Date: 9th December 2010 at 8:19pm
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Following the game with Valencia I remarked to my brother that Anderson had played well and that he was looking much improved. This was a no brainer, he looked pretty good against Blackburn and was the only layer to come out of the West Ham game with some credit to his name.

So you can only imagine my shock when he replied that Lucas was better than Anderson and that Lucas had been performing since last year but it was only now that he was getting praised. I can’t profess to be an expert on Lucas, I have seen an upturn in his fortunes amongst their fans and in the media but I seriously can’t get my head around the statement. So I asked Dave Tully, editor of our sister site Live 4 Liverpool, for his opinion:

Lucas

Arrival – In contrast to Anderson, Lucas was bought from Gremio for £6million, a small price compared to the amount that Manchester United paid Porto. The smaller fee didn’t necessarily dampen expectations though as he was the reigning Brazilian player of the year when he was purchased by Liverpool. Having already made his debut for Brazil, being Gremio’s captain as well as helping his team to the Copa Libertadores final, many felt that Rafa Benitez had got a bargain.

The first two seasons especially were very difficult for Lucas as he didn’t live up to expectations. The Anfield crowd got on his back and many questioned his continuing inclusion in the team. Unlike Anderson, who already had a spell in European football; with Porto, Lucas came straight from the slower pace Brazilian league, into the rough and tumble of English football. He was used to having time on the ball but now in the Premier League, he found himself rushed, miss-timing tackles and regularly misplacing passes. Added to this, Rafa had decided to convert the player from an attacking midfielder, (similar to Anderson) into a holding midfield player. It was a rocky transition which took years and has made it even more difficult for Lucas to settle in England.

Weaknesses – Unfairly touted as the replacement for Xabi Alonso in some quarters, his long range passing was nowhere near the standard of his former Spanish team-mate and he played a similar role in the team to Javier Mascherano, which frustrated many Liverpool fans. With Alberto Aquilani either injured or ill for the majority of last season, Lucas was picked alongside Mascherano on many occasions, but the similarity in both player’s games, led to very defensive team without any supply to Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres further up the field. Out of the two, Lucas was the worst tackler and passer leading many to question why he was in the side at all. He was however still in transition from a more attacking midfield role, as at his time at Gremio he had been used to making forward runs and arriving late in the box to finish passing moves rather than holding the fort in midfield. Lucas however rallied by the end of last season and was rewarded with Liverpool’s young player of the year. Time in the English football has seen him develop as a player and he was gradually getting used to the holding midfield role.

Strengths – The transformation from Lucas in 2007 to Lucas in 2010 has been quite astonishing. No longer the butt of jokes by Reds fans and used as a scapegoat for every poor Liverpool performance, he has evolved this season into becoming one of Liverpool’s most consistent performers. Much of this has to be credited to his mental strength for after years of being derided for his poor performances; he has never gone hiding on the pitch and has always looked to get on the ball. The departure of Javier Mascherano has seen the Brazilian step up to the plate as the Reds sole midfield destroyer. Not only is he tackling better and intercepting opposition attacks with aplomb, his pass completion stats are exceptional, and he barely gives a stray pass to team-mates. Many of the passes are short and square, but he has begun this season to be more expansive, passing forward rather than backwards. Two man of the match performances against Chelsea and Aston Villa have seen Lucas perform a remarkable turn around in regards to popularity among Reds fans. People want Lucas and Raul Meireles to be the first choice midfield partnership now; this time last season, they wouldn’t have wanted him anywhere near the first team squad, let alone the starting eleven.

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24 responses to “A Brazilian midfield debate: Anderson or Lucas”

  1. Surju says:

    Wt a joke gerrards btr dan scholey? Ha ha ha i cnt even stop laughing dude.. Scholey s pure class and gerrard cant even get close to him.. Any doubt? Luk @ d stats..

  2. isaiah says:

    Anderson is now beyond comparison !!!!He has won premier league cups including European.He is a wonderful young lad.For the last two matches of Blackburn and Valencia,I loved every move forward he made and besides,I Think Fergie has discovered the right position which the Lad can be employed. He has always shown what he has and has matured very well,Soon we will see the best player of the World in him.I am predicting that he is going to win again the league and Euro cup.Ando continue to move forward and score goals for us.

  3. serge14 says:

    lol..lucas?he’s had a few consistent games and now all of a sudden he’s better than anderson?gimme a break..this is the same anderson who put fabregas and gerrard on their arses during a very debut season by him..his versatility puts him ahead by miles and his ability is top notch

  4. Jack says:

    Reading “Meireles> Flecther” just made me spit coffee all over my keyboard. Most ludicrous comment ever written about football.

  5. Mick says:

    wise up f**k sake…. meireles is 10 times better than darren fletcher, anderson, or carrick.. he is taking a while to settle in yes, as many foreign players do, look at drogba for example, tuk a few years to settle and look at him now… but when meireles does settle in fully he will put any of them united midfield players to shame… FACT!!!!!!!

    and secondly, was it not zidane who said gerrard was ”the best player in the world” yes it was, so get ur facts rite 😉

  6. DJ says:

    Very nice comments I hear frm sme cunts… Gerrard is at his prime so he’s better than scholes for nw…hweva scholes is a much better passer of the ball than gerrard or xabi and as fr merieles being better than fletcher boy u must be dreaming… I saw manutd liverpool an I saw who played better

  7. enzo133 says:

    For fucks sake yet another pointless topic.

    • jonathan says:

      It’s a sports-specific blog. You’re looking in the wrong place if you’re looking for articles dealing with the human condition and world affairs. I think a copy of “Man’s Search For Meaning” by Frankl is available at the library if you’re interested. Or if your reading level is where I suspect it is, there’s always “Chicken Soup For the Soul”.