A tribute to Anderson, Manchester United's cult hero and great ...

Anderson may have won four Premier League titles and a Champions League medal, but he only played 181 times for United over eight seasons and ... AtributetoAnderson,ManchesterUnited’scultheroandgreatshowman Nostalgia Share NathanEgerton 7thJuly2021 It’seasytoforget thatbeforesigningfor ManchesterUnited in2007,Andersonwasregardedasoneofthebrightestyoungtalentsinworldfootball. Withhindsight,thatacclaimmayseemabsurd,butatthetimeitmadesense. Afterall,thiswasaplayerwhohadwontheGoldenBallattheUnder-17WorldCupand becomeateenagesensationforGremio. Itwasn’tlongbeforeAndersonstartedreceivinginterestfromoutsideofBrazil,andin2006heearnedamovetoEuropewithPorto. AfterbeinggiventheNo.10shirt,Andersonquicklybegantoshowwhyhewassohighlyrated:hewasanexcellentdribblerwithaneyeforgoalandbrilliantpassingrange. HisrisewascompletewhentheteenagermadehisChampionsLeaguedebutinSeptember,butamonthlaterhebrokehislegjustashiscareerwasgettingupandrunning. Hehadstilldoneenoughtoattracttheattention ofsomeofthebiggestclubsfromacrossEurope,however,andlinkswithRealMadridandChelseabegantoemerge.Butitwas ManchesterUnitedwhoactedfirst. •••• Read:Rankingthe17SouthAmericanstoplayforManUtdinthePremierLeague •••• SirAlexFerguson’sbrotherMartinhadwatchedthetalentedBrazilianinactionandreturnedtoManchesterwithaglowingscoutingreport. “Whenhisrecoverywasover,IsentMartinovertowatchhimineverygameforfourorfiveweeks,”AlexFergusonwroteinMyAutobiography.“Martinsaid,‘Alex,he’sbetterthanRooney!’ “‘ForChrist’ssake,don’tsaythat,’Itoldhim.‘He’llneedtobegoodtobebetterthanRooney.’ “Martinwasadamant.” Fergusondidn’thesitateandwastednotimeinbringingthepromisingmidfieldertoOldTraffordfor£27millionin2007,andAndersonnowhadthechancetoprovehimselfonanevenbiggerstage. TheGoldenBoy  Duringhisdebutseason, AndersonshowedearlysignsofpromiseinaRedDevilsshirt,andhewastippedtobethenaturalreplacementforanageingPaulScholes. Andhequickly endearedhimselftotheManchesterUnitedsupporterswithhisstyleofplay.Neverafraidtoshowcasehisskills,helovedtoentertainfanswithhistechnicalability,buthealsohadthepace,strengthandenergytotakeplayersonanddrivethroughmidfield. HisstandoutperformancesinhisdebutseasonsawhimoutplayCescFabregasandfrustrateStevenGerrard.Unitedlookedtohaveunearthedanotherstar.   ThemidfielderhadslowlysettledintoEnglishfootballandmadeanimpressive38appearancesfortheclubin2007-08asUnitedwonthePremierLeagueandreachedtheChampionsLeaguefinal. AndersonfoundhimselfonthebenchforthefinalagainstChelsea,buthewasbroughtonasasubstituteinextratimeasthegameheadedtoapenaltyshoot-out.LessthanayearaftermakinghisbigmovetoEngland,hestoodinthepouringMoscowrainwaitingtotakeUnited’ssixthpenaltyinthebiggestclubgameintheworld. Whilemany20-year-oldswouldcrumbleunderthepressure,Andersonstoodovertheballwiththeconfidenceofaman10yearshisseniorandfireditpastPetrCech. AfterEdwinvanderSarsavedAnelka’sspot-kick,United,andAnderson,wereEuropeanChampions.Hisfirstseasonhadbecomethestuffofdreams. Anderson’sformevensawhimwintheprestigiousGoldenBoyawardin2008,followinginthefootstepsofWayneRooney,LionelMessiandSergioAguero. Happy30thbirthdaytoAnderson! 