“He gave silly instructions for everything, even in training.”
He may have left the club in 2015, but Anderson remains a cult hero for Manchester United supporters. The Brazilian arrived at Old Trafford for £20m in 2007 as a 19-year-old midfield prodigy. Alex Ferguson’s brother Martin, who worked as a scout for the club, told the United manager that Anderson had the potential to better than Wayne Rooney.
He had been named the best player at the Under-17 World Cup in 2005, and would win the “Golden Boy” award after his first season at United. The accolade is given out by Italian newspaper Tuttosport to the best footballer under the age of 21 playing in Europe. Previous winners of the award include Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Aguero.
However, Anderson never fulfilled his potential, as injury and fitness issues took their toll.
Anderson was part of a United squad that won four league titles, two League Cups and the Champions League. He also scored a penalty in the Champions League final shootout victory over Chelsea in 2008, and Ferguson had a soft spot for the player, but his development stagnated at Old Trafford, and he barely featured in his final two years at the club. Anderson joined Fiorentina for a brief loan spell in January 2014, but made only eight appearances before returning to United. A couple of months later, he was allowed join Internacional on a permanent transfer.
However, it hasn’t gone to plan back home in Brazil. Internacional were relegated in 2016 for the first time in their history, Anderson is the team’s highest earner, but he spent last season at Coritiba and his parent club want to get him off the wage bill. However, the midfielder has two years left on his contract, and he was in a positive, reflective mood when speaking to Andy Mitten in a very interesting interview for ESPN.
Anderson touches on a range of topics, from his difficult start in Brazil, to living in Cristiano Ronaldo’s house when he arrived in Manchester, but his thoughts on Louis van Gaal make for interesting reading. Van Gaal was manager when Anderson was sold, and the midfielder isn’t a fan of the “robotic” Dutchman.
“I came back to United and Van Gaal arrived (Anderson shakes his head). I respect Van Gaal, but football had changed and he was not successful anymore,” Anderson told Mitten.
“He gave silly instructions for everything, even in training. He was like a robot. I decided to leave. I told Van Gaal that I wanted to leave. He said I could go. I was leaving a club which wasn’t the same. The spirit was going, players were leaving. How did he let a player like Di Maria go so quickly? He’s a sick player. Van Persie lost the love, too. Everyone started saying: ‘We’ll go.’ Van Gaal’s philosophy was no longer working. It’s hard in the Premier League to play robotic: pass, pass, pass.”
Anderson is more positive about Van Gaal’s predecessor David Moyes, whom he calls a “lovely guy”, and the Brazilian appeared to have a bond with Ferguson.
“He’s the god of football,” Anderson said.
“I played through injuries for him, stayed on the pitch when my legs were cut. I didn’t care. When I was injured, I wanted to come back as soon as possible, but he’d try and stop me. He looked after players so well. I felt that he cared for me. He helped me settle, he gave me new contracts. I can’t thank that man enough for what he did for me. He trusted me in big games when I was 18.”
The Brazilian also said that, when Ferguson announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2012/13 Premier League season, the players’ “hearts were broken.”
“I knew in that moment that Manchester were going to have some problems. Patrice Evra said to me: ‘United is not going to be the same anymore.’ I hugged Ferguson and said thank you. Then I said: ‘Please boss, stay a little more.’ ‘Ando, I have to leave,’ he said.”
You can read the entire interview here.
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