Last season was undoubtedly the best that Nani has enjoyed since making his move to Manchester United in 2007. Having been largely in the shadow of fellow countryman Christiano Ronaldo during his first seasons at Old Trafford, Nani finally emerged as a player who is starting to fulfil the potential that led Sir Alex Ferguson to bring him to England.
But up until the start of last season, questions were being raised as to whether his manager was beginning to run out of patience with a player who promised much but often failed to deliver. In contrast, Nani’s form over the course of last season made him one of United’s stand out performers and put pay to any doubts as to whether the winger had what it takes to become a United superstar.
From early in the season, Nani was performing consistently and was rewarded with an extended run in the starting eleven. The player repaid the faith shown in him by his manager by delivering 18 assists during the season, comfortably more than any other Premier League player and finished the season as United’s third highest scorer behind Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez.
It is this end product and delivery, something that had often been missing from Nani’s game, which also led Nani’s fellow players to vote for him as their player’s player of the season. Rumoured to have been on his way out of United just 18 months prior, the turnaround in Nani’s form and fortunes last season was particularly marked.
Nani has always had the raw attributes to suggest that he could become a great player for United and worry opposing defences. He has pace and power combined with trickery, enabling him to beat players with ease, and has two great feet which leads full-backs to question whether he will come inside or try and get to the by-line.
He possesses a great shot from outside the box and is also a real threat on set-pieces with his pacey delivery. But it was Nani’s all round game which seemed to develop last season as he played with greater discipline in staying out wide and showed signs that he was prepared to track back in order to help out in defence when needed. However, whilst it is widely accepted that Nani had a great season last year, based on his manager’s team selection in the Champions League Final at Wembley, it is clear that Nani still has some way to go to convince him that he should be in the starting eleven for the crunch games.
Ferguson’s decision to start with Ji-Sung Park and Antonio Valencia for that game will certainly have wrangled with Nani, particularly given his fantastic displays throughout the course of the season. Whilst it could be argued that this decision was as a result of his manager’s apprehension about facing the team widely regarded as the best in the world in Barcelona, Nani will need to keep improving in order to ensure that the same does not happen again should United go all the way to the final this season.
If last season’s displays were vitally important in elevating Nani’s importance to United and delivering a turnaround in his career, this season represents an opportunity for the 24-year old to continue his development and truly become one of the best players in Europe.
Whilst United have great depth in wide areas, and have strengthened through the signing of Ashley Young from Aston Villa, no other United winger possesses quite the same ability to turn a match single handedly and create opportunities through his ability to dribble past multiple defenders. He will certainly be an important player for United next season and it could be argued that his form could be inextricably linked to United’s hopes of retaining the Premier League title; such is Nani’s importance to the team.
Nani must overcome the disappointing end to last season and build on his excellent displays to once again cement his side in the United starting eleven. If he is able to do that show the appetite to track back whilst continuing to deliver in the attacking third of the pitch he will once again win plaudits next season. It will be interesting to watch just how much better he can become over the coming seasons and whether he will truly be regarded as one of the best in Europe.
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