On Manchester United: What we learned from their 3-1 win over Celtic

So it's been a while since I wrote anything on my favorite club, so it's time to check back in with the Red Devils. They played their season opener in a friendly against Celtic yesterday and won 3-1. Let's take a look at what I saw in this friendly match, good and bad:

1. Dimitar Berbatov: He's really freaking good. Man U fans have taken to using Berbatov as a scapegoat for any and every misfortune of the club. He does have a sort of poor scoring record (29 goals in 86 appearences) but Man U fans have to face the fact that sometimes goals don't dictate how valuable a striker is to the team.

Let me tell you right now, the players love Berbatov. Darren Fletcher came out before the match and was talking up Berbatov, stating that he was a key leader on the team. Berbatov is also the perfect antithesis to Rooney. Rooney is all hot-headed desperation and power, Berbatov is all modesty, grace, and finesse.

Fans don't like him because they claim he doesn't look like he's trying. What I saw yesterday was not a man who was not expending effort, what I saw was a man who was so skilled that he just didn't need to expend that much effort. One of the commentators said that Berbatov looked like he had "hands on his feet" his ball control was so expertly handled, and it's shocking how true that statement is. His play is so subtle, his position so well timed, that he just looks like he's barely trying. But if you could read his mind, you'd know of his genius.

And we saw just how valuable Berbatov can be in yesterday's game. They scored 3 goals right? Berbatov assited two and scored the other one. One assist was a back heel, the other was a perfectly weighted, selfless pass across the goal box to a budding Danny Welbeck. His goal was an absolutely flawless one. He deadend a bouncing ball with the heel of his foot, then in his second touch, pinwheeled his entire body and swung his leg straight through the ball, sending it careening unflichingly into the side-netting.

Berbatov is an important part of this team. Because let's face it, Rooney can't play in every goddamn game. They tried it last season and he got hurt. Ferguson needs to warm up to the idea of resting Rooney and letting Berbatov take matches that won't be as challenging, the Hull City, the West Ham, the Wigan Athletic.

Berbatov showed just how valuable he is to this organization, and hopefully Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Man U fans, have loosened the noose around his neck.

2. Youngsters. This is a Manchester United team with a lot of budding young star power. Danny Welbeck, Chris Smalling, Gabriel Obertan, the Brazilian twin full backs Fabio and Rafael, Federico Macheda, Tom Cleverly, the list goes on. Let's go through some of the key younger guys from that list and talk about how they looked yesterday.

Danny Welbeck. Welbeck is an important part of this team for a number of reasons. He's a speedster, which is something that every team needs for a 75 minute substitution when a game is tied up and you know that their back line is exhausted. He's an English national, and that always helps with the fan base at home. And he's just a really hyped up player. Yesterday, Welbeck scored, which is awesome. And he looked hungry for the goal which is also awesome. I still think Ferguson is going to want some more looks at little Danny before he decides if this will be his go to guy for a shot in the arm in the second half when they just can't get the breakthrough against Arsenal.

Chris Smalling. This guy is really important. Rio Ferdinand was injured again in the World Cup and has proved that he is probably not going to be a consistant starter and may not even be a 90 minute player anymore. So knowing that Smalling will be there to pick up the slack will be key for United. Yesterday, I was impressed with Smalling's football IQ, he seemed to know what to do at all times and seemed to have a lot of confidence. However, he did commit a terrible foul in the 18 yard box that led to Celtic's only goal off a penalty, so Fergie is probably still a little wary on him and could be looking at the other young central defender Johnny Evans, who had a great game.

Gabriel Obertan. This was the young player of the game for United, in my eyes. Obertan was brought in as attempt to smooth the creases after Ronaldo was transfered to Real Madrid two seasons ago. And in this game, Obertan showed that he could be just as creative and explosive as Ronaldo. Obertan was was giving it his all on every play, possessed an extremely creative flare, and also seemed to have a cutting edge for finishing. Fergie could be considering Obertan as a starter in place of Nani, another player brought in to try and replace Ronaldo.

Federico Macheda. The 19 year old Italian came into the match in the 75th minute and did what he does best, he created chances. He didn't score one, but he definitely was in around the goal when he needed ot be there and didn't look like he had his head up his ass like some fans have claimed that he does when comes into a game. He will be a real option late in the game for United if they need a breakthrough.

These are the things I took from Man U's opening game against Celtic. Did you see something you wanted to bring up? Comment!

On Manchester United: Why they are my favorite club and why they are great.

Explaining the title: I just said "great" because personally, it really pisses me off when people always say "THE GREATEST TEAM/BAND/PLAY/MOVIE/POTATO CHIP EVER." Even if it is true, it's obnoxious and dumb. Except for football, as it actually is the best sport. As I will explain later. Anyway, I think it would be pretty hard to argue that Manchester United (who have won 18 Premierships, 11 FA Cups, 3 UEFA Championships, one Super Cup, and a Fifa World Cup) or really any club in the Barclays Premier League, isn't great. This is the top level of football (followed closely by Spain's La Liga, in my book)

Explaining why they are my favorite: We'll just get this out of the way, as I'm sure most of you aren't interested in my personal stake in this team.

I've only been a fan of this club for about 8 months, but you can't really blame me because I'm from the US. I started being a fan of the club after I bought Fifa 10. A video game. But, in my defense, it's considered to be quite great (Metacritic). I liked using them because I could score with them quite a lot, and I liked all of their players. Easy enough. Looking into my history, I found that a major part of my heritage actually comes from Manchester. So, that makes me legit. I guess. Alright, moving on.

Why they are great:

Reason 1: Wayne Rooney.

