crouch pulling the hair of the defender and then going on to score a goal for England against Trinidad and Tobago in this World cup?

Watch this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2WxxwYBvrk&search=peter%20crouch

or perhaps Wayne Rooney diving in this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAoe1MheTU4&search=rooney%20cheating

The point is everyone is diving and cheating.. Wake up and smell the coffee. Football is only a game of 11 players against 11 players and not a nation against a nation.

Its amazing how the English public has been brainwashed by media propaganda encouraging a hate campaign against any country that knocks them out of the world cup rather than accepting the fact Rooney lost his cool thought he was back in the playground and steps on some geezas balls on purpose.

What kind of signal does this send out about England?

The headlines in the papers the next day should have read ‘Silly boy Rooney – Kick in the balls for English World Cup Hopes’ but instead the papers having been instructed by Sven to not slag off England’s Golden Boy decide to vent their anger onto Ronaldo instead.

Ronaldo is also a Golden Boy and some might say far more talented than Wayne Rooney.

The view the rest of the world is having from the English reaction is that the English are bad loosers and xenophobic.

Bullying a player or small country for knocking you out of the world cup is not cool.

England must get it together and SPREAD SOME ENGLISH LOVE AND PEACE to the rest of the world!!!

agree completely.

these blogs are a great source of fun an entertainment to us all. agreed, we should not take this deal too seriously.

my point was really just to bring to light the fact that you can try as hard as you like but people ARE influenced by one another. especially when the crowds are going nuts and you cannot even hear yoursefl speak. ronaldo should not have been sidelined for the following match- never said he should be. only point in that regard is that he will be heading off to practice with rooney shortly and it should be interesting to follow.

the most importanty issue this Cup was the officiating. i believe we are all here on these blogs because of this garbage. agree? come on… bad calls every other minute? new records for both yellows and dumps (red). teams playing with 9 men after replays show most were completely innocent…

reiterating- ronaldo goes back to man u knowing he was the most vocal in the debacle with rooney. wink or no wink. also, is it not common knowledge that ronaldo is both a professional swimmer (diver, sorry) as well as academy award potential actor? having said this… he is amazing with ball control.

Guys Ronaldo took it upon himself to become involved in a situation that he personally was not involved in. He was the big guy pointing out to the ref that it was a foul, is the ref blind? I ask.

Ronaldo ought to have big enough shoulders to take the abuse etc, he was big enough to get involved. I am not saying that all that has been said is correct however “if he plays with fire he should expect to get burned” so there is no point in the Portugese fans trying to protect him, we all know how you feel about him. There does however come at point when he must accept what has happened ( don’t forget for the rest of his contract Man U pay his salary)and be responsible. He should not have gotten involved. The ref was standing 2 feet away and he is not registered blind.

how can people defend christiano ronaldo?! if you watch the portugal vs france game you will see how many times him and the rest of his portugese bum boys dive and cheat their way into making the referee give them desicions. no it is not part of the game, it is against the rules so how can it be. we are the great nation that invented this game and we are the most honest nation who play the game. yes we do foul sometimes and we are not perfect but we do not cheat, anymore cheating and teams like portugal should be banned from the next major tournament. and so should scolari for inciting his team.

[...] 1. Stop the diving: I know it’s part of the gamesmanship, but it’s really annoying. I hate it as much as I hate floppers in the NBA. It’s taking advantage of the referees inability to see everything going on and using something beyond your skill in the sport to influence the outcome. Sure, sure, “all’s fair”…but it’s really obnoxious to see some idiot rolling on the ground like he got shot the minute he loses a challenge and at the very least stops the action or at worst gets the opposition punished for the non-existent foul. I’ll tell you how much it annoys me–when Wayne Rooney stomped on the crotch of the Portuguese defender, I thought, “Well, after all their dives, this foul will actually hurt.” [...]

Hey this forum was about ROOONEY & RONALDO

Why most of you rant on about diving and he did this and they did that, I don’t know.

