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Man Utd's Neville and Scholes praise Fangzhuo
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Manchester United veterans Paul Scholes and Gary Neville sang the praises
of ¡ê3.5million Chinese signing Dong Fangzhuo, who on Saturday scored his first
goal for the Red Devils.
Manchester United's Chinese soccer player Dong Fangzhuo takes part
in a training session in Hong Kong July 22, 2005.[Reuters]
¡°He was
under a lot of pressure and he did very well on Saturday and the best way to
make an impression is to score a goal,¡± said Neville of Dong¡¯s goal against Hong
Kong.
¡°I think it gave him a lot of confidence,¡± added the United
right-back, who is in China with the squad for a friendly against a Beijing club
side.
Scholes was also impressed with Dong, saying both he and South
Korean new boy Park Ji-Sung were a welcome addition to the squad.
¡°I¡¯m
sure they will both fit into the team very well,¡± said the Salford-born
playmaker.
Park, a 24-year-old midfielder, has been training with the
first-team for two weeks now and already feels settled.
¡°I feel very
comfortable here,¡± he said.
Dong¡¯s goal helped lift the two-time
European champions to a 2-0 victory against Hong Kong, the first match in
United¡¯s pre-season Asian tour.
Dong is also expected to play in the
Chinese capital today when United take on Beijing Hyundai.
The former
Dalian Shide star was bought last year, with United making an initial ¡ê500,000
down-payment in a deal which could rise to ¡ê3.5mil depending on the number of
first-team appearances he makes.
He was immediately sent on loan to
Belgian feeder club Royal Antwerp because he does not yet qualify for a British
work permit.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said that he expects the
21-year-old to join Old Trafford in about 12 months, as long he is granted a
Belgian passport which would allow him to play in England.
¡°We
see the great potential and as long as he stays free from injury, makes good
progress and gets his European passport hopefully in what will be only about
another year,¡± said Fergie
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(Editor:Caroline Wang) (From:Agencies)
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