Antonio Valencia's journey to be a Red Devil

Antonio Valencia was bought to Manchester United to replace Christiano Ronaldo. The pressure upon him was so tense at that time. The critic doubts that Valencia can produce the performance to replace Ronaldo. Antonio Valencia may not be wearing the iconic no 7 shirt in the squad, but that doesn't stop him from filling Ronaldo's boots brilliantly. No doubt, Valencia first season as a Red Devil was a success.- Man Utd best signing from last season!

Here are things that you should know about Antonio Valencia..Man Utd rising star>>>

His full name is Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera. His nickname Tono Maravilla means ‘The Marvel Tono’. The moniker was given to him by Orlando Narvaez, a coach from his first club El Nacional, who also gave Birmingham’s Christian Benitez his nickname ‘Chucho’.

The Valencia family sold drinks outside Lago Agrio’s Carlos Vernaza stadium near their bungalow in the district of Guayaquil. The young Valencia, one of seven children — six sons and a daughter — helped by trawling the streets for discarded bottles that his father sold to a bottle-deposit company.

Pedro ‘Papi’ Perlaza, once of Barcelona, spotted the slim young boy playing barefoot on a dusty field near his home. The kid was raw but had obvious natural talent and Perlaza loved the way he effortlessly won possession on the scorched ground. 

By coincidence, Perlaza had been asked to run a football academy in Sucumbios to find the best youngsters in the region. He signed Valencia that afternoon and spent four years improving his skills on pitches often flooded by monsoon rains.

At 16, Valencia moved to Quito and joined the army club Club Deportivo El Nacional on a monthly salary of £34. Within a year, he was fast-tracked into the Under 20s, where he played alongside Birmingham striker Christian ‘Chucho’ Benitez and scored 20 goals in 84 matches.

Valencia’s idol was Edison Mendez, now a winger with PSV Eindhoven. He made his El Nacional debut in the same team as his hero and the pair still play for the national team together, operating on opposite flanks. Valencia has 34 international caps.

His girlfriend Zoila gave birth to Domenik during the 2006 World Cup finals. His daughter’s name is tattooed on the inside of his right arm.

Valencia made his debut for Ecuador in March 2005 and scored twice in a 5-2 win over Paraguay which sealed qualification to the World Cup in Germany. That summer he joined Villarreal.

So impressive was Valencia’s performances at the 2006 World Cup, he was in the running for young player of the tournament with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and eventual winner Lukas Podolski. He was also spotted by Wigan boss Paul Jewell.

Paul Jewell: ‘I was scouting for Wigan at Poland v Ecuador and I thought I might see some Poles of interest — when you’re manager of Wigan you don’t expect to be scouting Ecuadoreans. But Ecuador won 2-0 and there was one player who stood out — Valencia. I liked his reading of the game. I was surprised he was only 20. His game was much more mature.’

Wigan paid Villarreal a £1.5million loan fee and he signed for one season. ‘He arrived on a Friday and we had a pre-season friendly on the Saturday,’ said Jewell. ‘Without having trained, he came on for 20 minutes and straight away the lads could see he was a player. And I liked him, we all did, he always came in smiling.’

He used to attend English lessons with Hondurans Maynor Figueroa and Wilson Palacios before the latter’s move to Spurs. Manchester City’s Felipe Caicedo and Segundo Castillo of Everton joined them but Valencia still struggles with English and his written Spanish is limited. Steve Bruce, who inherited Valencia at Wigan, said: ‘He struggled with it, but it didn’t matter. You knew you could just put him on the pitch and he would pick it up.’

He meets regularly with ‘Chucho’ Benitez. Their friendship goes back to their teenage days together lining up for daily inspections in their army barracks. Benitez said: ‘I remember one day a trainer advised us to eat pasta and a lot of iron to keep fit, but Tono misunderstood. In South America pasta means sauce and it is also what they call toothpaste. The next day I find Valencia tucking in to a tube of Colgate.’

Dave Whelan (chairman of Wigan) said: ‘If every footballer was like Antonio, life would be wonderful. He is a quiet, clean-living, well-mannered young gentleman. When United and Real Madrid came in for him I told him straightaway. I promised all the South American lads that I would keep them informed when the big clubs came in. I did the same with Wilson Palacios. Real Madrid offered us more money but I advised him to go to United because I knew Sir Alex would look after him.’

