It has been a hard season for Brazilian right back Rafael. Not only has he suffered with injury but he has also come up against some tough opposition.
Craig Bellamy tried to take advantage of his relative inexperience in the Carling Cup semi final whilst Ronaldinho tried to have him running around the houses when United met AC Milan weeks ago, but the good thing about the bottle rocket right back is that he is never beaten.
He displays an energy as well as a determination to continue even when he is struggling evident in the fact he cannot wait to renew his duel with his fellow country man Ronaldinho tomorrow, and is even thankful for the opportunity Sir Alex gave him in the first leg:
“It was a great privilege for me [to play in the first leg], it made me feel that the manager really trusts me by giving me the opportunity to play in this type of match. It’s a great feeling knowing that the manager believes in my ability to play at this level.”
It is hard to remember that Rafael is just 19 with the assured performances he puts in but his experiences are setting him in good stead to be a future star as he is coming up against top quality players so early in his career and dealing with them without taking too much damage.
With Wes Brown out and just an aging Gary Neville as competition for the right back spot, Rafael will see a lot more playing time in the business end of the season and if he can come through the period unscathed (and hopefully with a trophy or two) we may be seeing the development of United’s next great right back.
