The plaudits have come thick and fast for Manchester United midfielder Anderson, after he scored the crucial second goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, in a match that the Red Devils eventually won 3-1.
It
was his first ever goal for United after a whopping 78 competitive
appearances. Not that you could tell, as the sweetly struck left-foot
shot was drilled low past Spurs goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini with spades
of composure.
Among the team-mates congratulating the Brazilian
on breaking his duck was Rio Ferdinand, who said that there were signs
that the goal was on the cards.
"I think the lads have seen it coming," Rio told United’s official website.
"The
international break gave him plenty of time to train and we've seen
glimpses of what he can do. He scored a good goal for the reserves and
I think he's got the knack now of scoring.
"Hopefully he can go on a good run now and score more because if he does that he'll be a top-class player."
The
21-year-old had previously only scored in competitive matches for
United in penalty shootouts. He put one away in emphatic style against
Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2008, and scored the final
penalty that secured the League Cup against Spurs last season.
For
a man that had waited so long to finally score, his celebration was
remarkably calm and restrained. The Brazilian slid onto the ground,
firing his arms in a machine gun spraying motion while seated on the
pitch.
The celebration wasn’t to everyone’s liking, according
to team-mate Ryan Giggs, who curled home an emphatic free kick in the
first half to cancel out Jermain Defoe’s acrobatic opener.
"He's had a bit of stick about his celebration," Giggs said.
"But
we're all pleased. His performances have been really good since he's
come to the club. He's a top player. He knows he needs to add goals to
his game and hopefully he'll score a lot more."
Sir Alex
Ferguson also praised the performance of Anderson and insisted that
although he had been on the fringes of the squad in recent times, the
Brazilian had an important part to play this season, particularly under
the Scot’s midfield rotation system.
"I hope that drives him on to get more [goals] because he's capable of that,” Ferguson said.
“He
hasn't played a lot of games but he's part of a squad, we have so many
midfield players and we have to rotate it at various times in the
season and Anderson will play his part. He had a marvelous performance
for us today."
"I think the lads have seen it coming," Rio told United’s official website.
lol bullshit... I'm sure they all forgotten have about him until now.
Originally posted by sand king:
lol bullshit... I'm sure they all forgotten have about him until now.
well, they were glazing at the crystal ball and was hoping for him to score..
Originally posted by iceFatboy:well, they were glazing at the crystal ball and was hoping for him to score..
More like crossing their fingers haha!
Originally posted by sand king:More like crossing their fingers haha!
and toes, but hey, he broke his duck..
let's hope he and owen can score some more..
Originally posted by iceFatboy:and toes, but hey, he broke his duck..
let's hope he and owen can score some more..
I would love to see Hargo on the score sheets again!
Originally posted by sand king:I would love to see Hargo on the score sheets again!
score is a bit far, maybe, see him laced and in the reserves is first step lor.
Originally posted by iceFatboy:score is a bit far, maybe, see him laced and in the reserves is first step lor.
Indeed, first step. How old is he? Hope he has many many more years to come!