It’s very easy to see Ronaldo set up Rooney, and when he was sent off Ronaldo in his happy mood WINKED to the bench meaning JOB Done…

Now let me make myself clear on this IF THE REF SAW THE STAMP TO THE BALLACKS THEN ROONEY WAS Off. But the REf missed it so he stays on untill Ronaldo gives the Ref a reason to red card Rooney. I must admit Rooney fell for the Ronaldo set up, he can’t help it he’s a football pro. But in looking close at the tackle prior to the stanping Rooney should have had a foul given to him , but then the REF like most was bent maybe a bit Italian, who knows…

Difference between ronaldo and rooney:

Rooney: Immature, regular player and ugly.

Ronaldo: mature, Great tecnical player admired over the world and a very good looking guy just like many out of UK. :P

I think there are a few things to note. Ronaldo was deliberately antagonising Rooney. He walked behind him and pushed his forehead hard into the back of Rooney’s head at one point to me that was a bigger issue than him asking for a card. I hate the way players have been pushing for cards this world cup, Ronaldo is not the only one.

Yes there is a bias against the foreign player in favour of the English one, if the situation was reversed with an English player who played for a foreign club and behaved that way the reaction would be similar.

Rooney is a hot tempered idiot and the Portugese team exploited that, it is bad sportsmanship. Rooney’s actions were rash and unacceptable, but Ronaldo’s were pre-meditated and dishonourable. I think Ronaldo must have had some idea of what the reaction in England to his behaviour would be and was obviously willing to sacrifice his reputation, his team mate and his position at his club to try and win. That was his choice.

“Watching England, at the world cup, is like watching a bunch of toothless geriatrics slobber over a slice of sour dough, disgusting, frustrating, and just plain old boring.”

Wow, one of the best lines I’ve read on this blog so far! I was pulling for England early in the tournament but gradually got put off by their playing style. The whole Rooney/Ronaldo aftermath has left an even more bitter taste in my mouth.
I’ts refreshing to read Xenophobia’s comments. Finally, someone from England who realizes it was Crotch Stomper Rooney who contributed to England’s downfall.

how can u say ronaldo is mature?! i don’t think so, he is very immature and also i do not think u can base you arguement on looks (in reference to the person from portugal) you say ronaldo is better looking than rooney, and your point is… ?
ronaldo doesnt play the game as a man, he plays it as a little boy who crys when he doesnt get his own way and now when he comes back to england he will be a little boy who nobody likes. Just think about it…Man Utd vs Liverpool and steven gerrard has to go in for a 50 – 50 with ronaldo – who do u really think will come out on top. Or when ahsley cole marks him when he plays Arsenal. This of course will only happen if he has the bottle to stay in England and if he can really face Rooney, Ferdinand and Neville among others in the Man Utd camp, but most of all the english public. the ones who are full of passion, very patriotic and without doubt … the best fans in the world

This whole argument is like blaming a hooker-girlfriend for being promiscuous; you know she’s a hooker, before going into the relationship, so you shouldn’t be surprised at her decision to sell her body. Rooney knew that the ref, lord behold, was a ref, and being a ref had the assignment and the authority to manage the players by blowing his whistle and brandishing little red cars for offences such as violent conduct. Now, if I was the bloke with the hooker-girlfriend I can blame all her customers, in this case Ronaldo, for her slatternly ways or I, Rooney, can blame myself for bringing a lady of the night into my life as my lover and my cherished companion. Having said that, these ladies of the night, adorned with theirs whistles, cards, and stopwatches, do seem to get a heck of a lot more proposals from the Italian and Portuguese sailors. But those that indulge in a lot of paid hanky panky will, sooner or later, get burned by syphilis, herpes, crabs…

i think ronaldo did the right thing !!!!!!!!!!!

