Back to the future: Nani stepping up to the plate
Unable to consistently produce the goods on field and guilty of the cardinal sin of criticising Sir Alex publicly, many fans (myself included) felt his hit and miss spell at united was over. Also hindered by injuries early in the season what was to take place upon his return is one of football’s most remarkable turn arounds as something finally clicked for the Portuguese winger.
As good as Nani is now, it’s hard to forget how frustrating and frankly bad he was. It was like watching a bi polar person, in one game he would look like a star, in another we would question how or why we spent £17m on him. The talent was clearly there but the application amongst other things wasn’t. Last season I was fooled into thinking he was ready to step up after seeing him in the Community Shield and then assisting Rooney’s goal against Birmingham in our opening game of the season but then there was the customary dip in performances, which could now be attributed to these injuries that were bothering him.
Of course he was entitled to his own opinion about Sir Alex but it was unnecessary and reckless to air them in the manner he did and many felt this, ahead of not performing, would be the end of his United career but we give thanks that it’s Sir Alex in charge and not us the fans. Obviously Sir Alex knew something that we didn’t or had a word with Nani because when he returned to first team action in January he was a different player.
I don’t think I need to chronicle the change that has taken place but the improvement in crossing, shooting and final product in general has made Nani an altogether much more dangerous player. Of course there are some people who will never be pleased until he turns into Ronaldo literally, but looking at the massive change in him as a player I am thankful he plays for and not against us.
The season has just started and although he was quite wasteful against West Ham he was still one of the most dangerous players on the field. His performances are a far cry from this time last year or from the previous seasons and his is a story that, similar to that of Gareth Bale, shows that you will reap the rewards of sticking with a player if they too can realise their potential.