(Image courtesy: Reuters)
Undoubtedly, Ander Herrera is a
fan favorite at Old Trafford. The Spanish mid-fielder has been well received by
the Manchester United fans since his arrival, back in the
summer of 2014. Interestingly, United had already made a bid for him the
previous summer but Athletic Bilbao rejected that offer and made it quite
public. Herrera himself, then, activated his buy-out clause so that he could
force a move to Manchester. And evidently, if a player himself, forces a move to
a certain club then the fans of that particular club have an extra liking
towards that player. In addition to that, his expressive passion and love for
the club didn’t do any harm to his popularity among the Old Trafford faithfuls.
But Old Trafford often have an extra liking for some players even if they do
not go on to achieve anything great with the club, Diego Forlan being a prime
example. So is Herrera going to become a United great or is he going to be just
another player that had the backing of the fans?
Louis Van Gaal's new recruit Ander Herrera Aguera made a pretty impressive debut in a pre-season game against LA
Galaxy assisting 3 goals out of 7 that United scored. His competitive debut,
though, didn’t begin with the same bang as he started in a 2-1 loss against
Swansea. His first goal came against Queen’s Park Rangers F.C. and another one the
following week against Leicester City. Finally the United fans began to believe
that they had found a goal-scoring midfielder that had been missing since the post-Ferguson
era and all throughout the chaotic David Moyes reign, with all the goals coming
from Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie in those times. Herrera went on to score
8 goals that season but failed to make himself a regular in the Man Utd lineup.
The following season he went on to score 5 goals and played a bigger part
compared to the previous season but
still couldn’t quite manage to become a regular starter although he did chip in
with crucial goals against the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal. He won his first
silverware with the Red Devils when they beat Crystal Palace in the final of FA
Cup 2015-16.
2016-17 had to be his best season
as a Manchester United player and is the sole reason I am writing this article.
Jose Mourinho took over the reigns at Manchester United and much like his
predecessor he too ignored Herrera initially, starting Belgian midfielder Fellaini
ahead of him. But Herrera managed to creep up the ranks into the starting XI
and unlike the previous seasons, this time he was here to stay. He gave an
outstanding performance against Liverpool as United managed to hold the
free-scoring Liverpool to a 0-0 draw. This was the first of his many good
displays to come. Mourinho began to play him in a more defensive position and it
seemed like he had found the player who could do the dirty work at Manchester United.
Herrera did a great job in breaking the opposition’s attacks with his timely
interceptions and his little niggly fouls(which got him sent off, once or
twice). His best performance has to be against Chelsea at Old Trafford. Having
been sent off in the previous meeting against Chelsea, he had a point to prove
and boy, he didn’t disappoint. Having done an excellent job in marking Hazard (so
good that jokes and memes were running around saying Herrera followed Hazard to
the parking lot while marking him), he even went on to score United’s second goal
that of the day.
Ander Herrera does remind us of a
certain Paul Scholes aka “The Shy Genius”. The way he runs up and down the
pitch, pops up in the edge of the 18 yard box in that little pocket of space is
much similar to his legendary predecessor. Whatever he lacks in quality he
covers up with his tremendous work ethic. Another quality of his reminds us of
another great Man United mid-fielder; I am talking about his ability to wind
people up which reminds us of a certain Roy Keane. Herrera may not be the biggest
of the mid-fielders in the Premier League but that doesn’t stop him from
getting at opposition’s faces, one more reason that makes him a fan favorite.
To be honest, he doesn’t have the
quality that the above mentioned midfielders had, but guess what? Very few
players do. That shouldn’t stop him from becoming a Manchester United great. He
is sincere, young and dynamic (comparatively, 27 is a young age for a
midfielder), has a great work ethic, no flashiness, and the stats certainly prove
that he doesn’t lack talent. Winner of the “Matt Busby player of the year
2016-17” and appointed as the vice-captain of the club for 2017-18 season, the
future looks bright for Ander Herrera. Will his name shine with the likes of
Scholes, Keane and Carrick or will he just remain as a cult hero among the
United faithful, only time will tell.
Author: D7D
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