I think this accusation by the english is ridiculous.I admit it is sad to c such a talented team like england go out but to blame chritiano ronaldo for ur defeat is just crazy. the english team had plenty of chances n they didnt finish their plays and most important of all they missed three penalties, now ask urself is ronaldo to be blamed for that? the only ones who are to be blamed r the english players

C. Ronaldos gesturing in matches are not correct.
He must learn to play fairness-football. He earns many — minus feedback.

And he often falls in 16m Zone,none fouls him.

So Europe and Germany give him many boo boos when he catch the ball, after the not fair redcard-attache @ Rooney….in game Germany-Portugal he falls in 16m Zone 2 times;-),without foul before.

We `ll see fairness-football and all friends @ whole world are welcome…the WM2006 was a great meeting …

Best wishes in the whole world from Germany.

Blame it on Ronaldo – that seems to be the English policy for their inept play. This is really ridiculous, the English team with all its BIG names failed to play a fair and good game. Let me bring to your notice that England did not play like deserving semi-finalists at any point during the tournament. The bottom line is that they sucked. I follow the every European league and respect & admire English football, but the fact of the matter is that Ronaldo did what any international player would do in the circumstances. The English need to accept defeat like true sportsman rather than escaping their weaknesses.

BTW, I still fail to understand why the hell is CROUCH playing on the English team. I am pretty sure they can do better than him in terms of attack. To me Crouch was the best player for Portugal that day. Infact, he is the best player for the opposition any day…. go damn idiot.

Ronaldo is just another scapegoat for England’s poor performance overall in the world cup and their failure to progress.
And so what if someone compares their looks?! english just dont know what humour is, the fella was havin a jk. altho it could probly draw some comparisons to their style of play, rooney is ugly and plays ugly, ronaldo is good looking and plays with great skill.
And trying to say ronaldo is the cry baby out on the field… i thought it was quite proffesional targeting a hot head on the field, and as a cry baby, rooney retaliated, when it takes a MAN and another proffesional to just walk away.
After seeing the 2006 world cup, i can say i would not be proud to be english atm because of a few ppl, they were sore losers when they lost, their team performed poorly, and tried to disrupt the peace of the world tournament with bringing back the history of germany in the wars through a street riot.

I don’t think Ronaldo is to blame for us (England) losing the match, or for Rooney being sent off but I do think his behaviour was disgusting. As I said in my previous post it was pre-meditated and dishonourable, whereas Rooney’s actions were stupid and rash.

I think in general there has been more cheating and dirty play this world cup than before, with Protugal being involved in some of the worst matches, having more players booked and sent off than other teams. Ronaldo’s actions have typified the attitude of young arrogant footballers, who are given adulation, wealth and success but lack any control, or humility. Ronaldo isn’t being blamed for the loss, he is simply being blamed for his own actions which should not be defended. After what he did was shown, the French and the German fans bood him during his matches too. It is not just the England fans who think what he did was wrong.

Aw come on poeple ! Rooney did commit a foul after all. Even if Ronaldo hadn’t put his big mouth into the situation, the referee would have given him a red card. He even confirmed this in a public statement that he made. Though Ronaldo should have just kept his mouth shut, you cant blame him completely. After all, it’s the world cup ! They’re playing against each other to reach the semis. Who wouldn’t utilize a chance to give their team a better chance of winning?? It was a purely instinctive act. He saw a foul, he reported it. England just wants someone else to blame for their pitiful performance.

Rooney was depended on far to much even after returning from and injury. Ronaldo simply exploited Rooneys babyish side.

HEYYY did everyone watch the ITALY vs FRANCE GAME.

DID you guys see Materazzi say something to Zidane and provoked him to HEAT BUTT Him.

Omg this is so DEJA VU. This is just like when Ronaldo provoked Rooney to PUSH HIM.

Like MATERAZZI totally did it just so that the referee will give him a red carD!!!

WOOWWWWWWWWWWW

om im english guys so thats why im so dumb. thats also the reason why we kept booing Ronaldo in the germany vs portugal game because he provoked ROoney to PUSH HIM.