🏆🏆🏆🏆PremierLeague 🏆🏆PrimeiraLiga 🏆🏆LeagueCup 🏆CopaAmérica 🏆ClubWorldCup 🏆ChampionsLeague 🥇EuropeanGoldenBoy2008 Seriouscollection…pic.twitter.com/uXbZR2YnIa —SquawkaFootball(@Squawka)April13,2018 HecontinuedtodevelopinhissecondseasonashestarredagainstArsenalintheChampionsLeaguesemi-finalbeforestartingagainstBarcelonainRome. Andersonhadtheworldathisfeet,seeminglydestinedtobecomeoneofthebestmidfieldersintheworld. Butthingsdidn’tquiteworkoutasplanned. Injurynightmare AfterasuccessfulfirsttwoseasonsatOldTrafford,Anderson begantosufferwithnigglingfitnessissuesandlaterhadakneeligamentinjurythatendedhisseasonprematurely. Andashestruggledtogetbacktofullfitness,questionswereraisedabouthisworkethicandattitude,becomingthesubjectofmockeryabouthisweight. “Hewasverytalented,wasAnderson,”MichaelOwentoldSportsJOE. “Withoutbeingtoogeneral,he’dhavethatBrazilianattitude.Hewasaprettyrelaxedguy.Maybetoorelaxedattimes. “Helovedbeingouttherewithaballathisfeetbuthedidnotbotheraboutweights,oranythingreally.Himgettingbackfrominjurieswasoftenaslowprocess. “Hewasareallygoodplayerbutifhehadthatdrivenmentality,hecouldhavebeengreat.” WhenAndersoneventuallyreturned,hisimportancetotheUnitedteamhadwanedandhisearlypromiseandreputationnowseemedlikeadistantmemory. Helookedtohaveturnedthingsaroundandre-establishedhimselfatthebeginningofthe2011-12season,andhestartedforUnitedintheir8-2winoverArsenal. #OnThisDayin2011,ManchesterUniteddestroyedArsenal8-2. Anderson–“Idon’tthinkIsawoneofourplayersmakeamistakethatday.Afterwe’dscoredsix,Istartedtotakethepisswiththeball.Themanagerhadtotakemeoff!”#MUFC[AndyMitten]pic.twitter.com/16tLLOUSM1 —UnitedXtra(@utdxtra)August27,2019 “Theboyisafantastictalent.Weexpecthimtobeakeyplayerthisseason. Hehasagoodfootballknowledge.Heunderstandsthegameverywell.Hehasmadetremendousimprovement,andheisgoingtogetalotbetter,”saidFerguson. “Hescoredfourgoalsforuslastseason,andifhegetseightorninenextseason,itwouldahugeassetbecausethefootballsideisverygoodindeed.” ButinjuriesstruckoncemoreandAndersonfoundhimselfonthesidelinesagain. Thejoker Fergusonwasknownforbeingruthlesswithplayerswhodidn’tmatchhishighstandards,butheclearlyhadasoftspotforAnderson. Muchofitwassurelyduetohispersonality.His injuryproblemswouldhavedisheartenedmostfootballers,butAndersonwasstilla happy-go-luckycharacterwhoalwayshadasmileonhisface. ItwasclearthathewaslovingeveryminuteofhistimeinEngland.Andthat joyfulexuberanceensuredhebecameanincrediblypopularfigureinthedressingroomandeventuallyacultheroamongUnited’sfans. TheymayrememberhispenaltyagainstChelseaandperformancesagainstArsenal,butitwashisoffthefieldanticsandgeneraltomfoolerythatbecamethedefiningmemoriesofhiscareer. Andersonhadgonefromaworld-classtalenttoalovablescampwhosefaultsyoucouldalwaysforgive.   ButthewritingwasonthewallfortheplayerwhenFergusonretiredin2013. DavidMoyesandLouisVanGaalquicklyranoutofpatiencewiththemidfielder,andhemadehislastappearanceforUnitedintheir4-0defeattoMKDonsbeforebeingsoldin2015. AndersonmayhavewonfourPremierLeaguetitlesandaChampionsLeaguemedal,butheonlyplayed181timesforUnitedovereightseasonsandforvariousreasonswasrarelyafixtureintheirmidfield. HeleftUnitedatwhatshouldhavebeenthepeakofhiscareer,butat26hefoundhimselfplayingforInternacionalinBrazil. Afteraspellwith TurkishoutfitAdanaDemirspor,theformerGoldenBoyhasnowretiredfromfootballwithhisreputationintatters. Still,hemightnothavereachedtheheightsthatheshouldhavedonewithUnited,buthewasalwaysentertaining.Andthat’showhiscareershouldberemembered. ByNathanEgerton MoreManchesterUnited GaryNeville:IfsomeonesaidScholeswouldbeafootballerI’dsay‘How?’ 13ManUtdsigningswhoweremeanttobethebusiness…butweren’t CanyounameAlexFerguson’s30most-usedplayersatManchesterUnited? RememberingHenrikLarsson’sbriefloanspellatManchesterUnited Anderson ManchesterUnited Share Newsletter Submit Quizzes Canyounamethetop30appearancemakersinPLhistory? CanyounameRealMadrid’sXIfromtheirCLwinvsBarcelonain2002? Canyounamethe35playerswiththemostCLgamesforChelsea? YouMayAlsoLike Nostalgia ThenightZidane,Dugarryandco.introducedthemselvestoEurope AtributetofivewonderfulSerieAdefences:Milan,Parma,Inter,Juve… AcelebrationofKoloToure:Likeable,hilarious,andalsovery,verygood