Going Great Greens!

Michael Owen

Zoran Tosic

A brief geographical background:

* The capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the People’s Republic of China.
It is renowned for its historic relics and natural beauty and had been ranked as one of the ten most scenic cities in China.

*Source: Wikipedia

Green:
I’m not sure about you but one of the first few things that caught my attention was the ‘green-ness’ of the Dragon Stadium’s pitch. It was as though the pitch had its green saturation level ‘turned up a few notches’ from the normal colour. Or it could be that Astro (satellite TV) did some visual experiment or enhancement, or it could be that the Plasma TV I was watching had its dispersion levels bumped up. It could be a little bit of everything listed above, for all we know.

Whatever it was, the United team that trooped onto the field against Hangzhou Greentown FC, turned up the heat and bumped up the goals ratio with an 8-2 rout of the mid-table Chinese club in the Chinese Super League (CSL). This was United’s biggest win in the Asia Tour ’09 and a clear reminder of the gulf in class between the two teams. Just 48 hours earlier, United had been given a good work out by FC Seoul on Friday (with United prevailing 3-2) and had looked to be chasing the game in Hangzhou in the first 20 minutes. True to their name, the team in green was very lush and lively with plenty of ball possession and gave a spirited display in midfield. However, as soon as Michael Owen opened the scoring on the 23rd minute, that was the start of the hint that United would be in cruise control. The unavoidable ‘red tide’ was coming, and came it did with such critical consequences to Greentown FC.

Final score: Hangzhou Greentown FC (2) - United (8)

Reenergize, revitalize, rejuvenate:

Somehow, there is still something about ‘green’ and its connotations that occupy my thoughts at the moment. Mention ‘green’ and there would be a host of images in our mind. From the organically grown vegetables to ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ campaign– the universally accepted tagline for the preservation of Mother Earth. In United’s context, however, the ‘green effect’ somehow managed to reenergize, revitalize and rejuvenate certain players who had seen their influences on the team to be on the wane. I must say I was pleased with Berbatov and Nani’s display on the whole. They were, arguably, the Men of the Match. Nani made full use of the ball and was lively with his runs and crosses. On the other hand, Berba gave a reminder to some quarters of United fans (your truly included) of why he is worth the 30 million pounds. He dropped deep, and at times, played off his striking colleagues and linked them with his fancy flicks and footwork. Owen’s second goal was the personification of not one but two moments of genius; started by Berba and ended with aplomb by Owen.

If you had seen THAT goal, you would know why!


TOSIC-ology:
I need to mention and credit Zoran ‘Toxic’ Tosic for his all-round distributions and contributions as well. Our new number 14 played an almost flawless game with his clever runs and ability to put in decent crosses from the left wing. Like an antithesis to a clean and green environment, Mr. ‘Toxic’ had so much going for him in the game and looked as though he had been playing in United’s red shirt for years. If it meant anything, his brilliant solo goal gives us confidence that there are more potent and poisonous substances in his chemical waste tank to dissolve the challenges of the other Premiership title pretenders. I foresee that Tosic will be the player to watch for United in the new season, if he does get the craved-for minutes on the pitch.

Now, if only we still had Jonathan Greening in the ranks, it would make this article seem complete. Well, almost.