I cant believe materazzi did the same thing. WOW.

You english are PATHETIC.

I pray to God you guys never win a world cup. EVER.

You guys mAKE ME SICk..

I’ve always loved Ronaldo, but I too blame him for Rooneys exit!! I think Rooney deserves a chance to knock him out at the United training grounds like the quote above says.
I think his whinning is getting over rated and i think he better either start growing fast or hes going to lose ALOT of fans!!!

Blame the English press for whatever will happen between Rooney and Ronaldo in the comming weeks.

The press,I believe,is a vehicle for social engineering(positive),but the British press have used it as a means to destroy whatever is against their interest,even if their interest is unpopular and immoral.
My advice to Ronaldo is to drop MAN U like its hot.His future lies in Gods hands and not in England.As for Rooney,I dont care how talented he is,if he does nothing about his temper,he will not go very far in his career.

“I pray to God you guys never win a world cup. EVER”

Check History 1966 I think England one a world cup then.. not sur but think so!!!!

Well done Italy for winning the WC, shame your Italian teams will no longer be playing in the prem division after todays hearing lol… What a mess this football is in.. Think I will take up Ice hocky they all look like fine gentelmen… hahah

yeh sure ronaldo winked..maybe cuz of sumin else. rooney gah sent off cuz he stepped on another players groin. that is why he got red-carded. and the fact that ronaldo was saying sumin to the ref does not matter because he has no authority to change the ref.’s mind. sum1 else from portugal was also talking to the ref. when ronaldo was. and no one made a bashing site fuh zidane when he headbutted da italian player. instead he gah regnized for his talent.its a football match and wah ever happenZ happenZ. we shouldnt make sum1′z life miserable just cuz of wun match.

Rooney is the one to blame.Stamping on the Portugeese guy was uncalled for. Ronaldo had to say somthing so it would have been recognised.He derserved a red card. I am English, but after seing the way engalnd had been playin through the world cup I stopped supporting them and blaming Ronaldo for this is just stupid! English have to learn they lost, Rooney also needs to control is temper better. He commited the foul ronaldo didn’t tell him to did he?Rooney has to suffer the consequences of his mistakes, so stop blaming ronaldo. There could have been another reason why ronaldo was winking.

I need to tell you why my brother Winked after Rooney got the red card, it was becuase My brother Ronie was asked by the manager to get Rooney out of the game any wat he could, so he did and the manager was so happy and my brother was so happy they Winked to each other….

yeah england lost, like 4 years ago and who did they blame 4 years ago? it was beckham’s fault and which one is it now? it’s ronaldo’s fault…that’s so funny…please english people shut up and get a life….it’s a shame how u are behaving, giving threats like ” we will burn his house” and even crossing the barrier with making threats towards his family…shame on u!!! after all he is only 21 years old and it’s not his fault that ronney is dumbass who is like a pitbull and who has the brain of a 2 years old kid…the fact that u are adoring this guy is the evidence that u don’t have a clue of proper behaviour…loool if i would be ronaldo i would show my gratitude in leaving ur country..why should i support a team where nobody backed up for me and whose citizens are making threats towards my family??? of course he is a diver but after all he is still very young and he will find out that he can’t win a match like this but talking bullshit about him without a proper reason is really low…and to all the people who said that even french people were boooing : there were over 10000 english people in the stadium…they really thought that they would win vs.portugal..so who is arrogant now??? i was disappointed of the germans as well because they got attached by this stupid campagne towards ronaldo…very well done england, u demonstarted once again that u are a bad loser…thumps up….

jugding by the very immature comments on this site show that the united kingdom is far superia to places like canada which are terrible at football rooney was set up theres nothing to discuss the guy was framed im a manu fan myself and im disscusted in ronaldo.

