THE PREM ERA 61Less than a year ago, Portugal’s tricky
wing wizard Nani looked to have no future
whatsoever at Manchester United. The native
of Cape Verde, an £18 million purchase from
Sporting in the summer of 2007, spent his first
two-and-half years at Old Trafford irritating
virtually everybody with his excessive
individualism, poor body language, bad
decision-making and inconsistency. When,
in November 2009, he complained to a
newspaper in his homeland that manager
Alex Ferguson did not pick him for the big
games, he seemed to have booked himself
a seat on a one-way flight out of Manchester.
But no. United somewhat surprisingly kept
faith in him and Nani suddenly burst into life in
the second half of last term, consistently tearing
opposition rearguards to shreds, and especially
to the fore in the 3-1 victory at Arsenal in the
NANI
Portugal & Manchester UnitedCESC FABREGAS
Spain & ArsenalWhen Barcelona began their barely disguised
pursuit of Cesc Fabregas this summer, there
was one question that probably got asked
more than any other: why?
Why did Barcelona chase him so hard?
What was the point? Did they even need
him? Where was he going to play?
It was hard to see where Fabregas would
fit into the Barcelona midfield plan as he isn’t
really suited to the Sergio Busquets role and
no one in their right mind would replace Xavi
or Andres Iniesta. As if to prove the point,
Spain won the World Cup without the
Arsenal skipper starting a single game,
but with Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets as
irreplaceable members of the side.
Yet everything soon became clear. And,
just as importantly, it suggested an answer to
another big question: what next for the national
team?
On the day that Vicente del Bosque named
his squad for Spain’s games against Scotland
and Lithuania in October, there was one striking
absentee: Xavi had been left out. He had not had
a break in three years, playing a central role at
Euro 2008, the 2009 Confederations Cup and
in South Africa in 2010 – and he had ta en part
in an average of five-and-a-half matches per
month, without a break, since early 2007. He
was also struggling with an Achilles injury.
As Del Bosque bluntly put it: “Xavi told
me he was screwed”, to which Xavi added:
“I simply couldn’t carry on.”
Nobody lasts forever, not even the man who
sasii arrgguuaabbllyytthheeffiinneessttmmiiddffiieellddppllaayyeerrtthhaaattSSppaaiinn
has ever produced.
Barcelona are well aware of that. In fact,
that realisation underpinned Pep Guard ola’s
Premier League and in the second leg of their
Champions League quarter-final exit against
Bayern Munich, in which he scored twice as
United won 3-2 in vain.
It was almost as if United had signed
themselves a brand-new player. To the thrill-
a-minute core of his game – the pace to burn,
the two-footed shooting, the trickery, the love
of a one-on-one duel – he had added two
entirely new strings to his bow: the concept
of teamwork and a greater effectiveness in
front of goal. In football terms the boy had
become a man.
The Nani renaissance, which has continued
apace this term, is not hard to understand.
He is very much a confidence player, and on
feeling wanted and appreciated by United he
responded with brilliance and verve in equal
measure. Equally crucial was Ferguson’sdecision to switch him from the left flank to
the right. His right foot is his stronger and when
operating on the left he often appeared to be a
little less free in his execution, needing time to
steady himself before crossing. On the right,
however, everything flows – the feints, the
shimmies, the incisiveness.
Not that he has smoothed out all the rough
edges. Perhaps inevitably for someone whose
stock in trade is flair and the mood of the
moment, he can disappear from view at times
and does himself no favours either with his
tetchiness and tendency to dive for ill-gotten
advantage. Nani’s reputation for gamesmanship
now precedes him in English football circles
and it would be such a shame if he allowed
the gratuitous tumbles to overshadow the
fastest of quick feet.
Nick Bidwelldetermination to sign Fabregas. In the future,
he will; maybe even in the very near future.
Although they are not exactly the same type
of midfield player, no one is better qualified
to take over Xavi’s role than Fabregas. Both
are products of the sameLa Masiayouth
academy, which is almost evangelical about
its commitment to a certain type of football.
As Xavi puts it: “We are all sons of the system”.
For Spain this summer, Xavi was even pushed
a little further forward with two “anchormen”
behind him – Busquets and Alonso – and that’s
an area which is very much Fabregas’ domain,
even though he insists that he can also be the
pace-setter, the metronome in the middle.
It may seem a bit bizarre to earmark Fabregas
as one for the future – players included in such
i sistlltssaarreennoorrmmaallllyylleesssseerr-kknnoowwwnnffoooottbbaalllleerrss, kkiiddss
onwhomyoutakeapunt.Butatjust23he
has already played in two World Cups and a
European Championship, collected over 50caps and captains one of England, if not the
world’s, biggest football clubs.
And it is not as if he has not played a key role
for Spain already as he got the winning penalty
in the quarter-final against Italy at Euro 2008,
provided a sumptuous assist in the semi-final
and started in the final. In fact, a case could
be made for saying that, even from the bench,
he was one of the tournament’s outstanding
players. He also provided the pass for Iniesta to
score the winner inJohannesburg this summer.
But if it is superficially bizarre, it is also
logical. And realistic. Yes, there are plenty of
young players who look set to play important
roles for Spain, but none seem likely to play
a role as central as Fabregas. It is one he is
desperate to play too, and even Spain’s success
couldn’t hide a degree of personal frustration
at his peripheral status at the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Cesc was the one bone of
contention that Spanish supporters had with
Del Bosque – most wanted to see far more
of the Arsenal midfielder.
There is another factor too. Because he
has been around for so long, one of the things
that is often forgotten is just how young he is
–andhowmuchmorehestillhastoofffer:
another two European Championships and
one World Cup at the very least.
Before this summer’s World Cup, Fabregas
was asked what he envisaged in the future.
The question was designed to draw a response
on Barcelona’s inte est, but he batted it away
saying: “I see myse f lifting the World Cup.”
HHeemmeeaannttSSppaaiinnwwiinnnniinnggiinnSSoouutthhAAffrriiccaabbuutt
as a statement of intent it would certainly fit
a bigger picture.
Sid LoweTHE NEXT GENERATION