Nani - Story So Far and the Possible Conclusion

The Story Till Then

Sir Alex Ferguson had just wrested the Premier League trophy from the grasp of Jose Mourinho’s rampant Chelsea side. It had been an arduous wait of three long years before Manchester United finally won the league. Not winning the league in three years was unimaginable, especially since Ferguson instilled the “never give in” philosophy at the club. This unending wait, starting from the reign of Arsene’s Invincibles to Mourinho’s men, was something Manchester United weren’t used to ever since the Premier League was established in 1992-93.

Ferguson had had enough. There was no way he would let this drought repeat for a second time in his career at United. A set of sprawling changes had been rung in at Old Trafford and talent worth £60m was injected into the squad, £17.3m of which was spent on a 21-year-old Portuguese winger – Nani – who was a product of the very same youth program at Sporting Lisbon that gave the world Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Early Promise

United fans waited with bated breath to catch a glimpse of their new Portuguese acquisition. Ronaldo was beginning to fulfill his potential, and Nani, coming from the same club and possessing similar traits, had to deal with skyrocketing expectations.

If the first impression was anything to go by, then United felt their latest raid of Sporting Lisbon was yet another bargain. Nani scored on debut against Shenzhen and bettered his debut performance with an audacious chip scoring his second goal in successive games against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical. The pre-season was rounded off with Nani scoring his third goal against Glentoran. Three goals in pre-season, not bad. Luis Nani surely had to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s understudy, thought the United fans. He then went on to make a substitute appearance against Chelsea in the Community Shield, thus tasting silverware in his first attempt as a United player. United fans had hardly got over Nani’s chip in pre-season when he scored his first competitive goal – a screamer from 30 yards to win a league match against Tottenham. It was also the first time the terraces at Old Trafford witnessed the “flip” celebration of the winger.

Nani had notched up respectable numbers in his first season. He ended up playing 26 matches, clocking 1568 minutes, scoring 3 goals, providing 8 assists, shooting on goal with 41.8% accuracy and crossing the ball 76 times. Nani however was neither showered with bouquets nor brickbats but it was clear the Gaffer considered him a crucial piece of his jigsaw for the coming years.

Living In Ronaldo’s Shadow

The 2007-08 season turned out to be the most successful season under Ferguson since the “Treble” winning season in 1998-99. United had defended their league crown, with the season culminating in a Champions League trophy at the Luzhniki Stadium and Nani scoring the winning penalty. The Portuguese had won the “double” in his first season, with a Community Shield to add to that. Ronaldo however hogged the limelight with a 42-goal season.

Rumors of Ronaldo’s exit were brewing up, but he stayed on for the 2008-09 season, accumulating 26 goals and helping United win a record 18^th league title and finish runners up to Barcelona in the Champions League. Nani ended up with a below par season, playing only 13 matches, clocking 544 minutes, scoring just 1 goal, providing 3 assists, shooting on goal with accuracy of 26.7% and crossing the ball 40 times. There was a clear dip in his confidence and performance, but the best was yet to come.

The Breakthrough

The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid had left a £80m void in United’s team. Even Carlos Tevez was sold to City, which meant Ferguson had to reinforce the squad. Antonio Valencia was signed for £16m from Wigan and Michael Owen was roped in on a free transfer. No “superstar” was added to the squad, which implied that it was time for Nani to shoulder the burden of United’s attack alongside Wayne Rooney.

The 2009-10 season was a bag of mixed emotions for Nani. United had surrendered their crown to Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea side, but Nani had his best season in a United shirt. He had a standout performance against Arsenal at Emirates, highlighting some of the Ronaldo-esque qualities he possessed, in a 3-1 win. He played tormentor in chief in a flawless performance that saw him score the first goal from the most improbable angle after he had simultaneously tricked two defenders. Nani set up the second goal with a breathtaking counter attack exactly similar to the goal United scored against Arsenal in the semi-final of the Champions League (2009). Nani accumulated 23 appearances, playing 1588 minutes, scoring 4 goals, assisting 6 goals, and crossing 170 balls for his teammates.

The Breakout Year

It was the 2010-11 season when the Premier League finally stood up and took notice of Nani. Till date, it has been Nani’s best season in a United shirt. The fans seemed to have finally got over Ronaldo’s departure and began to genuinely believe in Nani’s ability for what it was worth. The Portuguese winger played the role of a catalyst to perfection, which helped him go a long away in justifying his massive price tag. He was fouled 59 times that season (35 fouls suffered being his previous highest); he willingly took on defenders and provided 14 assists which now clearly made him a different player to Ronaldo. Nani played 33 matches, and scored 9 goals – his highest ever in a single season for United, delivered 240 crosses and shot on goal with 27.9 % accuracy. Manchester United reclaimed their league crown and the right to be called the undisputed kings of British football. Nani however missed out on the PFA Young Player of the Year award to Jack Wilshere but he made it to the PFA’s Team of the Year, and this was a reward for his consistency. However, he won the Manchester United 2010-11 Players’ Player of the Year award.

The Meltdown

In the summer of 2011, United snapped up Ashley Young from Aston Villa to bolster the attack. Ferguson now had three genuine wingers in Nani, Valencia and Young and not enough space for them in every game, or even two of them in some games. Ashley Young’s preferred position on the left wing remained relatively safe as Nani had to contest for a place on United’s right wing with Valencia, who was in red-hot form . Valencia earned 4 “man of the match” awards, sprayed passes with 85.6% accuracy, scored 4 goals and 13 assists in 27 matches despite injury set backs. Nani played 29 matches, scored 8 goals, offered 10 assists and passed the ball with an 80.2% accuracy, earning 3 “man of the match awards”. Valencia had clearly outperformed Nani in all departments except goal scoring. The title had slipped out of United’s hands in the final seconds of the season.

By the end of the 2011-12 season, if Nani had a problem on his hands, then midway through the 2012-13 season, his professional career is in a crisis. The winger has just started 7 games for United this season, with Ferguson even blaming him for the team’s loss to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup. His talks with clubs for an improved contract have stalled; his relationship with Ferguson is now extremely fragile, his form seems to have deserted him; his burning desired to play United has clearly diminished and he is out injured at the worst possible time.

The End

United on the other hand are flying high this season which makes it all the more difficult for Nani to make a comeback in the starting eleven, if that is what he really wants. Quite simply put, at the moment neither the team nor the fans are missing Nani, which is possibly the worst news possible for him and his agent. Sections of the British press have been reporting an interest for Nani from Arsenal. But seeing Sir Alex make the same mistake as Wenger by selling a quality player to a rival is quite impossible.

Ferguson has probably called time on Nani’s career at Old Trafford in his mind. Now, he will wait and watch for the right bid to derive the maximum financial benefit to do the same officially. Interestingly, Nani has a better head-to-head record as compared to Ronaldo in his first 100 games for United. But Ronaldo was never faulted for lack of commitment during any of his 6 seasons at United. Nani’s commitment has been questionable this season. As history suggests, any player that is not in sync with the United “philosophy” is only condemned and eventually coerced out of Old Trafford by Sir Alex. Unless there are drastic “U” turns from both parties like in the case of Rooney, Nani is on his way out of United.