Nani has admitted he doesn’t get the freedom to play as he would like at Manchester United, with Sir Alex Ferguson putting pressure on him not to try risky tricks before the game is wrapped up.
“I try to enjoy playing now, but it is not always possible because I have a responsibility to the team,” Nani said. “But something of the street remains in me. It is not easy to show at United because Sir Alex does not allow very much freedom and I cannot do the tricks and things I did with my friends. When the game is under control I take a risk and it makes me very happy if things work out.”
Whilst I don’t necessarily agree he should get a free rein, I think a player as naturally gifted as him should be given the opportunity to try different things out on the pitch. It seems like a waste of talent to put restraints on his tricks.
Man Utd News 24/7
That’s how Sir Alex turns potential into performance. Discipline and hardwork greater than talent Nani.The more you listen to Fergie, the bigger player you will be.
I agree, Nani should be given a bit more free rein because yes I agree hardwork and discipline is necessary to be a great player, talent is what makes you that much more special.. not everyone can be a Gary Neville and work the socks off!
I agree Scott I think the more freedom he feels he has then the more relaxed he will be on the pitch and the more we will get out of him.
You can definately see in the way he plays now that he is being more direct in his play and the team is reaping the rewards and results from it, so credit to fergie for channeling his talents.
He’ll have to be careful tho, I don’t see Nani as the type of player that will want to stay in Manchester for the rest of his career and i wouldn’t be suprised if he does a Ronaldo and asks to go to spain at some point.
Can you imagime the tricks Messi could perform on the pitch, Its all about the team though a bit of show boating at 4-0 wouldn’t go amiss
I don’t mind that his freedom is restricted. It’s a team game. He can do his tricks once we are 3 or 4 up and take the piss out of teams like he did Arsenal.
You need to be disciplined and have a professional attitude to fight for the cause as a whole if you are going to win championships and cups. But, at the same time Uniteds history is abundant with skillful players who have flair and grace, especially down the wings. Keep up the good work Nani, and one day your name may be among the greats of United and footballs folk law.
Even though I know it was bit cheeky and unprofessional, I still fuckin loved it when he did those keepy ups against Arsenal….. brilliant.
Without a doubt Nani has been our most dangerous player so far this season. As a whole, the team style (in the Premiership years) has included more flare (tricks) since the Ronaldo era. Its great to see an entertaining team but the bottom line will always be winning.
can you tell me how often this season we have dominated an opponent or be in a position where we are winning comfortably? besides only a few performances at OT, hardly!
moreover, i fear to imagine how many more times he will give the ball away doing those ‘tricks’, when he already gives the ball away so damn often in his normal play..
he should not complain about it because under saf’s guidance, he has considerably played his best season in a united shirt…
as everyone can see what he did with ronaldo, saf knows what he is doing 99% of the time =)
-in fergie we trust..
Irrespective of how he feels and whether SAF is right in curbing him, I think he shouldn’t have made that statement. By now he should know how the media is adept at twisting words, separating them from their context and making it appear as if all’s not well at Utd. Particularly at this stage of the season, I would have preferred him to not provide further ammo to the ABUs.
of course we want to see the tricks and a bit of showboating but as others have said, it’s about the team. Nani does have to look at the Ronaldo example, he started with all the tricks and no end product, with hard work and listening to Sir Alex he was able to marry the great skills with team effort and become one of the best players in the world. He also need to look at what Ronaldo became in his last year at Utd, Ronaldo was given too much freedom, became less of a team player more of an individual, which contributed in part to not beating Barca.
@mattbw
A bit of “4-0″ wouldnt go amiss mate LOL
If Nani scored a few more he could then entertain us with his backflips and orange boots
It’s a selective part of a very mature interview by Nani.
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.donbalon.com%2Fweb%2Fentrevista%2Fi-4699%2F-no-vivo-obsesionado-con-ser-el-mejor-
I agree with Costas and Mattbw7, he was expressing himself in his first few years and was far too inconsistant. Ever since he became more disciplined he’s become far more effective. I’m sure Scholesy could express himself and shoot on sight (I think he could get more shots off tbh) but he doesn’t, he does what he feels is best for the team.
To be honest, if the rest of the players around him were up to his standard, we would more often be in the kind of comfortable position where he can pull out the tricks without the game being on a knife-edge.
Having said that, fun tricks are always at their best when they manage to win you a tight game. Eg when he skinned the two Gooners down by the corner flag and whipped in that outrageous cross that Almunia could only palm into his own net.
I would think his words were slightly lost in translation. Freedom on the pitch was not the center of his interview but more on the fact that he cannot do his street tricks anymore… Watching him I cannot see anything that proves he has no freedom on the pitch
Yess Ronaldo intimidated the opposition by his tricks , Nani should be given a chance.
