BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – A Manchester United team, featuring West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara, won the title at the second annual Football Legends Invitational tournament last weekend.
Lara, the double world record holder with 501 not out in first-class cricket and 400 not out in Test cricket, looked every bit a sharp footballer at age 43, as the Reds of Manchester winners trophy for the second consecutive year.
United, featuring Trinidadian Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole and Quinton Fortune, defeated Chelsea 4-3 in an action-packed final at the historic Kensington Oval on Sunday evening.
Lara briefly entertained the large crowd in the early stages of the final with some neat touches. However, it was up to Yorke, the former Trinidad & Tobago captain, to get his side on the scoresheet with a well taken penalty chip. Later Cole, the former England striker and Fortune, the former South Africa midfielder, netted to keep the game alive.
Chelsea responded with strikes from Roberto Di Matteo, manager of the recently crowned UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea, as well as the crowd favourite Gianfranco Zola, and star midfielder Gus Poyet.
In the semi-finals, United defeated the Caribbean All Stars on penalties, a team including Paul Hall, Dion Burton, Clayton Ince, while Chelsea saw of London rivals Arsenal.
The other teams in the tournament were Tottenham, Blackburn, Newcastle and the Professional Footballers’ Association.
Burton, who represented Jamaica in the 1998 World Cup won the Golden Boot, while Chelsea’s long-striding Poyet, won the Player of the Tournament award.
Also participating in the event were Newcastle icon Alan Shearer, former Valencia and Lazio midfield star Gaizka Mendieta, Lee Clark, Warren Barton, and Trinidadian World Cup star Shaka Hislop.