Manchester United win Club World Cup in Tokyo

Manchester United were crowned world champions today after a Wayne Rooney goal saw Sir Alex Ferguson's side win the FIFA Club World Cup.

Rooney's 73rd-minute strike - his third goal of the tournament - made it a hat-trick of trophies for United in 2008, adding the FIFA trophy to their Premier League and Champions League triumphs.

Fergie's men justified their gruelling 25,000-mile round trip by becoming the first British side to win the tournament and they did it the hard way after they were reduced to 10 men just after half-time with the dismissal of Nemanja Vidic.

But United overcame that setback to beat their opponents from Ecuador as Rooney's late strike earned Fergie the 31st trophy of his illustrious 22-year Old Trafford reign.

Despite fervent support for United in the Far East, the unfailingly polite Japanese hosts displayed polite deference throughout the match, which made for a subdued, eerily quiet atmosphere at odds with the supposed magnitude of the occasion.

Indeed, the small pocket of around 1,000 United fans who had travelled halfway round the world to watch their team were the loudest voices among the 68,682 crowd inside the Yokohama Stadium, venue of the 2002 World Cup Final.

United received a major let-off inside the first five minutes when two of Quito's players somehow managed to miss from close-range with the United goal at their mercy.

A mis-hit free-kick trundled into the United area as first skipper Patricio Urrutia missed the ball completely, then striker Jairo Campos inexplicably turned the ball wide with only Edwin van der Sar to beat.

No offside flag was raised by the referee's assistant and United were grateful for the ineptitude of their opponents when presented with two opportunities to take an early lead.

Wayne Rooney, fresh from his explosive 16-minute two-goal cameo in the semi-final, was in customary belligerent form, scurrying around the Quio defence and going close to scoring with a succession of chances.

After their early scare, United dominated the rest of the first-half but were unable to score the goal their attacking play deserved.

Rooney was unlucky when a thunderous strike hit Quito keeper Jose Ceavllos and then watched in frustration as a clever lob came down on the roof of the net.

Ji-Sung Park, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo - who drew squeals of delight from the Japanese fans whenever he performed his trademark stepovers and flicks - also went close to scoring, as United created chance after chance.

United's task was made harder four minutes after the break when were forced to play virtually the entire second-half with 10 men following Vidic's dismissal for elbowing Claudio Bieler after the pair tangled on the turf.

Carlos Tevez was sacrificed as Jonny Evans came on in the ensuing reshuffle of United's line-up, and the diminutive Argentina striker showed his frustration at coming off by kicking out in anger as he took his place in the dug-out.

Edwin van der Sar produced a majestic fingertip save at full-stretch to keep out a goal-bound shot from Alejandro Manso in the 63rd minute, to keep the score at 0-0.

But the breakthrough finally came in the 73rd minute following a superbly-crafted move between Michael Carrick, Ronaldo and Rooney.

Carrick slotted the ball to Ronaldo, whose delayed pass to Rooney enabled the United striker to pick his spot before applying an assured, side-foot finish in the opposite corner of the net.

With five minutes to go, ma-of-the-match Van der Sar rescued United once again with an acrobatic save to keep out another fine shot from Manso and ensured United were on top of the world.

Man Utd (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Rafael (Neville 85), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Carrick, Anderson (Fletcher 88), Park; Rooney, Tevez (Evans 51)
Liga de Quito (4-4-2): Cevallos; Campos, Calle (Ambrosi 75), N Araujo, Calderon; Reasco (Larrea 83), W Araujo, Urrutia, Bolanos; Manso, Bieler