Sir Alex Ferguson - in an effort to boost Ronaldo's confidence.

Cristiano Ronaldo, named as the best footballer on the planet only last week, was given Carling Cup duty against Championship side Derby by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson - in an effort to boost his confidence.

Mike Phelan, Ferguson’s No 2, revealed it was a deliberate strategy to name the out-of-sorts Portugal star as a substitute in order to give him a much-needed lift.

The winger scored 42 times last season but he had not managed a domestic goal
since his double in the 5-0 win over Stoke on November 15.

Phelan said: ‘We had a plan to get Cristiano on the pitch and hopefully give him the chance to score.

'It worked for us, he scored the penalty, so his confidence is up there again.’

Ronaldo has been shaken by a recent car crash in which he wrote off a new ?200,000 Ferrari on the way to training.

Old Trafford spectators were astonished to see the world and European player of
the year join Tuesday night’s action after 57 minutes in the semi-final second leg with United 3-0 ahead.

It finished 4-2, with United winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Ronaldo, valued at ?80million by United in their battle to fend off Real Madrid, ended his nine-match drought by scoring the fourth from the spot after Carlos Tevez was fouled by keeper Roy Carroll.

Reaching the Carling Cup Final on March 1 will mean postponing a league clash against Portsmouth and puts more pressure on United’s demanding four-pronged
bid for silverware after a night of injury misery.

Anderson was carried off after United used all their substitutes and the wounded included Nani, Rafael, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Wes Brown are already sidelined.

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Cristiano Ronaldo High Quality Photos

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Cristiano Ronaldo voted Player of the Year by UEFA

Last week, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was elected Champions League’s best striker and overall best player for the 2007/2008 season, after helping Manchester United claim victory in the most competitive club football tournament in the world.
The prize was awarded during the group draws for UEFA Champions League 2008/2009.
United’s number 7 had a dream season last year, winning the Premiership’s best player of the year, the ‘Golden Boot’ (31 goals), and helping the ‘red devils’ take the Premiership and Champions League trophies home. More awards are expected for the Portuguese winger this year as he is the favourite for winning the ‘Golden Ball’ as well as FIFA’s Player of the Year.

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Ronaldo Promises To Give His All For Manchester United

Having flirted with the possibility of leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid for most of the summer, Cristiano Ronaldo today pledged to put his heart and soul into helping the Red Devils achieve further glory in 2008-09.
Portugal international Ronaldo dismayed many United by initially refusing to confirm that he wanted to stay to honour his contract at Old Trafford after being linked with Real Madrid, who made no secret of their wish to lure the winger to the Bernabeu.
But United held firm, manager Sir Alex Ferguson proved more persuasive in the end, and Real were disappointed.
The 23-year-old Ronaldo, nearing a return to action following ankle surgery, has now admitted he was 'naïve' with his comments over the summer, and confessed that if United had not beaten Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in the Champions League final, he would not have even considered seeking a fresh challenge.
"What I said publicly, which was maybe a little bit naïve, I take total responsibility for," he told Inside United magazine.
"I just said what I thought: I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on. People can't be upset about me fulfilling a child-hood dream.
"I knew Real were interested in me and they had, allegedly, made a substantial offer. For a while, I wanted United to accept.
"If we hadn't been European champions, I probably wouldn't have thought about going to Madrid. I never wanted to go against United's will.
"I'm 100 per cent professional and have always given my heart and soul to this club.
"If one day I leave, I want to do it knowing I did everything I could to help the club win as much as possible."

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Ferguson unconcerned by Manchester City threat

Sir Alex Ferguson is unconcerned by the threat posed by local rivals Manchester City following their takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment. The Manchester United manager was speaking following a two-day meeting of Europe's top coaches at the Swiss headquarters of European soccer's governing body Uefa.
"I can't be worried," he said of his neighbours' new position as the world's richest club. "We have a good setup ourselves and we've been working to build up the team we've got, so we just have to carry on. There are always challenges in football, some years ago it was Chelsea and some years ago it was Arsenal and wherever the challenge comes from we have to accept it. So it doesn't change anything."
Ferguson also poured scorn on suggestions that City would make a move for Cristiano Ronaldo in the January transfer window. Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, head of the Abu Dhabi United Group, had suggested that he was prepared to pay £135m for the Portugal winger but, having already seen off the advances from Real Madrid for Ronaldo, Ferguson wasn't prepared to take City's interest too seriously. "They can talk," he said.
While most managers would dream have having the funds that are now at the disposal of Manchester City boss Mark Hughes, Ferguson had some sympathy for his former player. "For a young manager it must be difficult," Ferguson said. "You can't judge it from when I started, it is a completely different world now. I am at the tail-end of my career. I've been through all these change so it doesn't faze me."

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