Patrick Rees
Right at this very moment, Manchester United have been grabbing all the headlines in the English media, be it the transfers, or be it the performances. Firstly, a surprise acquisition of Henrikh Mkhitaryan shocked the world and then the world record fee paid for their prodigal son Paul Pogba, brought the Devils back on the cover page.
Besides that, the side have been looking a lot confident lately. While serving under the services of Louis van Gaal, the team was often criticized for their lack of efforts and the optimism. “Dull Football” was the word which summed up Manchester United 2015-16 season, but the arrival of Jose Mourinho at the throne changed the way completely.
They might have suffered a 4-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund, but they kicked their competitive season in style as they defeated the Premier League champions Leicester City to win the community shield in the first place. Soon after that, an impressive 1-3 victory over Bournemouth was again eye catching, and then the demolition of the Saints gave the glimpse, that Mourinho is not just about the controversies.
Players like Pogba, Ibrahimovic may have grabbed the headline, but we cannot deny the fact that the entire squad has given a performance that the spectators were dying to watch. Talking specifically, Manchester United’s current number one right-back Antonio Valencia has been a pure joy to watch recently.
The Ecuadorian skipper, who has now more than 250 caps for Manchester United, has always remained under the dark spots and has never been appreciated for his efforts. Manchester United did buy a natural right back from Italy (Matteo Darmian), but the 26-year-old has failed to surpass Antonio Valencia for the spot.
Very recently, after Antonio’s clinical performances, his teammate Ander Herrera stepped up and appreciated his presence and also stated that he is the World’s best right back:
“I have always liked the way he plays.
“I know he’s not a normal right-back because he used to play as a winger but I think that, right now, he is the best right-back in the world maybe with Dani Alves, because I like Dani Alves a lot.
“When you have a right-back who is quick to defend and he is crossing maybe six or seven times a game, always or almost always successfully, then he understands football.
“When I have the ball, I know that Antonio’s always ready to receive it, always to give you one solution.”
The 31-year-old was converted into a right back by United’s then manager Alex Ferguson and soon after his retirement, the winger became a permanent defender for the team. We all are aware of the fact that Jose loves his players to be agile in some situation and for that; Antonio fits the bill right away.
Since the past couple of seasons, the player has been heavily criticized for the lack of his concentration and also for his poor ability to cross the ball, but now with Mourinho at his support, good things are expected to happen. The game against the Turkish giants Galatasaray was unarguably his best performance after a long time, as he wrapped three assists to his name and since then, he has been on the road to improvement.
Being a south-American blood, the player is tough as rock, hence there are only handful of players who could actually beat him physically, besides that; his sprinting skill is something he has always been praised for and that has actually worked for Mourinho. He has only played three competitive games under Mourinho, yet he has convinced the manager that he is the one, who is hard to replace, hence, we actually agree with Ander Herrera.
Not every player can change their roles, especially from midfield to defence, yet the 31-year-old has done this with ease. Even though he is 31 years of age, we expect that the best is yet to come from his side.
