What Has Gone Wrong for Anderson at Manchester United?

Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira was supposed to be the future of Manchester United's midfield. Following his arrival from Porto in 2007, he put in some ... XAlexLivesey/GettyImagesAndersonLuísdeAbreuOliveirawassupposedtobethefutureofManchesterUnited’smidfield.FollowinghisarrivalfromPortoin2007,heputinsomeearlyperformancesthatsuggestedhewouldbecomeapermanentfixtureintheUnitedside.Certainly,itcouldbearguedthathisacquisitionwasapreemptiveattemptbySirAlexFergusontoplugthenoticeablegapthatnowexistsinthecentreofthepark.Tentrophies(andthreeUEFAChampionsLeagueFinalappearances)later,hismedalshaulrepresentsasuccessfultimespentattheclub. Scratchawayatthesurface,though,andyouareleftwithalessglossypicture. So,justwhathashappenedtotheboyfromBrazil?AndersonrosetoprominenceinBrazilduringGremio’sSerieBpromotionyearin2005.Promotionwasconfirmedinanincredibleplay-offmatchagainstNautico.GremiohadbeenreducedtosevenmenwhentheyoungstersomehowdribbledpasthalfoftheopposingsidetoscoreandlifthisteamintoBrazil’sSerieA.Portowerequicktopickupontheplayer’spromiseandbringhimtoEurope.ItisincredibletothinkthatAndersononlyactuallymade21appearancesforPortobeforeManchesterUnitedswooped,althoughafive-monthabsencedueabrokenlegcontributedtothis.Notwithstandinghisseriousinjurysetback,theRedDevilshadstillseenenoughoftheyoungstertosplashoutareportedfeeofupto£35million.Inhisfirstseasonattheclub,therewerefineperformancesagainstthelikesofLiverpoolandArsenal—thelatterinspiredaterracechantthatextolshisvirtuesoverthoseofCescFabregas.Brightandinventive,withbagsofenergy,butalsoquitepreparedtosnapawayattheheelsoftheopposition, itappearedthatUnitedhadsignedaplayerthat—althoughlesscarefreethaninhisGremiodays—wasexactlywhatanagingmidfieldrequired.Unfortunately,visitstotheinjurytablewouldbecomearegularoccurrenceforAndersononceinManchester.Hisseasonin2009-2010endedearlyduetoakneeinjuryandareportedpenchantfornightlifewashighlightedwhen,whilestillrecovering,hehadtobe“draggedunconscious”fromapost-partycarcrash.Overthelastfiveyears,wehaveseennumerousinjuries,severalfalsedawns,anapparentweightfluctuationanda“questionableoff-fieldattitude”—allhavehadaneffectonthemidfielder’scareer.Itdoesalsohavetoberememberedthattherewasanoticeablechangeoftacticsattheclubpost-Ronaldo.SirAlexoftenaskedAndersontoplayamoredefensivemidfieldrole,ratherthanthecreativerolethathewasperhapsoriginallypurchasedfor.AndersonissubbedbyDavidMoyes.MichaelRegan/GettyImagesThenetresulthasbeenthatthehighestnumberofappearanceshehasmadesincejoiningUnitedwasinhisfirstseasonattheclub.Thatrecorddoesnotlooktobeinanydangerthisseason.DavidMoyesseemstobetryingoutvariouscombinationsofmidfieldersinhisfirstseasonatManchesterUnited,butAndersonhasstillfailedtosecurearegularspot.TheBrazilianhasfeaturedonlytwiceinthestartingXIthisseasonandhasbarelylastedmorethananhoureachtime.ThefactthatdefenderPhilJoneshasbeenapreferredoptioninmidfieldonnumerousoccasionsissurelyaclearindicationfromMoyesthatheisnotconvincedofAnderson’smerits.ThisisasadindictmentonaplayerthatBrazillegendMarioZagallooncecalled(h/tTheGuardian) a“prodigywithindisputablequality.”“Everythingsuggestsheisgoingtobeasuperstar,”headded.Andersoncelebrates.MichaelRegan/GettyImagesAndersonisanextremelylivelyandpopularmemberoftheManchesterUnitedsquad—afactthatmayhavecontributedtohisprolongedspellattheclub,despitehislackofprogress.ThesightoftheBrazilian'ssamba-dancinggoalcelebrationisonethatwarmstheheartofallUnitedfans.However,theIndependentnotesthathehasfinallyadmittedtohimselfthatheneedstoplaymoreoften.Despitealltheinjuryproblems,ManUtd.comindicatesthatAndersonhasnowplayedmorethan170timesfortheReds,whichismorethananyotherSouthAmericanplayereverhas.However,unlessthecongestedfestiveperiodallowshimmoreopportunitiestoshowwhathecando—andhegraspsthoseopportunitieswhentheycome—itseemsunlikelythatUnitedfanswillbeseeinghimstruthisstufftoomanymoretimes.🚨SPORTSNEWS➡️YOURINBOXThelatestinthesportsworld,emaileddaily.JoinNewsletterMaybelater