Alex Ferguson’s brother, and most trusted scout, told the former Manchester United manager that Anderson would be “better than (Wayne) Rooney.”
In addition to Martin Ferguson’s glowing endorsement, the Brazilian midfielder arrived at Old Trafford in 2007, for £20 million, having 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 who they deem is the best footballer, under the age of 21, playing in Europe.
The midfielder’s career has gone downhill since. Yes, Anderson was part of a United squad that won four Premier Leagues, two League Cups and the Champions League, but his own development stagnated, and the player barely featured in his final two years at United.
Anderson returned home to Brazilian side Internacional last January, hoping to reignite his career. However, things haven’t exactly gone to plan.
Anderson has yet to score, or provide an assist, which is a bit of a problem when you’re an attacking midfielder. The 27 year old has also only managed three shots on target in that time, has been booked twice, sent off twice and needed an oxygen mask, during a game played at high altitude.
Oh, and he missed a penalty on his debut, and this is how one Brazilian football fan views his time at Internacional so far:
Internacional gastando dinheiro com :
Nilmar , Anderson , vitinho pic.twitter.com/uZ7YvpYwle— : (@Fabriciodamassa) July 23, 2015
https://twitter.com/BreatheSport/status/624219931047886850
However, we should probably focus on the positives.
At least Anderson has played more games so far this year than his final two seasons at United, and er, sure things on the pitch can’t get any worse.
Right?
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