Whilst he admits he is far happier in his usual position, he hasn’t ruled out making a move to the midfield when he’s older, although was surprised when Ferguson told him that’s where he was playing against Blackburn.

“A little bit, yeah,” he said replied when asked about his surprise. “But I’ve played there before for United so I knew what was expected of me. When the manager told me I was playing in midfield I wasn’t worried. I just thought, “I’m ready, let’s play!”. I’m a professional footballer so I’ll play anywhere. I probably did a little better when I moved back to my normal position, but I felt comfortable in midfield and would do it again. Maybe I’ll move there for good when I get a bit older. You never know! After all, look at Ryan Giggs and the way he has changed over the years. He’s even played at left back once or twice.”

Rafael has reflected on this bad luck but wonders whether his style of play has an influence on it.

“Some of my injuries, you just don’t hear about people having them very often,” he told the official site. “I’ve dislocated my right shoulder twice now and needed an operation to help it heal. It’s not usual for footballers to injure shoulders. And twice! I can only say it must be down to bad luck. . I like to play with passion and when I’m on the pitch I can’t worry about getting hurt or stop making tackles. I just want to play football and give my all.”

In his absence, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have played well at right back, but Rafael enjoys having the competition for a starting place in the team.

“It’s a good thing when you have that sort of competition,” he said. “When I watch Phil or Chris play at right back I just think, “Wow. Okay, I’m going to have to work even harder now if I want to get back in the team.” They’ve done really well.”

“The two of them are terrific talents,” said Ferguson. “But they keep getting injuries, the kids are always getting them. I’m hoping that maturity eradicates all these things they have but it’s all different types of injuries you know. They’re so sturdy. They’re strong boys but, possibly, they’re a wee bit optimistic in terms of the challenges they make. They always put a foot in, in terms of attacking-wise, and are always getting injured going into attacking moves. The boys just don’t see danger. Bryan Robson was that way too, ‘Bang, on they go’. They’re only 21, you know, they’re young. You forget they were in the team as teenagers. I think both of them could play right-back [in the long-term]. There’s nothing between the two of them really. They are both excellent talents and really positive players. It’s what I love about them. They don’t have an inkling of fear in the way they play at all. They’ve always been really positive lads and it’s the Brazilian nature.”

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RoM videos

The Da Silva twins at the Fluminense academy.

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With thanks to http://interleaning.tumblr.com.

Rafael: “At home he only wants to mess around… he’s like a 10-year-old!”

Vidic: “He’s a raging bull! His behaviour changes… sometimes he’s smiling, other times he’s anxious and wants to hit you!”

Chicharito: “Everyone likes him… you know Mexicans, they’re always happy!”

Berbatov: “He’s also really quiet… you only hear his voice when he celebrates a goal!”

Park: “Whatever happens, he’s always there with a huge smile on his face!”

Evra: “He’s one of those guys who always wants to be perfect!”

Valencia: “He likes to mess around… takes the mickey out of everyone, but then pretends he’s all quiet!”

Nani: “Always joking, always laughing… he sometimes gets on people’s nerves!”

Giggs: “Everyone thinks of him as the old man of the team, because he helps the young guys a lot.”

Scholes: “A very English type of person… cold. He watches everything!”

Fletcher: “He loves UFC… watches it all day, records it, shows it to everyone. He knows all the Brazilian fighters!”

O’Shea: “He’s like a chess player… very intelligent, patient, always studies his opponent. He could be a manager…”

Anderson: “He’s so relaxed, he doesn’t care about anything! He doesn’t even sort his hair out properly!”

Owen: “He really likes horses… spends all day betting and talking about races!”

Bébé: “Everyone mocks him in the locker room for being a rookie, but he’s a good guy.”

Rio: “Scooby-Doo. Simple as that.”

Fábio on Rooney; “Shrek…”

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Thanks to Jack Lang for translation of interview with Globo.

