So imagine that the world's best player leaves a team for a record-setting fee and his former team looks to fill the very large vacancy. If you're hired, you won't be playing for a no-name team who get no publicity. You will be playing for a name-brand that is known the world over. Their stadium (Old Trafford) is filled with 76,000 screaming faithful every match and their fanbase touches all continents. Would you want to be that player?
Enter Antonio Valencia. A quiet, unassuming Ecuadorian who has been the star winger for Wigan Athletic the past three seasons. Antonio got the call from Sir Alex that he needed a new winger after Cristiano Ronaldo left for that team in Spain. Before accepting (which probably took five seconds), Antonio most assuredly thought about the points I mentioned above. The person he would be replacing won every award imaginable last year (somewhere around 24 trophies), and was known simply as "Ronaldo" or "CR7." Antonio Valencia wasn't a big star in Euro footy so it was with quizzical looks that United fans welcomed him into the Red fold. Could anyone replace CR7?
Yes. United has never been about one player and although some very famous names in footy have been stars for and left the Red Devils, none of them were current World Players of the Year.
If the pressures of stepping into the starting XI at Old Trafford were daunting to Antonio, then he certainly hasn't shown it. He is a calm, commanding presence down the wing and has the ability to turn a match with his physicality, much like CR7 did. His crosses are superb and he has supplied many a ball into the box which eventually find their way into the net. With all of these attributes and his quiet maturity, it is surprising that he is only 23. His former manager at Wigan, Steve Bruce, summed up his talent:
"Valencia has got that thing which not many players have anymore – the ability to dribble," Bruce said. "People who can run with the ball, take it up the pitch and beat a man are a dying breed – there aren't many around."
Antonio "opening his account" against Bolton
So today on 33 minutes, Michael Owen sent a beautiful ball to Valencia, who passed outside to a sprinting Gary Neville, who then passed back to Valencia...and he whacked one past Bolton keeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was well-struck and Valencia's first competitive goal (he scored two in pre-season) in a United shirt. He barely celebrated. He merely turned around and gave credit to Owen and Neville for supplying him with the chance.
The Brits have a wonderful expression for scoring your first goal..."opening your account." Here's to Antonio Valencia carrying an ATM card in his boot! ¡Vaya, Valencia!
More photos from United's 2-1 victory over Bolton, which sent us top of the table:
Michael Owen celebrating his header (which became an assist, when a Bolton defender knocked it in)
Anderson played brilliantly today...he is finally maturing
Old Man Ryan Giggs schooling a defender on the finer points of winning a corner
Another photo of Michael Owen (just for fun!)
My MOTM: It would be a toss-up between Valencia and Berbatov. Both were key players in the buildup. Valencia's strength in out-muscling players is so fun to watch. His physical presence is equally matched by Berbatov's sublimeness. His pitch awareness is second-to-none. Today he was simply "suBerb!" :)
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