Sir Alex Ferguson is unstinting in his praise for Valencia. ‘He’s got great balance, power and speed,’ said the Scot. ‘He’s immediately taken to the challenge well and with purpose. We’re very pleased with what we’ve seen.’ 

Why Sir Alex signed Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez? ...Here's the answer>>

Manchester United have reacted to their Champions League exit by signing Javier Hernandez from Chivas Guadalajara. Javier who? This striker is highly rated in his homeland and his goalscoring exploits set to earn him a place in his country's World Cup squad. Let's see why Sir Alex Ferguson rush to sign up this hot prospect without much hesitation.

Javier Hernandez Balcazar, also known as "Chicarito Hernandez" is fast becoming the next big Mexican striking prospect. Hernandez was mostly known in Mexico thanks to his father, Javier "Chicharo" Hernandez, who was part of the Mexican national team during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. 

In addition, his grandfather was also a well known professional player and an icon at Chivas Guadalajara, having scored over 50 goals for them including the 500th goal in the club's history.

Since the beginning of the 2009/10 season, Hernandez has absolutely been on fire and it doesn't appear that his form will dry up any time soon. He scored 11 goals in 17 matches during the Apertura tournament (the first half of the season), leading his club to the playoffs and was also named as a candidate for "Striker of the tournament". As the Clausura (second half of the season) got underway he continued just where he left off and has already scored 4 goals in 2 matches.

Hernandez has shown great striking instincts this past year. He is very dangerous inside the box, which is where he scores most of his goals, and is always a threat to the defense. He demonstrates tremendous movement and anticipation and as a result reads the game very well and is able to move into space to receive the ball and shoot on goal. 

Even though he is not very tall he is very good in the air and only needs a split second of freedom inside the box to score. Hernandez has great composure and concentration in front of goal. Combined with excellent finishing skills he has all the tools to be a lethal striker.

Hernandez has all the skills that a striker needs in order to succeed in any league around the world. He is very quick, strong and has the ability to score with both feet as well as with his head. But perhaps more importantly he has the natural instincts and mentality of a top class striker.

Sir Alex Ferguson knows he is short of options up front, which has been highlighted by Michael Owen's injury, and Hernandez will join the Red Devils in the summer if he acquires a work permit.

Ferguson also has Federico Macheda, Mame Biram Diouf and Danny Welbeck at his disposal, plus the prospect of William Keane emerging next season, but has decided to add to his attacking armoury.

"I am delighted to reach agreement with Chivas to bring such an exciting young striker, who has been in such prolific form for both his club and country. He will be a great addition to our squad and we look forward to welcoming our first Mexican player in the summer." explained Ferguson.

The transfer fee for the forward, nicknamed 'Chicarito', is, as yet, undisclosed.

Linesman,Simon Beck punished!

Yes..Remember the "blind" linesman who officiate Man Utd vs Chelsea match, Simon Beck..The assistant referee who blundered over Didier Drogba's winning goal has been grounded from big match action over the next week.

Simon Beck, who failed to flag Drogba offside during Chelsea’s 2-1 win, sits out the next set of Premiership fixtures in what is almost certain to be punishment for his error.

Essex official Beck is on Championship duty this weekend, running the line at Bristol City versus Swansea. He misses out on all the seven Premier League games taking place over the next week, as well as the two FA Cup semi-finals.

That shouldn't be considered as punishment..Refereeing the Championship is where he belong..

GOOD NEWS, Wayne Rooney is stepping out WITHOUT his crutches.

GOOD NEWS, Wayne Rooney is stepping out WITHOUT his crutches.

The 24-year-old crocked striker managed to walk unaided for the first time since spraining his ankle on Tuesday.

He turned up at Old Trafford wearing a supportive boot to watch his Manchester United teammates lose 1-2 to Chelsea.

But hopes are high he'll soon be back on the pitch - perhaps within a fortnight, so that he can still face Bayern Munich.

Wayne was hobbling along but everyone was delighted to see him without crutches.

He had a determined look on his face. You can tell he wants to be fit as quickly as possible

Nemanja Vidic to stay if offered £100,000 a week.

Nemanja Vidic is prepared to have a dramatic change of heart and stay at Manchester United if they catapult him to the top of the pay league.

The defender had been expected to quit the club in the summer after his attitude was put under scrutiny by Sir Alex Ferguson. He has responded in recent weeks with a string of top-class performances and could yet stay if they make him an offer in excess of £100,000 a week.