Rooney is Manchester United right now, straight up. He's the player everyone associates with them, and they very well should. With 26 goals in 32 appearences in League play in 34 goals across all competitions, Rooney is the top scorer for Man U and probably would have been in the Premier League if not for an injury that kept him out of four games at the end of the season, letting Chelsea's goal eater Didier Drogba (29 goals in League play) pass him.

But Rooney means more than just Man U. Going into South Africa, Rooney is really the only solid forward England has got. With Jermaine Defoe woefully out of form, and an aging Peter Crouch, there's really nobody left up top at England. Gerrard plays like a forward, so that will help, but they still need Rooney up there. Rooney is also simply the most fun English forward to watch right now, for the following reasons.

Defoe: Defoe is simply out of form. He's also basically just a speed forward. He doesn't have too much of a shot, and he's got some solid skill, but nothing terribly special.

Crouch: Crouch is just an ugly player in my opinion. He's pretty good at taking chances, but his goals are never really like, "Wow! That guy is special!" He just sort of has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and he's maybe good for a goal every two games.

Heskey: Heskey is a pretty solid player, but that's it. He's just good. He's definitely not great. And in the World Cup, you have to be nothing short of miraculous. Or at least good at kicking penalties.

In short, Rooney is the life blood of Man U, and of England in a lot of ways.

Reason 2: A history of greatness.

I already mentioned this up top, but Man U has got a lot of established precedent of being great. They are one of only four teams to ever win the Premiership, and they've won it the most of anyone. This is reason enough for a band wagon, which Man U definitely has, but there's still more.

(Pictured above is George Best, considered by most to be the best player in Man U's history.

Reason 3: They get them first.

Throughout their history, Man U has had a knack for getting the world's best players right in their prime. It's true that they usually end up losing them, but they still get them while they're hot. We have seen a good amount of this in recent years. Before David Beckham was famous for "bending it," before Cristiano Ronaldo was just "Ronaldo," they were Red Devils. You can see it happening even now. Rooney is now a star (I know, he was at Everton first, but he wasn't a star yet), and they've got 18 year old Italian phenom Federico Macheda waiting in the laurels. A note on Macheda: that kid has come into a game twice now for a total of only about 30 minutes and scored two goals. That's exciting talent right there, and it's budding, as it always has, in Man U.

Reason 4: Diversity.

This is true of most clubs in the big five leagues in Europe (Ligue 1, La Liga, Seria A, Bundesliga, Premier League), but it's especially true of the starters at Man U. Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, pictured above), Patrica Evra (France), Nani (Cape Verde), Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria), Edwin Van Der Sar (Holland), Rafael (Brazil), are all not only starters, but some of them (particularly Vidic and Evra) are considered the best in the world at their position. The list goes on as you look at their roster for those that don't start but are still on the active roster: Senegal, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Poland, South Korea, Yugoslavia. This is a club of the world, and when you realize that it's really incredible when you think about how all of these different people work together so effectively

They also cast a wide net, obviously, as there are players in that list from every continent except Antarctica. And it's only getting wider, as they just signed Javier Hernandez, the club's first ever Mexican player.

Reason 5: Important English national players.

In addition to reason 4, Man U has a great amount of players from England that are key players. We've already talked about Rooney, but they've also got Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand is important not only because he's a really great center defender, but also because people like him. That goes a long way when you're starting next to John Terry, who's faced a whole slew of scandals throughout his career and is known as a pretty dirty player. Ferdinand is also a really loyal Red Devil. He made a point to come out after there was buzz in the air about Man U not winning the Premiership this year to say he wanted to be one of those guys who "got to Man U and stayed there."

By the way, the "those guys" are also an important part of Man U. These are the extremely experienced (aging, slightly) players that are established legends in England. These are the guys who have been to the World Cup, have been on the teams that have won the Premiership. This is where the leadership aspect of the club comes in. You've got guys like Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, and Paul Scholes. Scholes, Giggs and Owen hold countless Premier League records, and Hargreaves was supposed to get a tap for the World Cup this year, but then Capello decided to be an ass and pick Garreth Barry, who will be recovering from an injury and useless.

Reason 6: The Red Army.

Whether England likes it or not, hooliganism is a major part of the Premier League image. It's a pretty big draw. Whenever you mention English football, the first reaction is "Whew, those guys are crazy!" It's what everyone wants to talk about when they go to a match, how crazy the fans are. It's what the media projects as the lifestyle of English football. It's a way of life for these guys.

And if you are interested in hooliganism, you need look no further than Man U's Red Army. Despite having probably the most intimidating name of any other hooligan group, the Red Army is one of the largest and have an established precedent as being insane. While the term has been used to describe Man U fans in general, the memory of all of the vandalism and violence still lives on. They are a large part of why fans are segregated at matches now, with two seperate entrances. They have pet players, like the ever-pugnacious Gary Neville and the stoic impassable mountain that is Nemanja Vidic.

Reason 7: Old Trafford.

This should have been higher up on the list, because it's probably one of the best parts of Man U. Built in 1910, the Theater of Dreams is the premier stadium of the Premier League. After Wembley Stadium, it is has the largest capacity of any stadium in England, seating 75,957. It is the 11th largest in all of Europe. It is also the only stadium along with the Wembley to be given a five star rating by UEFA. It's where dreams are made, it's majestic, and I really want to go.

Reason 8: Sir Alex Ferguson.

Whether you like him or not, the man almost won an unprecedented four Premierships in a row. If he didn't have idiotic owners like the American Glazer family pulling the strings, he'd have a lot more money to throw around and may even still have Ronaldo. He's an old guy with a lot of power and he knows how to use it, plain and simple.

I'm out of reasons. Comment if you like this/have other ideas/think I'm an asshole.