excited to step on the field just to see what steps forward we can take this week.Game note | Forum

On August 6, 2003 an injured Gary Neville was at home watching his Manchester United team-mates playing against Sporting Lisbon in a televised pre-season friendly. Air Jordan 13 (XIII) Bred Black Red (Women Men Gs Girls) . The oppositions 18-year-old left winger quickly caught his eye... It was the first time Id seen Cristiano Ronaldo play.He was up against John OShea, who was obviously a good defender; he was strong, he was quick and he knew where to position himself. Sheasy was playing in the position I would normally play - right-back - but I was injured and I was watching the game at home on MUTV.Like Sheasy, Im very aware of how difficult it is to play against certain types of movement. I specifically remember Cristiano making a certain move where he cut inside and ran between OShea and our centre-half. He made this double movement and I remember thinking oh my God.  Ronaldo agrees new deal Cristiano Ronaldo agrees new deal with Real Madrid until 2021 Obviously you could see the skill he had on the ball and his natural talent, but these days what you see less and less is players who make runs without the ball in between the full-back and the centre-back. I would say thats possibly the most underrated run of all.Its so difficult for the full-back and centre-back to defend against, as the full-back doesnt know when to pass over the attacker to the centre-back or play offside. The centre-back then could have a decision to make whether to leave him or track the runner. Its a really difficult issue, especially when the ball is in a central area.I remember watching Cristiano make that run between the full-back and centre-back and thinking wow, you dont normally see that from experienced players, never mind a young kid. As Cristiano Ronaldo prepares to face Sporting in the Champions League, we recall the 2003 friendly against Manchester United in the same stadium What a player, I thought. After the match I remember sending a text to my brother, saying we need to sign him and apparently there was a lot of talk about him on the coach after the game.Obviously players should never be involved in signings, but he certainly made everyone sit up and take notice. Id never heard of him and Id never seen him before that night, but there was a huge excitement among the players afterwards.The only other opposition player Ive felt like that about was Louis Saha. I remember playing against him as a centre-back when he was at Fulham and he destroyed me three seasons on the bounce. I was devastated when I had to play against him and I thought weve got to sign him.He was clearly a different type of player to Cristiano, but we spoke about him in the dressing room in the same way. After that game against Sporting Lisbon, there was a great admiration and there was no doubt the players were all talking about Cristiano.  Ronaldo scored a 38th hat-trick for Real Madrid as they won 4-1 at Alaves What we didnt realise is that the manager had been dealing with it for a period of time before then. Sir Alex Ferguson signed him shortly afterwards. Cristiano was very raw when he first came to the club; he had a lot of growing up to do and like all young players he needed time to develop.It took a few years for his body to fill out and he needed time to get his decision-making right but you would expect that from a young player. And over two-and-a-half years he became a devastating player, improving himself both physically and mentally.For me, it felt like he matured and became a man after the 2006 World Cup. After that tournament he became a completely different player.  Sir Alex greets Cristiano at Man Utds training ground Suddenly he knew when to pass, where to pass and he knew when and where to run. It all seemed to come together at once. That was the time he was getting criticised the most by fans in this country after his famous wink at Wayne Rooney, but I would never criticise him for that. I always felt all was fair in love and war when it comes to the football pitch. As long as it was legal and you were acting within the rules of the game, then a player should try to gain all competitive advantages possible to try and win. Ronaldo tells the story of the time he dazzled Man Utd and Sir Alex Ferguson while playing for Sporting Lisbon in 2003 Ive always said that Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane were the three great players I played with over a long period, but for three years from 2006 to 2009, Ronaldo set a standard you can only dream about. It was a magical time when he was playing with Rooney and Carlos Tevez; Ive never seen anything like it. It was amazing to watch and he was the pinnacle of it.After leaving United, he has gone on to become the best player in the world - and I think thats been proven by the Ballon DOr wins.There has long been an argument over who the best player is - Ronaldo or Lionel Messi - and in my mind weve been blessed to have both. I would always favour Cristiano because I played with him, but its almost unfair to say that because both are sensational players. Ballon dOr explainer With FIFA launching their own award, we explain the latest on the Ballon dOr But Ill never forget that game against Sporting Lisbon and the chat among the players when they got back to Manchester. Poor Sheasy was the butt of a lot of jokes for being given a run-around.But I have to be honest, I felt for him. If Id been playing that night hed have done the same to me.Watch #CR7Live tomorrow at 1pm on SkySports.com, Sky Sports Facebook page and on the Soccer AM You Tube Channel.  