As one door slams shut, ending Cristiano Ronaldo's OT
career, here’s to another swinging wide open.
Ronny wasn’t United’s only fleet-footed wide player with a rocket
of a shot in his locker, and attack permanently on his mind, and
Nani, after
last
season’s bench-warming
nightmare, has already made it plain he feels he can fill his
compatriot’s boots. So could 09/10 finally be his breakthrough
season? Well, freed from operating in the shadow of the World
Player of the Year, there’s absolutely no reason why not.
Last season, on the rare occasions when Nani got the nod, the
pressure showed. His desire to shine was painfully obvious, but
more often than not his desperation to showcase his individual
talent ended in him overcooking it. Now, though, the shackles
should be off. He just needs to realise he doesn’t have to do it
all on his own every time; with his vim and vigour incorporated
within the Reds’ mind-boggling attacking play, he can play a
massive part.
Of course, that could all change should
Antonio
Valencia saunter down the road
from the JJB. But despite recent reports suggesting that Sir Alex
might be prepared to let the Portuguese winger swap places with
Valencia, the Reds boss saw enough in the then-20-year-old to prise
him away from Sporting Lisbon two years ago, and after the last
campaign, insisted that the Portuguese wide player was still very
much part of United’s future.
“The form of Park has been absolutely outstanding and most of the
time has kept Nani out of the team,” said the gaffer. “Getting a
consistent run has really been the problem for him and then he got
a little injury. But he will be here next season and he will do
very well for us.”
It should also be remembered that not even Ronaldo swept all before
him right from the off. In his inaugural United
season he hit four league goals in 15 starts, figures not far
removed from Nani’s three in 16.
Admittedly, Nani finished last season with just a single league
strike to his name, but to be fair, he only started seven games.
And while he’s got plenty of pace, he’s not your quintessential
impact-off-the-bench type of player – which is unfortunate, as with
the likes of
Darren
Fletcher and (as the boss
pointed out)
Ji-sung Park
in flying form, the bench was as good as it got for large
chunks of Nani's season.
Nani could also probably have done without
Ryan Giggs
apparently discovering the elixir of neverending
footballing life. No-one could have imagined that the Reds’
record-breaker would plough a furrow for as many minutes last
season as he did. But time is one thing most definitely on Nani’s
side, and with perhaps a little better luck, plus more of the
patience he’s already shown by the bucketload, his time may be
about to come.
Ronaldo Mk II? Perhaps not, but Nani Mk I could be a force in his
own right…