United have several pay scales and reserve the highest bracket for Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney. Vidic could stay if they make him one of the best-paid players at the club.

Ferguson recently said he was one of the game's great defenders and his partnership with Ferdinand is one of the most reliable in the game.

He had been eyeing a move to AC Milan but cash problems at the Italian club have forced him to reconsider.

Referee, Mike Dean and Simon Beck were a total shame for Premier League football !

I seriously think that Mike Dean should retire as referee..and the linesman, Simon Beck..have a check at your eyes sight..something wrong with it. No joking here..Something wrong with FA for appointing this quality of referee and linesman.

Mike Dean was afraid to award penalty anymore after it was revealed that he had awarded 16 penalties in his last 24 Premier League matches.

Manchester United also had two first-half penalty appeals turned down when Ji-Sung Park and Dimitar Berbatov were clattered by Chelsea players. The Blues also had a penalty shout when Gary Neville nudged Nicolas Anelka midway through the first half.

3 penalties denied...Mike Dean..please retire for the sake Premier League future. You make the game look so ugly. I believe if you are refereeing a World Cup match..you'll probably be shot dead.

I totally agree with SAF that it is the quality of the officials that have cost Man Utd the title.

Linesman, Simon Beck.. is directly in front of Drogba. There is no one near him and there is not a defender in sight, yet he still gets it wrong. Are you ok Simon?

Sir Alex added "In a game of this magnitude, you really need quality officials. We did not get them today" and "I was worried when Dean was appointed for this game."

Secret Revealed: Wayne Rooney's secret to scoring 22 goals to date

Wayne Rooney's lucky gloves brought him an early goal but couldn't save him from injury in a balmy Bavaria last night.

The England striker, who struck after only 64 seconds, began protecting his fingers from the cold 20 games ago - during United's 3-0 win at home to Wolves on December 15. Since then the 24 years old has kept his mitts under wraps and then scored 22 goals.

A real glove affair.

United's line up for that match was their oldest in Champions League history with an average age of 30 years and 10 days. Paul Scholes played in his 637 th match for United last night. He was all over the pitch during the first half. It was Scholes's poor midfield collegues Nani, Ji-Sung Park and Carrick who received the hook in the second half, not the veteran!

Below are some of the pictures taken during Rooney 22 goals Glove Affair..

Hope that Rooney will be fit to bring Manchester United the title...

Secret Revealed : Why Park Ji Sung have the best stamina?

Park Ji Sung is the boy who drank stinking boiled frog juice to become a man.

The idol of South Korea was considered too weak ever to make it in the game he loved.But his parents had other ideas.

Which is why dad went to the frog farms, mother boiled up the juice and son winced as he drank it, having been told the nutrients would help him grow.

Park revealed: "They said it was good for my health to become stronger and I ate anything that would improve my health."

His father even took a job in a butcher's shop so he could get the best cuts of meat to build up his boy - second course the frog juice.

Park's performances for club and country are certainly no croak as he lives up to his nickname back home of 'Three-lung Park'. His tireless effort for the cause makes him stand out.

Patrice Evra said: "I have never seen a player as intelligent. I tell him he needs to bring out a video because his movement is such a good example for young players. Park shows it's about the team, not individuals."

Park has battled against the odds to become South Korea's captain and most celebrated player. To think he was rejected by college teams in his youth before playing for Myongi University.

He had to go to Japan's second division to get a chance professionally with Kyoto Purple Sanga.

It is amazing to think Park's dad initially stopped him from playing, thinking he was too weak. Park refused to eat unless he was allowed to play.

His father, Seong-Jong, said: "If I let you play, will you try hard and not quit?" Park replied: "I am never going to quit."

Park describes Hiddink as the greatest influence on his career.

What is not widely known, though, is that the two men briefly fell out when Park eschewed a switch to Chelsea that Hiddink was in the process of arranging, in order to follow his heart to Old Trafford in 2005.

'When I made my mind up for Manchester I felt that I had betrayed Hiddink,' reflected Park. 'I knew that Hiddink wanted me to stay (and then go to Chelsea later), so I found it difficult.'

Predictably, many Premier League observers presumed Park - about whom they knew little - was being brought to Old Trafford as a clothes horse, to shift United shirts and merchandise in Korea.

Certainly, he has helped. Of all United's Asian partners, those in Korea are most valuable. The hysteria when United visit Seoul on pre-season tours outweighs any experienced in China, Malaysia or Thailand, for example.