@CedarsDevil: Exactly. But the media of course makes it sound like Fergie is lashing him up in a dark room, complete with leather mask and cat o’ nine tails. And Nani should probably have seen it coming…
It was just a statement and I wouldn’t read too much into how the journalists are trying to make it sound wierd. It’s like the nutritionists dictating what can be eaten and what can’t. That’s how United is run, and if nothing else, it just proves and reminds us how much we’ll miss SAF when he retires. His eye for talent and potential and how to best bring them forth, is unparalleled. Before those Wengerboys come in to defend their manager, let me ask that you don’t bother. There is no parallel in both quantity and quality. Yet. If Wenger’s still doing it when he’s near 70, then we can compare. The way I see it, SAF’s got more years in his eyes yet.
I seriously hope Nani doesn’t think that, just because he’s now had half a decent season, he should be allowed to what he wants.
http://www.fivecantonas.com/shut-nani/
Nani isn’t the same player as Ronaldo and, whilst the tricks worked to an extent for Ronny, both he and Nani have become FAR better players when they have stripped them back and added discipline, work rate and final ball to their arsenal. He needs to appreciate what he’s got and stick with that he’s doing.
offtopic look what van persie has to say:
He said: “The Barca players were always complaining and moaning and that’s something I dislike about them”
In England, Chelsea players do the same. Barca are a great team but they don’t have to exaggerate their continuous moaning, otherwise it becomes very irritating on the pitch.”
@Jeet
Exactly mate, the media love twisting news and with this story they are making it sound as if SAF is even banning Nani from being a natural footballer! How pathetic.
SAF ALWAYS tells his players to go out and express themselves but our friends in the media want us to believe that Nani is unhappy and that SAF is a bloody school principal
well it’s not done him any harm has it? His performances this season have been (mainly) excellent, compare how now when he is NOT ON the teamsheet we all worry (less so now that Tony V is back at it), to a season or 2 ago it was when he was ON the teamsheet I and everyone sat around us would worry!
Keep listening to SAF Nani and you’ll get better and better.
First work then play,everybody will be happy.
Remember his trick at the Emirates? Beautiful.
Red Ben I reckon you’re being a bit harsh on the lad.
@bigphil
Hey mate. That’s a good point. I think we need his trickery when he is in tight spots like that. It’s not like he had another option. I just want him to pass the ball when the time is right and when he does have options. That will make him even more effective. And then he can take the piss out of Gallas and Sagna.
@Costas….
I disagree…becuase Ronaldo had freedom, why Nani cant. I know that he is not Ronaldo, but football today is show also…
He need to respect the whole staff as well all the fan in the world. B/c every of us need a point in every game the tricky things. If he is unable to do that the door is open, even we loss Becks, Cantona, CR7…
Do tricks if we are winning by a couple of goals… he’s payed to win trophys not do tricks !
Cannot believe some supporters are buying into this non story
You know what? I loves to see his tricks. That’s what makes football interesting doesn’t it? You want passing all the way? I know teamwork is more fun and nice. But really, you do amazing tricks, you feel more excited. I love the first match Ronaldo play against Bolton. Even though he doesn’t know anything about team work, his tricks and flicks is soooooooo fun to watch. Its makes me feel excited! Nani has tricks too and everything he plays i keep wishing for more of it. But really, he seldom use it and i felt its a waste. In the past, Ronaldo, Nani, Rooney, tevez. Amazing team back then.
@mara
Because he is not Ronaldo. Nani is a lot more effective as a team player. Plus, even when Ronaldo was at the club, it wasn’t always fun for the players in ther box waiting for him to finish his stepovers and cross the ball. Sometimes the cross never came at all. We have talented attackers at the club like Nani, Berba and Rooney, but if they don’t know when it’s the right time to pass, that talent could lead to nothing.
This is the exact reason why the england team is not gonna be successful anytime soon, until a player like ravel morrison comes along, because unlike most other successful countries youth in this one are not taught to be imaginative and expressive on the pitch, they are only taught rigid systems, so by the time they reach senior level they lack that flair and creativity needed when playing against world class opposition. an even if they had that flair about their game say ie. adam johnson they are stifle out or frozen out by rigid systems.
