At Manchester United, fans can’t really make their mind up about their Portuguese winger, Nani. He’s like the football equivalent to Marmite – you either love him or hate him. It doesn’t help that he gets continuously compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, who Lionel Messi aside, is the best player on the planet. But five years in at Old Trafford, is Nani finally becoming a world-beater?
His recent performances would seem to suggest so. I used to see his name on the team-sheet and groan in disappointment. After all, what’s the point in beating a full-back five times if your shot or cross is woefully high, wide and disgusting? Saying that, this usually occurs after he chose the wrong option, or it wouldn’t happen at all because that mysterious sniper who manages to sneak into Old Trafford year in, year out, continues to get away with shooting him to the ground at that vital moment.
Nani used to be the only one that believed in his own hype. He had that arrogance which said ‘I’m the best player on this pitch’ but he was the only one who could see that. At the weekend though, he was a real difference coming off the bench against Southampton. United lacked width, pace but most of all, quality. People talk about Ryan Giggs and Chicharito being the saviours, but it wasn’t until Sir Alex Ferguson threw Nani on that his side started to attack in the manner we have come accustomed to.
Against Aston Villa on Tuesday night, it was much the same thing, only this time the Portuguese star started the game. His quality of delivery was annoyingly good. Annoying in the sense that you could pull your hair out in frustration that he hasn’t been doing it consistently. For United’s and Wayne Rooney’s second, he beat the full-back, Ciaran Clark, and then curled an inch perfect cross in behind he centre-half. Rooney has been open in his criticism in the past regarding Nani’s form stating he should be providing more quality on a regular basis. You can’t blame the striker seeing as Nani is capable of producing real class.
He still isn’t the finished article. Highlights of the midweek victory still showed Nani opting to shoot instead of pass or visa-versa, but he is getting there. It must be even more annoying for Ferguson who witnesses his brilliance on a daily basis in training only to see his star be wasteful when it matters.
Nani is now though getting to the stage where anyone would consider him one of Manchester United’s match winners. A few years ago, he was the one under-performing in the low-key games, only to be replaced by a seasoned pro who can ultimately turn the game round with a little bit of quality. Now he is their match winner. He is their new Cristiano Ronaldo. Maybe not as good, but I question when we will ever see a player that good again in the Premier League. Put it this way, fans are starting to realise that they would rather have him than not. Even if he is a little…annoying. The new Ronaldo? Probably not. But Nani is well on the way to being another world-class performer.