Hey, Some may blame wayne rooney for his antics against the portugal match but personally i think ronaldo and players like materazzi who are beginning to ruin the beautiful game of football. I admit he is a very talented footballer however his atutide is poor. The fact is when ronaldo winked towards the bench. This was a sign to show what was set out to do has now been completed. Personally i think it’s disgusting, When rooney ‘accidently’ Stepped on the player. The referee signalled just a free kick. When ronaldo got involved he knew what he was doing, he knew how much wayne rooney’s temper would stretch and he pushed him too far as a result rooney got sent off. Acording to the fifa ruling no player has influence over the referees verdict, I disagree in big match especially in the world cup when you have 5-7 portugese players yelling at you, I believe that is where you sway on there side. As for materazzi the comments he said to zidane about his sick mother was unaceptable and anybody in his place would of done the same. Why can’t football just go back to what it used to be like… Or even beter kick the players who don’t show the right atitude off to play for halifax town. Thanks :D joshyb x

Why do all the english go and blame every thing on ronaldo i think it is because they can’t face the fact that they lost because there all bad loser and we can’t change that.

WHY…WHY..blame C Ronaldo? Is Ronaldo supposed to just shut up and not tell the ref to pull a card on his “mate” Rooney? The match was England v. Portugal…all friendships get put aside. Rooney is a thug and he got what he deserved. I find it astounding that the blame for Rooney being an idiot is going to Ronaldo. Face the truth for once…
incredible!!

I agree that Rooney should be held accountable for his actions. However I also agree that Ronaldo winking was sheer idiocy on his part in the way of biting the hand that feeds him and thumbing a supposed friend. I also think Materazzi comments were disgusting and if that’s the kind of playing that wins the World Cup then they can keep the damn thing

there is no debate why are you even considering that it was rooneys fault it was ronaldo am a fraid rooney was set up, gd plan tho portugal must admit it was so ovious it was going to happen come on ppl look at the facts for christ sake…

u lot who say ronaldo wasnt to blame need to sort ur heads out. thats all i can say i hate ronaldo now 4 what hes done. im a united supporter n love ronlado but not anymore. i still support united obviously but never again will i defend ronlado wen he gets slated. he deserves everything he gets from now on!! im not even gonna say good luck to the boy cos hes gonna get bad fings sed and done 2 him either way hahaha he deserves it. all you other countries should shut up and stay out of it u dont even have a say in what happens so dont comment on the situation. if u dont support england then of course your going to defend ronaldo!!!

this msg is for ”Im ENGLISH. I blame others for my LOSS. I’m a dumbass” shut ur face dont u dare call english ppl… canada are the worst and u need a gud smack for sayin that!!!! we will win the world cup one day u watch!! dont even slag our england team ! at least are boys tried. were canada even in the world cup?? dint fink so !! cos they dont get much worse than bleedin canada. u ppl are the worst and u all live in a shit hole. iv bin there b4 n omg its the scruffiest smelliest place with the most horrible ugly fat ppl ever no doubt ur 1 of them!!

OMG SHUT UP YOU LOT!!! IF UR NOT ENGLISH THEN UR BOUND TO STICK UP FOR THAT LOSER RONLADO!! N ITS NOT THAT US ENGLISH R BAD LOSERS ITS THE FACT THAT WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE GAME! US ENGLISH GET CALLED RACIST N STUFF ALL THE TIME BUT U DONT SEE ANY OF U CUMMING AND SAYIN IT TO R FACES DO U ?? YET U ALL SOMEHOW MANAGE TO BRING UR FAMILIES HERE N RUIN OUR COUNTRY!! DO ALL US ENGLISH FOLK A FAVOUR N GET BK TO UR OWN COUNTRIES AND STAY THERE!!! U DONT EVVEN UNDERSTAND FOOTBALL ANYWAY SO DO NOT COMMENT ON THE SITUATION!!

