Kaizer Chiefs 0 Manchester United 0 (Kaizer Chiefs win 4-3 on penalties): Ruud van Nistelrooy has told Bayern Munich he intends to join them, according to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. The striker has been linked with a move from Old Trafford since his row with Alex Ferguson at the end of last season and Rummenigge, Bayern's director general, yesterday revealed that the Dutchman had been in talks with the Bundesliga club.
"Van Nistelrooy has told us he would like to play for us next season," he told Germany's Bild newspaper. "We have already spoken about money with him but it is United who will finally decide."
Van Nistelrooy is expected back at United training today along with Edwin van der Sar, Park Ji-Sung and United's England World Cup contingent. If he fails to show up he will be fined two weeks' wages.
Ferguson was wearing the smile of a satisfied man on Saturday despite defeat to the Kaizer Chiefs in the final match of United's South African tour. Chiefs won on penalties after 90 minutes in which United failed to take advantage of several clear opportunities to score. "I was pleased it went to penalty kicks rather than us having to play extra-time," Ferguson said. "Having said that, I have a very bad record with penalty kicks, very bad. Perhaps one day it will change."
Most of United's chances fell to Fangzhuo Dong, the 21-year-old Chinese striker who is among several of the club's youth contingent who will be loaned out this season. "We got out of this tournament what we expected to get out of it," Ferguson said. "We had 15 players out there who could play for Manchester United for the next 10 years and that's fantastic. We still have to make a decision about some of the youngsters. Jonathan Evans, Darron Gibson and Danny Simpson will go to Royal Antwerp in Belgium for the year. They're all young and this is the first step in their careers."
Dong will go back to Antwerp until he secures a European passport or a work permit in England. "Ben Foster, Chris Eagles and David Jones will become part of the first-team squad and we've yet to make a decision on Giuseppe Rossi," Ferguson said.
"We are trying to sign a couple of players who would give us something different and bring a bit of variety to our play. But when you look back at our form over the latter half of last season I am not unhappy with the players I have."
Foster, a goalkeeper, was to be loaned to Watford for the season but West Brom's rejection of United's £3 million offer for Tomasz Kuszczak has put that plan on hold. It was Foster who missed the first penalty of the shoot-out on Saturday, his shot hitting the crossbar and ballooning into the stands. Eagles also missed from the spot.
Chiefs' secured their win when their goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez converted the final kick.
United had dominated the first half and Kieran Richardson should have scored in the fourth minute when he skewed his shot past the right-hand upright.
Dong's most glaring miss came midway through the first half when he latched on to a long ball that had flummoxed the defence and sent a weak attempt across the goalmouth. Chiefs might have scored in the 61st minute when Shaun Bartlett dived to head Arthur Zwane's cross towards the goal, where Luke Steele scrambled a superb save. But Steele's stop did not dissuade Ferguson from replacing him with Foster 16 minutes later.
