WHEN ANTONIO Valencia was carried from the pitch breathing oxygen from a cylinder on Tuesday night, Alex Ferguson lost the man who currently represents his only reliable attacking force. Since the injury – a broken bone in the lower left leg and a dislocation of the ankle – seems likely to keep him out for the rest of the season, his absence could have a profound effect on Manchester United’s fortunes on all fronts over the next eight months.
Ferguson will be acutely aware of the precedent of Alan Smith, who suffered a similar injury in February 2006 at Anfield. Smith was then aged 25 – the same as Valencia now. He was rushed back into action after seven months, and has subsequently scored only one goal in four-and-a-half years – in the 7-1 win of Roma in April 2007, shortly after which he was transferred to Newcastle United. Smith was watching from the directors’ box at Old Trafford on Tuesday as Valencia made his stretcher-borne exit.
The Ecuadorian international was bought from Wigan Athletic for a fee of around €19 million in the summer of 2009 as a straight replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo – and the term is appropriate, since Valencia does not pretend to possess the Portuguese virtuoso’s range of tricks or his gift for innovation. His virtues are those of speed, strength, directness, intelligence and altruism, and they made a major contribution to Wayne Rooney’s total of 35 goals last season. With Valencia on the right and Nani on the left, Ferguson appeared to have assembled a pair of wingers recalling the partnerships of George Best and John Aston in the 1960s and Andrei Kanchelskis or David Beckham and Ryan Giggs in the 1990s.
Some long-standing United watchers would also have been reminded of Steve Coppell and Gordon Hill in the 1970s – another combination of a hard-working, relatively straightforward provider of chances with a more mercurial and unpredictable performer on the opposite flank.
Although he may lack the obvious charisma of a Best, a Hill, a Giggs or a Ronaldo, Valencia possesses virtues that are just as valuable. His dedication to the team effort is as obvious as his disdain for showing off, and his athleticism is matched by quick feet and a fast wit. He can use his pace to go past a full back on the outside and drive in a first-time cross, but he is also capable of sensing when the target players have not yet arrived and can check back before beating his opponent again and delivering a carefully judged ball into the area at the right moment.
His willingness to defend is another asset that endears him to his manager, and it was from a position deep in his own half that, 20 minutes into the first half on Tuesday, he delivered a long ball down the inside-right channel that left Rangers’ defence exposed for virtually the only time. It was aimed at Rooney, who found himself tearing towards the penalty area with Javier Hernandez keeping pace on his left and only David Weir between them.
The teenaged Rooney would have raced forward and smashed the ball at full stride inside the angle of near post and crossbar.
A few years later the mature Rooney would have weighed up the situation and produced a perfectly weighted pass to his partner, giving the defender no chance to make an interception. The Rooney of September 2010 passed it straight to Weir.
That was the moment at which, had it turned out differently, all but the Rangers contingent in the 74,408 crowd would have begun to feel that they were being given their money’s worth. Instead, on a night when Ferguson very obviously sent out a weakened team, they went home wondering how the coinage of Old Trafford’s “big European nights” could have been so devalued by the structure of the modern Champions League.
Ferguson’s response to the loss of Valencia will be drawn from a limited range of options. Apparently he believes Nani is more effective on the right, which gives him four possible choices on the left. First is Park Ji-sung, who had a poor World Cup and seems to have lost some of his lustre. Second is the 36-year-old Giggs, who must be used sparingly. Third is the 21-year-old Frenchman Gabriel Obertan, a disappointment since his arrival from Bordeaux last summer. Fourth and last is the 20-year-old Bebe, the Portuguese winger so mysteriously acquired for €8.8 million from Vitoria de Guimaraes last month.
The answer may be a switch to something closer to the 4-3-3 formation in which Rooney, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez thrived a couple of years ago, without conventional wingers. But the loss of Valencia’s contribution will be deeply felt.
Meanwhile, Michael Owen, increasingly drifting to the edges at United, has spoken of his frustration at not being more prominently involved but made it clear he accepts his first-team chances are going to be limited. “You can only do your best and prepare and train well so that you are ready when the manager calls on you,” Owen said. “After that, it’s up to the manager who he chooses.”
Guardian Service