Did Ronaldo physically pick up Rooney’s leg and smash it down on Carvalho’s balls? I don’t think so. Rooney is a thug..he did the crime..yet like many people…does not want to take ownership for his thuggery. Incredible how people blame Ronaldo for Rooney being an idiot.

one more thing…is it a foul to wink? I think Ronaldo was winking to say that Rooney needs ANGER MANAGEMENT classes!!

England has some great talent but have always lacked a coach with the killer instinct. Not to mention some bad choices for the team (e.g. E. Hesky in 2002). Look to the English team for the failings in WC 2006 not other players and referees. And why are cowards always so tough online? There is no reason to slag any country England, Canada or anywhere. This is not a forum for racism.

Ronaldo is absolutely beautiful and he wasn’t to blame for Rooney getting red carded! He’s an awesome player and the English fans were only booeing him because they’re jealous that they don’t have such a star player on their team. (I think you’d all agree…)
Carvalho didn’t deserve getting his balls smashed and I’m glad that Rooney was punished for it. (No offense to him but it was a well deserved red card!)
Sorry Portugal’s better…hahaaa!!
P.S: Portugal should’ve won against France…that was NOT a penalty!!

Does anyone else agree that we need to introduce video referees to World Cup football??

u sad ppl ronaldo is to blame can u all shut up all u ppl from around the world that bum portugal u shouldnt even speak language gd day (Y)(Y)(Y)

I dont know why the hell we are even trying to defend our country guys! Everyone in their right minds knows that Ronaldo is to blame.. There is no surprise that the yanks are the main ones trying to say it was Rooney’s fault – but where they even in the World Cup?? NO cos they don’t have clue about football.. How dare they say that Rooney is a thug – they have no idea!! Wayne Rooney is not a thug, he might have a bad temper but he is not a thug.. he didn’t purposelly stand on Carvalho.. Ronaldo is a cheating, lying, ‘’scheming football player”, who has made a joke out of Football.. all he ever does is dive and now he has found a new way to try and win. His now famous wink says all it has to say.. he knew what he set out to do that day and he achieved it.. Every one knows that Ronaldo set out to get Rooney sent off.. they even have t shirts now with a pic of Ronaldo on winking and it says on then ”Cheating B*****d”.. its common knowledge that he is a cheat… I have NO respect for him at all and I think he is a disgrace.. For me the most AMAZING part of the World cup that really just made me the happiest person alive was when Ronaldo cried when Portugal got knocked out of the world cup.. seeing the picture of him on the front page of the paper in tears was absolutely amazing..
And if Ronaldo is such an ”amazing player” then why did he not win young player of the year award??? It just proves how many people have gone off him now if no one voted for him!!

Gary u just about covered everything everyone is thinking let this be a lesson to u portugese….

Portugal did not deserve to win against France since they couldn’t score even against a very weak keeper like Barthez. That’s because France’s defense was strong (Thuram is the world’s 2nd best defender). Portugal’s defense relied almost entirely on their exceptional goalkeeper (the tournament’s 2nd best keeper). It’s true C. Ronaldo was in fine form against France but not even he could assist his team with a goal.

And any neutral observer knows it most certainly was a penalty, Portugal fans just refuse to see it. Henry played it up to make sure the referee saw it, and anyone who knows Henry was certainly disappointed to see him exaggerating a tackle like that. Many of his Arsenal fans in England were disappointed since Henry has a reputation for not diving or cheating. They love him at Arsenal precisely because he doesn’t use these tactics. But that doesn’t mean there was no foul and that it was not a legitimate call on the referee’s part.

There was so much publicity about Henry’s act precisely because Henry DOESN’T use those tactics normally that it became so noticeable in one of the few times that he did. Meanwhile, Portugal’s players were flopping all over the place consistently against both France & England (and so many times there was absolutely no contact) and constantly arguing with the ref to declare a foul. Their behavior during that game was appalling – they did not deserve to win.

