http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2058730,00.html
Terry says United are worth watching for Ronaldo alone
The Blues captain hails the Portuguese winger but warns that the momentum is
with Mourinho's men
Jeremy Wilson
Tuesday April 17, 2007
The Guardian
John Terry believes the momentum is with Chelsea ahead of a potential hat-trick
of showdowns against Manchester United. Yet, at a time when Sir Alex Ferguson
and Jose Mourinho might be shaping up for an exchange of mind games, the
England captain is making no secret of his deep admiration for Cristiano
Ronaldo.
"For me he is the best in the world at the moment," said Terry. "How do I stop
him? I pass him on to Ashley Cole."
Ronaldo has been the subject of abuse from English supporters for his part in
the World Cup exit against Portugal last summer but his contribution this
season for United has brought out the football fan in Terry.
"I totally admire the player after the stick he got," he said. "He has done
so well on and off the pitch and, honestly, I could watch Man United just to
watch him. He does things with the ball you don't see anyone else in the world
doing. When he is at his best I don't think there are many people who can stop
him.
"When he runs at you with his tricks and his skills you don't know which way
he is going. If you double up on him he passes to [Wayne] Rooney and he does
it. Where do you stop? You can't double up on everyone. It's a case of us
defending very well." Terry is even happy to concede that United are probably
a more attractive team than Chelsea. He does not, however, agree that they
are favourites to repeat their treble of 1999.
"We are not banging them in as much as them and we might not be as good as
them to watch at the moment but we are certainly getting the results and
that's the main thing," he said.
"I don't think anyone has any edge coming into this. If we play at our best
and Man United don't, we will win it. If we don't and they do, then they will
win.
"The good thing about this is that both sides have players that can win the
game on their own. The Rooneys, the Ronaldos, the Lampards, the Drogbas,
Arjen Robbens, Joe Coles. I would suspect it's going to be pretty tight on
both sides.'
United will face each other three times in a thrilling final fortnight of the
season. United are currently weakened by injuries to several key defenders and
the reversal in fortune has been noted by Terry.
"Every season has its swings and roundabouts," he said. "We had our bit of
misfortune earlier in the season when we had quite a few players out. Joe Cole
is back fully fit and played fantastically well so, while they have got a
couple of injuries, we are all fit bar one of us and Arjen Robben will be back
hopefully in a week or 10 days.
"Rio [Ferdinand] has been playing brilliantly well alongside [Nemanja] Vidic
and he is a big miss for them. Those two out of the team is the backbone and
any team would miss them.
"The last couple of years we have run away with it and they have shown great
desire to come back this year and really fight and push us. But we are pushing
them right to the wire now. One result and it swings back in our favour."
The Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech, is predicting a battle of nerve. "We know
if one side makes a mistake, the other one can take over. We know that and how
important every game is."
Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final winner against Blackburn on Sunday was scored by
Michael Ballack, who was part of the Germany team which beat Kevin Keegan's
England on the last major Wembley occasion and is now looking forward to the
first Cup final at the new stadium. "For the history it's good for me. I like
to score important goals," said Ballack.
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