Anderson: “Ronaldinho with commitment”
Redville
Our first big win of the season confirmed that United are on the right track.
In the first two months of the new campaign it was hard to figure out whether we were brilliant and not firing or just average and punching above our weight.
The most important element of any successful team is balance and I’m always concerned when I can’t name our best eleven. Regardless of the opposition however, it became clear on Saturday that United are entering a new level of success.
In the past we had perhaps one unarguably world class player in the team. Now we have 4 or 5 - and it’s scary quite frankly. I’d really like to try and guess who will be the next team to score against us but it’s extremely hard to predict. We are playing Arsenal in a couple of weeks but they haven’t yet played a proper team. We have Dynamo Kiev away, but can they have serious designs on penetrating our back line, even without Neville, Brown and Vidic? I would happily put my faith in Pique (who is pure class) and O’Shea.
In attack, we can and will continue to wax lyrical about Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs and Scholes but I want to champion the cause of a player that I have had a keen eye on since he signed. If you want to know who the next star of Old Trafford is, please look no further than Anderson. It may seem irreverent, but those who talk about him eventually being as good as Scholes, are doing him a disservice. Paul Scholes is undoubtedly my favourite Red but I am as sure as the day is long that Anderson will eclipse Scholes with ease. From the first moment I saw him, I knew there was something special about the lad. Everyone asked whether he could adapt to the English game or whether he would be another Kleberson/Veron. But every true football fan has an instinct about young football talent and each ounce of mine tells me that Anderson will be the very best player in the world within 3 years. I am so pleased that he made such an impact on Saturday, but he didn’t just suffice, he totally broke the stalemate that the game had become.
You can talk about players who have done well for United in the last few years. Park has done well. Van Der Saar has done well. O’Shea, Fletcher, Neville and Ferdinand have done well. Many players just about make the grade.
But there is something boiling inside me that says Fergie has probably done his best business in signing Anderson and he will become a player who is truly idolised at Old Trafford. Let’s not forget that at 19 Ronaldo was still a very erratic and frustrating player for us. At 19, Ronaldo couldn’t guarantee a place in the team. But at 19, Anderson has far greater poise and maturity. He is a far better player than Ronaldo was at 19. Anderson will be one of the first names on the team sheet by the end of the season. His touch is phenomenal. His passing is better than anything we currently possess and, most importantly his speed of thought is frightening . I don’t quite know how to explain how good he is! We are about to witness something very special in Manchester. Just watch how his profile grows in the next 9 months.
Fergie, like all managers, has made his mistakes in the transfer market but if it is possible to imagine a better signing than Ronaldo then Anderson is it. Of the summer signings, Hargreaves is essential, Tevez is quality and Nani is exciting, but Anderson will be more important than the three combined. He is the perfect Top Trump card. He is Ronaldinho with commitment. He is Ronaldo with a superior football brain. He is Rooney with more skill. This boy can make us more successful in Europe than Real Madrid. More importantly, he will make it impossible for people like Ronaldo to leave because there will be nowhere worth going after United. Anderson defines the future of United.
(On Oct 9th, 2007 at 11:56 am)
very true, moment i saw him come on i just wanted him to be at his best, his second half performance was just amazing, i think that performance alone shutup his critics. his vision and precise passing was just unbelievable, i never for one moment doubted his talent.
(On Oct 9th, 2007 at 4:47 pm)
Who’d have thought you could sign a virtually unknown 19 year-old for £18 million and still get a bargain? Not only did he demomstrate the vision and passing ability of a Paul Scholes but made tackles and interceptions like Hargreaves. You can’t ask for more in a midfielder. But something tells me he does have more and this is just the beginning… Put it this way, I don’t think they’ll be talking about Fabregas as the best young midfielder in the country a year from now.