As for Rooney, I put the blame on Ericksson. He put a young inexperienced player at his first World Cup at such a critical game all alone up there up front against a team of aggressive tacklers. He had no support and no protection. He lost control.

Of course Rooney deserved the red card and of course Ronaldo was not the cause. He just exacerbated the situation by coming over and demanding the ref do something while a frustrated Rooney was still in the heat of the moment. Look at Rooney’s face when he shoves Ronaldo – it’s a look not just of anger but also one of shock and hurt at what a fellow teammate is doing to him. And then Ronaldo compounded things by that wink. It was a dirty, nasty, graceless, obnoxious piece of work on Ronaldo’s part. It’s things like that that make him so disliked. That, and the constant flopping. His problem (as with all the Portugese players) is that their diving just isn’t on the same skill level as the italians — the Portugese are so blatant and clumsy and obvious about it.

It’s too bad Ronaldo has these obvious flaws because he is a very good player. I read a terrific article on a British website saying how despite all of Ronaldo’s flaws, he was one of the few players at this disappointing tournament who tried to give us a little spectacle, flair and entertainment with his obvious talents. This tournament was a triumph for boring defensive football, which is why italy won. Ronaldo at least tried to waken us up from the tedium. I just hope that as he gets older, he matures and starts behaving with more professionalism, grace and class.

We Man Utd fans love Ronaldo, we’re so glad he knocked England out of the world cup, Rooney and Ronaldo forever!

tom your a typical england fan face the facts

lsn guys, it was rooneys fault n england lost so get over it, i supported england in the WC but now i dont coz theyre cant win and they just blame any1 4 it wen they lose n it wasnt ronaldos fault.

Hey I am a fan of chelsea and this league title will be taken by chelsea. I love Lampard, Drogba, Shevchenko and all the chelsea players.

u know what i think rooney is just jealous of c.ronaldo. his talent and skill can fight wayne rooney’s jealousy. C.ronaldo is not to blame for rooney’s incident. C.ronaldo is the best and will always be the best and because of that england were kicked out of the WC06. 7 for ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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hi iam a man.u i think they are thee best be wawewsa vs roma

well im sorry to all you people who didn’t take spelling lessons as young children but the spelling on one comment is absolutly atrosious. then the very same person goes on and calls Wayne Rooney a pitbull with the brain of a 2 year old, well i have this to say to you, maybe learn how to spell at a grade 2 level, and get a professional contract before you go and make insults to others alright. i have nothing against favouring one player over the other and personally i think both sides a parts to play in Rooney’s sending off (i actually think that ronaldo is a scum faced diver, but thats just a personal opinion). so thats all i have to say. so all those that dont take the time to spell things, just get a dictionary or something, cause it annoys the bloody shit out of me.

oh yeah, and one more thing. i am from canada. so all you english twats who want to comment on how crappy and smelly my country is, maybe you should go to the rockies or some place thats not a total shithole like toronto or someplace. so for all you people who say stuff like that, you can go and stuff it up your ass. dont be jelous just because you dont have the brain capasity or the capasity of wallet to go anywhere but the Toronto Airport in canada. i think anyone who has actually vacationed her in the fall can say its one of the most beautiful countrys in the world. thats all, have a nice day =)

cristiano ronaldo sucks …he is a wimp….brazils ronaldo is way better than this fake one …..godd one rooney

its all about guatemala …carlos ruis is the best ok all of u guys suck and guatemala is goin to take the cup this 2010 ok niggggassss

why da hell blame C Ronaldo dat picture is all da proof unes need te see dat its Ronneys fault not C ronaldos so why dont unes write dus shit out right again.fek unes all da proof is in da pictures and the crowds dat were at da match so **** unes all

yall stink yall dont know wat yall be talkin about and you mister qada need to learn how to speakadaenglish because watever really scared me and that i am telling my mommy

i love qada and i know how to speakayoualanguage and here is a message to you j,xchgfuyfaseghfkzdfghukxhso;iyvg89e7hyj;ofukjh8s6tydypkhdflkj98iobheryuju0yhiotek6uj9pu8ep

because RONAIDO is wrong he even said bad words to ENGLAND AND TO ROONEY
P.S. i hate c.ronaldo and PORTUGAL