Also See: What Utd saw in Ronaldo Ronaldo agrees new deal Air Jordan Son Of Mars Mens Basketball Shoes Red Black . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Air Jordan 13 Retro Premium Reflective Silver/Infrared 23-Black . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. http:///...pink-524864-017.html .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. METAIRIE, La. -- Times like these are gratifying for veteran Saints right tackle Zach Strief, who brushed off doomsday story lines and continued to express faith in his team when it was winless through three games.The general world at this point in time, and our society, is as negative as we could possibly be, so what people want when youre losing is: `Lets fire, lets blame, lets point a finger, lets incriminate. Somebody wants a head to roll, said Strief, a locker room leader who is now in his 11th NFL season. The reality is, in here, if you want to be successful, if you have people in this locker room that are kind of guiding the team in the right direction, the message is you have to work harder the next day. Because all the other stuff is worthless.Increasingly, there is evidence that Striefs message was echoed by team leaders -- and heeded.Three victories in four games -- with the lone loss in that span coming down the wire -- have the Saints heading to San Francisco as road favorites this week. New Orleans (3-4) also has a chance to climb back to .500 and into the conversation in the NFC South Division race.Optimism stems from several areas.Quarterback Drew Brees consistently has put up elite passing numbers -- and his efficiency might improve now that New Orleans has recently discovered more of a running game.Meanwhile, two key defensive players -- cornerback Delvin Breaux and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins -- are closer to returning from injury to a unit that has exhibited signs of improvement during the past month.The Saints have slowly improved in NFL defensive rankings from 31st to 28th, with its totals of yards allowed per game significantly lower during the past four games than the first three.Rankins, the Saints first-round pick last spring, has yet to make his debut because of a broken fibula during training camp. But hes eligible to return from injured reserve as early as this Sunday -- if the Saints decide hes ready. Breaux, who has not played since also breaking his fibula in Week 1, was encouraged enough by his own work in ppractice on Wednesday to label his health at 115 percent. Air Jordan Retro 14 Last Shot - Mens - Black Varsity Red. feel great, man. Got a couple reps at practice just to see how everything will go, Breaux said, but stressed that when and how much he plays will be the coaching staffs call.The Saints do not appear to be taking their recent reversal of fortune for granted.Youre constantly fighting human nature in this business, said Brees, whose 2,366 yards passing ranks third overall in the NFL, and first among quarterbacks whove played fewer than eight games. You probably overreact when you lose and you underreact when you win, and we want to make sure were not that team thats up and down -- win, loss, win, loss, win, loss -- because we fall into the trap of human nature.So far, the Saints passing offense has been consistently good, with young receivers Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead and Michael Thomas all thriving. But the Saints see potential for more production from tight end Coby Fleener, a key free-agent acquisition in the offseason. And it was a physical running game that received much of the credit following a victory over Seattle last Sunday as Tim Hightower became the first Saints player to rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season.We havent had our best performance yet, Brees asserted in discussing a Saints offense that ranks second in the NFL and averages 415 yards per game. Im excited about the evolution of this offense and this team. Each week I feel that we learn something new about us -- and in a good way. Thats why I get excited to step on the field just to see what steps forward we can take this week.Game notes Four players sat out practice on Wednesday: LT Terron Armstead (knee), S Kenny Vaccaro (knee), LB Dannell Ellerbe (quad) and LB James Laurinaitis (quad). The Saints have not said if any of those injuries are serious enough to sideline those players at San Francisco.---AP NFL website: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '