carlyluvsunited
21-01-2008, 08:36 AM
Physical Shape of a Footballer Is Important, Says Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United and Sami Al-Jaber, captain of
the Kingdom’s national team and Al-Hilal’s striker during a press conference in
Riyadh on Sunday.
The physical shape of a footballer is important and there is a big difference
between the body of Arab players compared to European players, complimented
Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of British football team Manchester United, while
speaking at a press conference in Riyadh celebrating the farewell ceremony of
legendary Saudi striker, Sami Al-Jaber.
The press conference was also attended by the British and Saudi media, United’s
Chief Executive David Gill, United’s captain Ryan Giggs, and representatives from
Mobily.
Gill expressed his happiness to be in Riyadh, which he said was not as cold as
England. “I welcome this invitation to Riyadh to play this match and we are
welcoming the opening of a good relationship with Al-Hilal,” he said.
Sir Alex Ferguson advised Saudi players to develop their performance and reach
the level of professional footballers in Europe.
“There must be a strong base of young players and it is important to invite
professional coaches. Young players are the infrastructure of players and they
are very important. They should be motivated to win,” he said.
“If the player traveled abroad in any club in Europe then that is advertisement for
his country. I remember Saudi Arabia winning the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup
against Scotland. I remember some good players then but I do not know where
are they now,” he said.
On the question why Ferguson had never visited an Arab country in search for
professional players, he said that Arab players have no ambitions, compared to
players from Korea and Japan.
“There must be a great deal of importance for sports in the Arab world so players
could play professionally in Europe. We at Manchester United have 20
nationalities from 20 different countries,” he said, adding that he agreed to come
to Saudi Arabia to respond to Prince Abdullah ibn Mosaad’s invitation and to
allow players to take some rest from a very exhausting season in the English
league.
The British press asked Ferguson many questions during the press conference. “I
bet on Ronaldo last season and I won the bet. I did not bet to shave my head,”
he said in response to a question.
“The British press invented that I do not want to go into another bet again
because I do not want to lose. Ronaldo has a great chance in scoring 30 goals in
the league. Currently he has 17 goals and we have 15 matches to play. He will
reach the 30th goal and when he does I will reward him properly,” said Ferguson.
Ryan Giggs commented on tonight’s match (Monday) saying the British side will
treat it seriously. “We are ready for this match. The huge fans will motivate us to
show our best performance,” he said.
Sami Al-Jaber — captain of the Kingdom’s national team and Al-Hilal’s striker —
thanked the Manchester United team for attending his farewell. He said that he
was happy to be sitting next to big names like Ferguson and Giggs.
“I thank God for the success during my career at Al-Hilal,” he said.
www.arabnews.com
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discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
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Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United and Sami Al-Jaber, captain of
the Kingdom’s national team and Al-Hilal’s striker during a press conference in
Riyadh on Sunday.
The physical shape of a footballer is important and there is a big difference
between the body of Arab players compared to European players, complimented
Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of British football team Manchester United, while
speaking at a press conference in Riyadh celebrating the farewell ceremony of
legendary Saudi striker, Sami Al-Jaber.
The press conference was also attended by the British and Saudi media, United’s
Chief Executive David Gill, United’s captain Ryan Giggs, and representatives from
Mobily.
Gill expressed his happiness to be in Riyadh, which he said was not as cold as
England. “I welcome this invitation to Riyadh to play this match and we are
welcoming the opening of a good relationship with Al-Hilal,” he said.
Sir Alex Ferguson advised Saudi players to develop their performance and reach
the level of professional footballers in Europe.
“There must be a strong base of young players and it is important to invite
professional coaches. Young players are the infrastructure of players and they
are very important. They should be motivated to win,” he said.
“If the player traveled abroad in any club in Europe then that is advertisement for
his country. I remember Saudi Arabia winning the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup
against Scotland. I remember some good players then but I do not know where
are they now,” he said.
On the question why Ferguson had never visited an Arab country in search for
professional players, he said that Arab players have no ambitions, compared to
players from Korea and Japan.
“There must be a great deal of importance for sports in the Arab world so players
could play professionally in Europe. We at Manchester United have 20
nationalities from 20 different countries,” he said, adding that he agreed to come
to Saudi Arabia to respond to Prince Abdullah ibn Mosaad’s invitation and to
allow players to take some rest from a very exhausting season in the English
league.
The British press asked Ferguson many questions during the press conference. “I
bet on Ronaldo last season and I won the bet. I did not bet to shave my head,”
he said in response to a question.
“The British press invented that I do not want to go into another bet again
because I do not want to lose. Ronaldo has a great chance in scoring 30 goals in
the league. Currently he has 17 goals and we have 15 matches to play. He will
reach the 30th goal and when he does I will reward him properly,” said Ferguson.
Ryan Giggs commented on tonight’s match (Monday) saying the British side will
treat it seriously. “We are ready for this match. The huge fans will motivate us to
show our best performance,” he said.
Sami Al-Jaber — captain of the Kingdom’s national team and Al-Hilal’s striker —
thanked the Manchester United team for attending his farewell. He said that he
was happy to be sitting next to big names like Ferguson and Giggs.
“I thank God for the success during my career at Al-Hilal,” he said.
www.arabnews.com
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
http://manutdtalk.com/forums/register.php