No problem omar and boode. Its ur hate 4 our country that make us stronger. We r one of the most friendly nations in the world and when it comes 2 welcome foreigners we r top class. I feel proud 2 welcome tourists over here and in the end hear them sayin they had a good time and were really well treated. Its one of the best things to b proud of and its not ppl like u who r going to spoilt our reputation. Its the racism and anger beetween nations that makes me even prouder of being portuguese. People with genuine good hearts. Shame of u!!

I think Cristiano is Rooney’s daddy for sure!
It’s called Cristiano Gold

It was not Ronaldos fault it was Rooneys fault!He just goes in starts pushing Ronaldo around then he goes and tramples someone. If he is going to be that stupid there is no way you people can just blame Ronaldo. It is just Idiotic. Rooney needs to take responsibility for his actions!!!!!!!!

P.S:Notice everyone who said it was Ronaldos fault is from the UK (England fans).

HEY…THIS TOPIC IS CLOSED GUYS!!! HELLLO! WE ARE IN 2008 4 Christ’s sake!! Duh!!!

i don’t think we should blame on ronaldo, our country all aways lose,when was the last time we won, in 1996

Ronaldo is good but then he is such a cry baby
and the ref is stupid he was convinced by C.Ron

I support you armani I think all of these guys should get over it besides rooney and ronaldo are good friends and they don’t hate each other anymore.they are both playing for manutd and I am a great fan and by the way I really think ronaldo is sexy I like him he’s so cute

i think rooney should be blame

AAAAAAAAAAAAAH, this brings back memories…

This is the famous story, that lasted months, even years, that started when Rooney was sent off for stepping on R Carvalho’s balls (while on the ground); and how because C Ronaldo complained to the ref, and then winked at the coach (or whoever) when Rooney got Red, HE was immediatelly blamed for Rooney’s sent off.

Now, really, how stupid can one be…?

Apparently very stupid, cos the english fed on this shit for months non-stop. There were unbelievable provocations from the press, lies, the public, his house got broken in, they made his life hell on earth.
They only started stopping when the admited, not when they realized, that C Ronaldo is arguably the best player in their league – The Best League in the world – but quite a non english league…

I wonder who is scoring in Man Utd, a putative Champions League Winner….?
Is it the striker or is comming from the wing…?

NOW, two years after all this, the talk in England is whether C Ronaldo is the best in the world or not… 8)
Honestly, you tried all the dirty tricks you could on C Ronaldo. I guess he gave you the finger with silk gloves… So much, he even made you love him… ;-)

It’s good to keep a good memory on these things, so that later they’re not painted in different colours. As it so often does…

you are all wrong cause anyway england sucks and ronaldo shouln”t get da blame because i love him and hes the worlds leage, rooney is just so jealous of c.ronaldo and rooney, just get used to it ronaldo is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than u in football and u really need to control ur temper and improve ur skills but surely whatever u d ronaldo is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!

rooney is wack ronaldo is a beast

C.RONALDO ROCKS!ENYTHING BAD YOU PPL SAY ABOUT HIM WON’T CHANGE ANYTHING! C.RONALDO IS THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD AND HE HAS PROVED IT!

i meant ANYTHING

Wtf…. Not England, not Rooney, but the main problem is C.Ronaldo….
C.Ronaldo is absolutely, definitely suck player…
What gold for him.. better pulp for him…
Just can run in the field.. no skills.. play like chicken.. no teamwork..
Wtf so many bad things that he got rather than skill.

Hate C.Ronaldo so much!!!!
The bad player that i ever seen..
Suck suck C.Ronaldo!! suck suck C.Ronaldo!!
That’s the motto for him.