Rivals reunite as friends for England team

WATFORD, England: Manchester United and Chelsea players who battled against each other in last week's Champions League final have reunited as friends on England duty, United's Owen Hargreaves said on Monday.

The midfielder said the eight players from the two clubs involved in the final who are also in the England squad are totally focused on the friendlies this week against the United States and Trinidad & Tobago.

"Obviously the Manchester United players are on a high and the Chelsea players are disappointed, but the final has gone now and we are all in the same team, just concentrating on England," Hargreaves said.

"There are no ill feelings toward each other, we are all friends," he told a news conference at the team's hotel north of London.

"We've known each other for such a long time and spent so much time with each other away and at major tournaments, there is a great amount of mutual respect for each other.

"Of course we have spoken about the match. It was a great match to play in, it was an enjoyable watch.

"It might not be quite so easy for the Chelsea players to forget about it, but we are all professionals. They have done a fabulous job this week training with England, of not letting anything get to them and I admire that."

Hargreaves' United teammates Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Wes Brown are in the England squad along with Chelsea's John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Wayne Bridge, who was in the Moscow final but did not play.

Hargreaves had special praise for Chelsea captain Terry, whose penalty miss in the shootout cost his club its chance of winning the European Cup for the first time.

"He is a fabulous leader and you don't become a bad footballer just because you miss a penalty," he said.

"Of course his initial disappointment was difficult to deal with, but I have enormous respect for him."

Agencies

(China Daily 05/28/2008 page22)