Fernandinho: The signing of the season?

A box-to-box midfielder in many ways is a frightening tactical threat to come up against. This type of player possesses not only extremely demanding physical requirements, but also a unique understanding of football tactics and a gifted sense of judgment in using offensive and defensive strengths intelligently and effectively. Being one of the most technically complete players around brings with it an array of skills, one of them being a marking defender’s worst nightmare- late runs into the box. Michael Essien is one such modern footballers who falls into this category, and we all know how devastating he was on his day. Nicknamed “The Bison” for his sheer strength and bullish running, Essien could do pretty much everything – tackle, shoot from long distance, mark fiercely, distribute the ball, make surging runs to support the attack, as well as win aerial duels and chip in with the occasional goal. Having such a player in the squad clearly has its advantages, as Chelsea won two successive Premier League titles with Essien playing a crucial role in dominating play from midfield. Which is why Manchester City’s latest recruit, Fernandinho, could very well be the signing of the season already.

Fernandinho (R)

Fernando Luiz Rosa started his playing career at the age of 17 with Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense. He moved to Shakhtar in 2002 for a bargain price of 7 million GBP, making a total of 284 appearances in eight years at the club, scoring 54 goals – an excellent return for a defensive midfielder. Fernandinho burst into the footballing limelight with a 36-yard free kick against FC Basel in the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup (now the Europa League). He impressed in Shakhtar’s all-Brazilian frontline that season, which comprised of Ilsinho, Willian, Jadson and Luiz Adriano. He bagged six goals in Europe for Shakhtar that season, including a crucial semi-final equalizer against rivals Dynamo Kyiv in the first leg of the UEFA Cup. In his eight years with the club, Fernandinho won 14 titles, including six League titles, four Ukrainian Cups, three Ukrainian Super Cups, a treble in 2008 and a UEFA Cup triumph in 2009.

This past season, Fernandinho impressed again in the Champions League group stages, with one of the highlights being a 2-1 win over Chelsea where he scored the winner. His credentials were boosted immensely by his performance over those 90 minutes, in which he bossed Chelsea’s new-look midfield, stretching them to the limits by intelligently distributing to Shakhtar’s wing maestros Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Willian.

Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea all made bids for Fernandinho in the past year, before he eventually picked the blue half of Manchester as his preferred destination. So what exactly does Fernandinho bring to City? Let’s take a look on the next page.

First of all, after Javi Garcia’s failure to adapt to the English game and Gareth Barry’s mono-dimensional play, City’s decision to invest in a first-rate box-to-box midfielder will plug a lot of holes from their recently-concluded season. Fernandinho’s statistics suggests he has an average successful tackle rate of 3.5 tackles a game, which provides them with more defensive steel in front of the back four, which performed less than convincingly last season.

Fernandinho and Navas to combine to deadly effect

Second, Fernandinho’s style of play sees him attempt a long ball often (four times successfully on average), a tactic exploited by Shakthar’s speedy forward line comprising of Willian, Mkhitaryan and Adriano. This helps stretch play on the wings, allowing him to make those typical late runs into the box to vie for a cut back, lay off or a cross. City’s decision to invest in Jesus Navas is well thought of considering this part of Fernandinho’s game as the fleet footed winger, along with Sergio Aguero, will readily chase down his long passes and wait for him to make the late runs.

Third, his inclusion in the side will allow City’s most vital element, who goes by the name of Yaya Toure, to function more freely. Javi Garcia’s lack of form forced Toure to play deeper, which ended up disrupting their style of play that had worked brilliantly in their title-winning season. With Fernandinho in the side, Yaya Toure can concentrate on linking with the front line instead of worrying about his defensive duties.

Fourth, Fernandinho’s motivation level itself is unquestionable as he looks to cement his place in the Brazilian side for the 2014 World Cup. Fernandinho himself said the Brazilian team does not hold the Ukrainian League in high regard, which forced him to move to a top league in a bid to leave his mark. Considering Brazil have strong, in-form contenders to choose from in the defensive midfielder’s spots (Paulinho, Ramires, Fernando, Hernanes and Luiz Gustavo), Fernandinho will be immensely motivated to try and prove a point to the national team selectors. So determined was his desire to move to a top league, that Fernandinho waived off the 4 million GBP that Shakhtar owed him in a bid to accelerate his move to the Premier League.

So considering all the factors at work, it looks like Fernandinho will be one of the key buys, if not the one of the smartest buys of the season. The motivation is there, so is the work ethic, and all that points towards a stronger challenge by Manchester City for the Premier League.