Nani keep up the good work, if you win the league this year you can have the freedom of Manchester :
Nani you dont need more freedom football is a team game obey fergie if you want to be great
couldn’t help laughing my ass off at this muppet. Oh it feels so good with the sunny skies marathon we’ve had this week. Total Mug
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/898321/bacary-sagna-demands-action-in-wake-of-paul-scholes-tackle?cc=5739
from the forum
“Yesterday: ” barca was dirty to us last month” by van persie
Today : “Paul schools was mean to nasri” by sanga
Tmr: “van nistelroy got viera sent off!” by keown”
priceless
StretfordEnd Ole – The last two lines in your post mate, 100% spot on. Nani? Listen to Fergie and take heed of what he says, if you want to become one of the best players in the world.
slim – I know mate. What a mincing cunt. What the fuck is wrong with Arsenal? No wonder they never win anything. Moaning that Scholesy “ripped Samir’s leg off”. Oh fucking grow up Sagna. In addition we have Wenger asking for kick off times to be changed and the Premier League have written to all clubs for their go ahead. Who the fuck does Wenger and his mob think they are?
morning rom this is such a non issue there’s 1000′s of people who can do party tricks with a football doesn’t make them good footballers. wouldn’t matter who nani played for there has to be discipline.one of the most frustrating part of nani’s game is still his thought process with that final ball. to become one of the top players in the world he still has to work on that nothing to do with freedom to express himself,does that every game.
If I remember correctly, SAF also told CR to cut the cute stuff, back in the day when CR was starting out and was, frankly, a bit of a laughing stock with some of his antics. CR’s response was to get better at it: first he made the tricks useful, then he improved more and made them devastating. But it wasn’t always like that.
Goals or points aren’t awarded for tricks, any more than they are awarded for “endless beautiful triangles”. Tricks may be highly entertaining, but their real value lies in their power to fool the opposition, and thus give you some advantage. Nani’s trickery against Arsenal a while back (when he skinned those two gooners) was a great example — amazing to watch, but it also had a practical outcome. It’s what you might “functional trickery”, as opposed to trickery for its own sake.
By the way, it was a fucking nightmare trying to get that web page translated. the link that was posted earlier just wouldn’t work for me, and I tried in several different browsers in both Mac and Windows. Finally got it to work. If anyone else is having trouble and wants to know a solution, let me know and I’ll post what I did. Or I can just the interview, but it’s quite long.
@ King Eric
The battle for hearts and mids begin just as United is on course to win the league this year and then icing on the cake that is the F.A cup. Muppets are starting to feel the familiar dread. Come on United. Fucking hate internationals, whose fucking idea putting that shit in the middle of a season? Oh yeah blatter and his cronies
Anything Nani says is most likely to be taken out of context – even when listening to him. This story,in my humble opinion is the how bullshit is spewed over the internet these days ;especially with football, this piece of shit journalism is a non issue and non story for me.
i asked that question to him when there were the chance to ask nani a question. I asked why dont you do tricks in gameplay, i think i got my answer.
Im actually too ashamed to tell my parents this, but I’ll tell you guys…………..
IM GAY
@james
Good for you james
He gets enough freedom….He could get more, but freedom is like respect, you ought to earn it!
@ James
I thought you liked turtles?
Affairs of the heart, on this thread.
Some people will make an issue out of anything…I love the British press. They got jokes.
Read all about it! PortuguesePrincess’ Sex-for-Humour Claims! Exclusive!
Too much negativity coming from the Nani camp lately!
I’m with fergie on this one. If nani is given freedom to showcase his “tricks” he’s most likely to give the ball up trying those tricks. 08/09 was a big example. when nani had the space to shoot, he’d try to cut back inside and then the chance is gone.. i am a big fan of direct football. Win the game first then try tricks.
Nani’s about 80% on the road to become one of the greatest players, and that’s due to the fact about what he mentioned, Sir Alex curbing his flicks and tricks. And that’s why Sir Alex is the greatest manager ever and Nani is acknowledging that controlling himself is doing him good. There’s no point in playing the game fancy and pretty with great tricks, when your end product isn’t there. Like he said, when the game’s in control, done and dusted, then it’ll be safe to do so. But when Nani the 100% on the road, that is when he’s found the balance between playing pretty and being productive then he can do it all the time. He’s on the way there. Brilliant lad.
After Nani stopped trying too hard with his trickery his football has gotten way better. He used to make wrong decisions, pass when he was suppose to shoot, take one more defender on instead of passing to a teammate, shoot when he was suppose to pass and etc.
I think Fergie has done the right thing restraining Nani to play more simple football. Just look at him now.
B O L L O C K S! Was Ronaldo not allowed to do his tricks? If Fergie really puts pressure on him, then it is because he’s not good enough to do trick during open play! Even with his dribblings he is far too often far too close to the opposition! That’s what he’s missing!
A great player but i think fergie has the right mix allowing nani to play more of a team game. if he stay focus , in the next year or so he will be a contender for footballer of the year .KEEP IT UP GUYS STAY FOCUS.