After his first season at Manchester United, I thought of Antonio Valencia as a great athlete but not a great player. Someone who gave his all to the collective good, was strong and resilient, but lacked real craft. Whilst he would always offer something to the team, he would never be one of the crown jewels – more of a Park Ji Sung than a Wayne Rooney.
Then came the injury which put him out for a good 6 months. During that period Nani came to form and staked a claim as first choice right winger. Valencia recovered quicker than expected from the leg injury and came back to the fore with great conviction towards the end of last season. Even then though, I thought of him as a hard working but limited footballer. He played brilliantly against the mere mortals but was nowhere when it came to competing with Barcelona in the Champions League final. Not that anyone from United got near Barca that night, but not once did Valencia pick up the ball and threaten from wide areas at Wembley. To me, his footballing limitations had been perfectly illustrated that night.
It seems that this season, he has pushed back the boundaries of his capabilities. In the last few months he has been right on top of his game and I have come, for the first time, to think of him as a match winner for Manchester United. He still doesn’t possess the sort of trickery that we have come to expect down the right flank from Nani, but neither does he have the infuriating inconsistency of the Portuguese.
While, of late, Nani seems to have regressed back to the prodigious but proligate state of previous seasons, Valencia has even threatened to trump Wayne Rooney in recent weeks. The perfect way to describe him is that defenders always know what he is going to do but, such is his speed and accuracy, seldom can they stop him. Antonio gets the ball, pushes it past the full back and shreds them with his pace before putting in consistently high quality crosses. He’s not a great finisher and he won’t mesmerise you with his trickery but, when on top of his game, he’s devastatingly effective – an old fashioned winger playing with supreme confidence.
All the more frustrating then for Manchester United fans that it looks as if he will be out for a month with a hamstring problem.
Last night’s game against Ajax was one of the most disappointing 2-0 victories you will ever see. Whilst United won the game comfortably in the end, they struggled to find any sort of rhythm and gave the ball away time and again. Nani was nigh on hopeless for most of the night and it was only when Valencia appeared towards the end that Manchester United upped the tempo and sealed the victory. Sadly, in so doing, Valencia sustained his injury.
I have been a big advocate of Nani in the past. He has far more potential than Valencia but will he ever have the football brain to go with his inordinate skills? Wayne Rooney looks more annoyed with him by the week as chance after chance is wasted because Nani so regularly misuses the ball in the final third. Last night United’s game broke down on countless occasions due to him. Where Valencia keeps it simple, Nani over elaborates. He makes the difficult stuff look easy and the easy stuff look difficult. He beats his man then goes back to try to beat him again! Just ask Wayne Rooney who he prefers to play with and you will surely get a resounding and immediate thumbs up for Antonio Valencia.
It’s a real conundrum for Sir Alex because it’s difficult to know whether Nani will ever find the consistency to become the world class player that his skill level promises. Meantime United are left without the services of their best player on form, for a crucial part of the season. One feels that Manchester United will again be relying heavily on golden oldies Giggs and Scholes for the forseeable future.
Of the other returning players, Cleverley looked excellent after a slow start but, despite his goal, Ashley Young still has a lot to do to convince that he is true Manchester United quality to a set of supporters who are used to seeing the cream of Europe pacing down their flanks.
Steve Tattersall
Feb 17, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Good post, I have to agree with you I think, he started slowly a tremendous athlete but probably lacking a little of the unexpected skills that you expect from MU wingers down the years, he is a little more like a cross between Lee Sharpe/Kanchelskis rather than a cross between Giggs/Nani. He shows directness, power & accuracy which is a good. What is great is that he has become so consistent and effective this season, that everytime he gets in a good position you expect an end product. Nani on the other hand can win a game on his own cutting inside and unleashing a shot from 30 yards in the top corner. I think Valencia seems more assured in his ability this season, whereas Nani’s confidence waivers and when the chips are down he can be a little lost. It is great to have both styles of wingers. With Young you get a bit of the unexpected too, and it won’t long before he is back to form. When he is in form he is an excellent player. When at Villa he was playing for England and seemed to work a great understanding with Wayne Rooney and I think that will come if he can stay fit. It is great to have players like this coming back from injury.