Well, what a year 2007 has been for United. Winning the league was a fantastic feat and definitely one of Sir Alex’s greatest achievements. The team played a lot of exciting football and, of course, everyone played their part. But you have to say Cristiano Ronaldo has been quite exceptional over the last year. He responded in the best possible way to the criticism he received after the 2006 World Cup and I think the manager deserves a lot of credit for the confidence he gave Ronaldo. He could have wilted under the pressure, but instead he blocked out the abuse and rose to the occasion, delivering when it really mattered countless times – the true sign of a great player.
His late winner at Fulham last season stands out for me – that was a huge result and one that really set us on our way to the title. There were so many other great moments, winning at Anfield in the dying seconds with ten men, coming back from two down at Everton, the list goes on.
I’ve got extremely high hopes for 2008 and personally I’d love to see us win the Champions League again. As the manager has said on many occasions, this club should have won more European Cups and I really believe this could be our year. The squad is looking very strong and this season’s new acquisitions have blossomed since they joined. If we get the luck we need with injuries, there’s no reason why, come May, we won’t have more than one trophy in our possession.
Paddy Crerand was talking to United Review.