The task of making people forget about Cristiano Ronaldo would not be an easy job, but in his first 5 months in a Manchester United uniform, Antonio Valencia has chipped in to help compete for the English Premier League title in a major way.
One of the bright young stars in the 2006 World Cup for Ecuador, the Villarreal winger was on everyone's radar prior to coming to the English Premier League by joining Wigan. With Ronaldo's 80 million pound transfer to Real Madrid, Valencia was on the top of United's wish list to be the heir apparent.
Valencia scored his 7th goal of the season in yesterday's 5-0 rout of Wigan, but what was most impressive in his match-up versus his former club was his ability to create chances for others - setting up three of their first four goals, with Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov profiting from Valencia’s vision and unselfish team play.
This appears to be the major difference between Valencia and Ronaldo, who, for all his strengths, often infuriated his team-mates with his refusal to do anything other than shoot once he was within 40 yards of goal.
Mark Ogden of the Telegraph reports on the differences between Valencia and Ronaldo, and of how the speedy Ecuadorian has grown in his initial season with Manchester United.
No matter which way Manchester United attempted to spin the Ecuadorean’s £18 million arrival from the DW Stadium, Valencia’s first objective was to fill the huge void created by Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80 million transfer to Real Madrid.
In terms of impossible jobs, replacing Ronaldo at United is probably second only to the mountainous challenge facing the poor soul who replaces Sir Alex Ferguson’s in the manager’s chair at Old Trafford.
Yet six months after taking on the challenge of slipping into Ronaldo’s size nines, Valencia is beginning to make his own name at Old Trafford.
He will never be the new Ronaldo, just as Teddy Sheringham could never outshine Eric Cantona, but prior to the clash with his previous employers on Wednesday night, Ferguson spoke glowingly of the 24-year-old’s progress in a United shirt.
Ferguson said: “The good thing about Valencia is that he’s as tough as boots. Really tough. He can see it out and he has great stamina and great speed."
“In a personality sense, I don’t find that he would be interested in trying to outmatch Cristiano.” Valencia has improved markedly since leaving Wigan and his former team-mates discovered that at first hand as he played the architect in their downfall.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6912625/Manchester-United-winger-Antonio-Valencia-rubs-salt-into-Wigan-wounds.html
No comments:
Post a Comment