Beckham: I agree with Ferguson that I am not world-class footballer

Former England midfielder and Manchester United David Beckham commented on the words of ex-club coach Alex Ferguson, who stated that under his leadership only four world-class football players played.

“These words didn’t offense me. I agree with the best coach of all times. I'm glad I had the opportunity to play in a team with great players, benefit the club, which I loved and still love.

I don’t consider myself better than Cristiano Ronaldo. Again, I was lucky to play with him, as well as with the Brazilian Ronaldo” - said Beckham.

Alex Ferguson: Rooney is still injured

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will miss the match-day 22 for Premier League against Liverpool, which will be held on January 13. The head coach-mate Sir Alex Ferguson.

«Rooney is still injured. Damage is not most important, but he will need more time to recover than we had anticipated. Perhaps two more weeks or so. He will not be able to play against Liverpool,» - Ferguson said.

We remind Rooney got injured during training on Dec. 26.

Butragueno: We are Real Madrid - we will do our best and rise to the occasion

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says he cannot wait to take on Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid in their Champions League last 16 showdown. Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno is also excited by the draw.

«I think the fans will be very very happy with the tie, it's very attractive. It's going to be a thrilling experience for everybody Manchester United are a great team and a great organisation, one of the most prestigious in the world. So we are very happy. We have a very good relationship with them. So we know it's going to be very, very difficult. But we are Real Madrid - we will do our best and rise to the occasion. We know it is going to be difficult, a very even tie. They are a very strong team with great leadership - Sir Alex Ferguson has been there for 25 years. He's a fantastic manager and he knows how to make the most out of his players,» - Butragueno said.

Sir Alex: Jonny Evans was magnificent and Rafael Da Silva was fantastic

Sir Alex Ferguson praised Manchester United’s defense after grinding out a 1:0 victory at home to West Ham on Wednesday night.Robin van Persie netted the fastest league goal so far this season with a deflected shot in the opening minute, but the Red Devils were unable to convert any more of their chances.

"West Ham are renowned for making it difficult for you," Ferguson told Sky Sports News. "They’re a very dogged team to break down.

Asked if it felt unusual for his side to score the first goal in a game, after coming from behind to win six times already this term, the Scot quipped: "Yes, and to keep a clean sheet. That's Christmas time!

"I thought Chris Smalling did very well having just come into the team after a long absence with injury. Jonny Evans was magnificent and Rafael Da Silva was fantastic, absolutely terrific. So we do have plus points tonight, particularly defending. You have to against them because you have to against them because they're such a handful. "But we got a great start and I thought from there we could have pushed on. Some of our football was very good at times, but we never finished them off."

FIFA announced contenders for the title of coach of the year

The International Football Federation - FIFA announced on its official website the 10 contenders for the title of coach of the year. The list of nominees is as follows:

Vicente del Bosque (Spaniard, Spain)

Roberto di Matteo (Italian, Chelsea)

Alex Ferguson (Scottish, Manchester United),

Josep Guardiola (Spain, ex-coach of FC Barcelona)

Jupp Heynckes (German, Bayern)

Jürgen Klopp (German, Borussia Dortmund)

Joachim Löw (German, Germany)

Roberto Mancini (Italian, Manchester City)

Jose Mourinho (Portuguese, Real Madrid),

Cesare Prandelli (Italian, Italy).

The name of the winner will be announced January 7, 2013, in Zurich, Switzerland.

Alex Ferguson: "United" and "City" are now competitors

The head coach, "Manchester United," manager Alex Ferguson described hisattitude to the main competitor for the title of England - "Manchester City". 

"I think we all have to get used to the fact that the "United" and "City" are now competitors. Over the next decade - for sure. We will constantly be fighting forvictory in the championship semifinals and finals of various competitions. 

But I also think that the "Arsenal", "Chelsea" and "Spurs" will play a more stableand in the future will be able to compete for top places. 

In the fight for the titles of important experience. This is very helpful. Maybe it does not sound so convincing, but it is. This applies to the current season. 

In principle, one can admire the game "City." They did their job exceptionally well, have long been at the top of the table. In a sense, they can be called masters of the situation now, because in their stadium, they do not lose points. And our intramuralgame will take place on the "Etihad" - quoted Ferguson's official site of the club.

Sir Alex Ferguson: “It has been a disappointing year”

The Red Devils dropped into the Europa League after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group, but went down 5-3 on aggregate to Athletic Bilbao at the last-16 stage. The Red Devils won just three of their 10 games in UEFA competition and suffered a hat-trick of losses for the first time since 2004. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted it has been a disappointing year in Europe for Manchester United after their continental involvement came to an end, but he will not get too downhearted as attention turns to the Premier League. Bilbao ran out 2-1 winners in the second leg at San Mames after producing an impressive performance, and only Wayne Rooney's late consolation prevented United suffering the worst two-legged European defeat in Ferguson's entire time as manager. 

It represents a startling fall from grace for a team that had reached three of the last four Champions League finals and Ferguson admitted he has some work to do to find out where it all went wrong. 

"Trying to analyse this season against others is a bit difficult," he said. "There is a route in terms of some of the goals we have lost in these tournaments. They have been pretty poor. "It has been a disappointing year." "Feeling sorry for myself is not an issue for me," he said. "There is a disappointment but analysing the performances is more important and we have an important game on Sunday." 

The Scot admitted that Bilbao had been superior to United, saying: "I don't think we can complain at the result. In the second half in particular, Bilbao were the better team. Ferguson confirmed his decision to replace Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs in the second half was purely to keep them fresh for the trip to Molineux. 

Ferguson praised Athletic Bilbao for their performances over the two games and admitted he hoped they now went on to win the competition. "Athletic could do very well," he said. "What we have seen, tonight and last Thursday, is a team whose work rate is higher than anyone I have seen in Europe. "That takes you a long way but it is not just about their work rate. They have some fantastic qualities also. "Their first goal was a bad one for us to lose. You can't believe an English team would lose a goal like that to a long ball. Ours was too late to do anything about it." 

"I would like to wish them well. I hope they do win it because it is a testament to the hard work they all put in, from their coach right through. "They have created a cause. Such energy and determination to win football matches is an incredible thing to see. They deserve to win it." 

However, having assumed the Premier League leadership last weekend and knowing they will open the gap on nearest challengers Manchester City to four points if they win at Wolves on Sunday, Ferguson realises this is no time to dwell on the negatives.