Well, the dust has finally settled over the most-hyped transfer saga in world soccer in the last decade, arguably ever. Cristiano Ronaldo has finally found his peace-haven with the most decorated club in world club history. The season-opener for the English Premier league, the Community Shield has been played out between Manchester United & Chelsea, and the latter has won it through penalties. But all that is irrelevant, as the shield is hardly taken seriously by any manager in England, other than being a final proof-sheet of their respective squads' preparation. But what is significant and is worthy of a post-mortem is United's performance without the presence of perhaps the greatest player on earth right now. United midfield and wing was hardly functional other than Nani's occasional bursts down the left. There was a huge void in the team sheet and on the field. No sudden bursts of speed to mesmerise the defenders, no trickeries and stepovers to flaunt, no audacious attempts from absolutely anywhere in the field. And mark my words, no matter how much Fergie tries to project Antonio Valencia as the able replacement on the wings, he's just not in the same league as Ronaldo. He's hardworking, enterprising,yes and might even prove to be a great buy for Fergie, but he can't just fill in the shoes. He shouldn't even try to.
Which brings us to the probable performance of Manchester United in the forthcoming season. Needless to say, Sir Alex Ferguson has time and again proved that he is the ultimate genius in building a winning squad, even with supposedly unknowns. Manchester United won without Beckham, without Nistelrooy, without Keane, without Cantona; so there's not even an iota of a doubt that Fergie will again inspire them in the foreseeable future. But we, the die-hard fans of Manchester United and the neutrals around the world, will no doubt miss our favourite hero; his arrogance, his wizardry, his petulance, his genius.....his overall impact on the game; that even Fergie can't possibly dream to replace, unless he can lay his hands on another gem from relatively unknown hemisphere, like he did some seven years ago, in the bylanes of Madeira, bringing a precocious unpolished gem to the Theatre of Dreams, and turning him into the Kohinoor of world football. But as even the naivest of football fans know that gems aren't discovered everyday, they come once in a decade or maybe in a life time. So we should just be grateful for the fact that the World's greatest footballer graced Old Trafford, played for our favourite Club,and privileged us with his artistry over the last 7 years. So long Ron, but we will definitely miss you....there will never be another of you in Old Trafford, not at least in our lifetime.