“He’s a great player,” said Rafael. “He has a lot of room to develop further, like us, but he started well and has been important for the team. I often mix with him, but I speak more English than him.”

Fabio has also joined in praising the Mexican striker, claiming United have spent well.

“He is loved by the fans, they already love him,” he said. “You can see that Manchester hires the right people and chooses very well.”

“When we came to the club, Fabio had just got married and wore a ring so our boss just had to look at the left hand to tell us apart. It was quite funny,” said Rafael. “But now we are both married and wear rings. This has made his life more difficult and occasionally he still gets it wrong. We laugh, but he takes it well.”

When the Da Silva boys joined Manchester United, it was Fabio who came with the biggest reputation. He was the Brazil U-17 captain who cost slightly more than his brother.

However, it was Rafael we grew to love first. Whilst both aren’t the most robust, Fabio suffered more with injuries and when fit, had a better player to displace in Patrice Evra than Rafael did for right-back.

Rafael is a scrapper, who squared up to Carlos Tevez earlier this season, who got in trouble for reacting ferociously to an unjust sending off at White Hart Lane and was one of the few United players who looked up for it at Anfield a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure plenty of us have a soft spot for him, given how slight and young he is, he’s just a little lad, but the tenacity in him when on the pitch is something beyond his years and build. He’s like a little terrier, nipping at opposition wingers’ heels and then bounding forward when in possession. Gareth Bale and Samir Nasri, two players who have been tipped to be named Player of the Year, fitted nicely in to Rafael’s back pocket on their trips to Old Trafford in the league, with our youngster showing he’s more than capable of measuring up against the best.

Rafael has then made it easy for us to like Fabio, despite us not “knowing” him as well. He’s only played for us 9 times in the league and in all competitions, has 27 appearances, which is some way short of Rafael’s 39 league appearances and 68 in all competitions.

What is nice though, with their twin thing going on, is that both of them have scored two goals and the opposition for both is Wigan and Arsenal.

Rafael’s first goal for United came in our 2-1 defeat at the Emirates in 2008 when he first started to look like a genuine contender for our right-back position. He was a second half sub and looked the business before putting away a great effort. His second goal came over a year later in our 5-0 victory over Wigan last season.

Fabio hasn’t wasted so much time. There are just two weeks between his first goal against Wigan and his second against Arsenal yesterday. Both his goals were to do with positioning, being in the right place at the right time, so I’m sure there’s more to come.

Whilst we love these twins, it all could have been very different, as Arsenal approached them after United had shown an interest.

“The scout said he was from Arsenal and invited us to come and train,” Rafael said. “At that time we had already been to see Manchester United and train once with our club’s permission. But this man wanted to take us to England and say nothing to Fluminense. We disagreed with that principle. Fluminense was where we started, we had been there for years and they looked after us.”

Fabio was just as unimpressed with Arsenal’s tapping up.

“It was upsetting,” he said. “We could have signed there and then and taken all the money and Fluminense would have got nothing. But our mother said ‘No, Fluminense have been good to you. You went there when you were 11. I want you to do everything right’. So we said we would sign for Manchester as it would be the best thing for us and Fluminense. So we signed and ignored the man pushing Arsenal.”

Talented lads, a good moral compass and they’re just 20-years-old. We’ve got years in them yet, whether at full-back or on the wing. How lucky are we?

After Rooney put us 2-0 up yesterday, Rafael turned to the Stretford End and celebrated with our fans. “Come on!” he gestured, pumping his fists in the air. I love it.

Fabio deserves a start in a league game and Rafael should be our right-back, regardless of the experience John O’Shea brings to help Chris Smalling in Rio Ferdinand’s absence. They’re a cracking pair and I’m so glad they’re ours. They love playing for this club, they’re passionate, and they’ve hardly even started yet.

Viva Da Silvas!

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EXCLUSIVE Interview With Rafael: United Dream, City’s Cash and Brazil Call-Up
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Manchester United’s Rafael and Fabio Da Silva set sights on twin goals