 A REAL NUMBER ONE

by Daniel Cuschieri

Igrew up adoring the Great Dane, who was a monster in goal. Over the years, Manchester United have had fantastic goalkeepers which have had a ripple effect throughout the team. When Peter Schmeichel left after the Champions League win in 1999 and was replaced by Mark Bosnich, the void left was massive and the uncertainty was felt at the back. The only plus side was that at that time, goals were throughout the team, where I felt that once a goal was conceded the team would come back to hammer the opposition.

This continued also with the arrival of Fabien Barthez who was an improvement on the big part on goalkeepers that were brought in, but deep down he was not a keeper whereby his presence or impact was that of Schmeichel, who brought calmness to the back four, quite the contrary when he went on the dribbling missions. He was a decent goalkeeper but I feel that United really settled when they signed Edwin Van de Sar. I cannot understand how he wasn’t signed from Juventus and was let to be signed by Fulham. Especially when during that time, they opted for Mark Bosnich.

But who am I to question Sir Alex?

Once Edwin retired, Sir Alex signed a shot stopping masterclass. During his first games, he was being outmuscled and a target for opponents to use as the weakest link. As he grew in stature, his talent was displayed and over the years, with quite the fragile back line and midfield, David De Gea was literally superman and winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for consecutive seasons and being in the Premiership team of the year shows that his rise to being a dominant goalkeeper was recognised not only by the club but also by the English footballing public. De Gea has clocked over 500 games for the club and soon will be entitled to his own testimonial match, and that amount of games for the same team, a team which has suffered since Sir Alex retired deserves an accolade in itself. I thank the faulty fax machine for the late submission of the transfer to Real Madrid.

De Gea has had games whereby saves counted as goals, two games that come to mind are saves against Everton and Arsenal, he was like a god in goal. His reflexes especially with his legs have been really impressive, together with his unorthodox way of saving. But one must not only appreciate his talent but also his loyalty. David has adapted and made the No 1 shirt his. A couple of seasons ago, Henderson was given a run in the team but after a run back in the game, David reclaimed his place. In all fairness, the back-up keepers have United had over the years weren’t at the level that De Gea was at.

To his name, De Gea has a number of trophies which include the Premier League and the Europa League. Should he have left United, he would have gathered more trophies, but thankfully he stayed and has become an integral part of the club and its history.

Being number one doesn’t necessarily mean being a goalkeeper, it also refers to the attitude, application and approach towards

the club. Recently as we are all aware the ‘No 1’ carried out an interview with Piers Morgan, and while I understand the motive behind it and also the undeniable desire to remain at the top of the record board, and continue contributing to winning trophies, Ronaldo in my opinion knows that time is against him and that whatever records he needs to break or maintain cannot be done playing second fiddle to the current players in the United squad. I, for starters remember the way he left the first time to which I hated his departure due to the fact that he was one of the best players in the world and we didn’t replace that talent with something close. With all due respect to Antonio Valencia, they weren’t the same type of player on any level. People will get on Ronaldo’s back for him manufacturing a way to get the club to terminate his contract by mutual consent. One would have appreciated him wrestling the club back to a decent position and for once put the club before himself. But that is not the beast that Ronaldo is, it’s all about him and him breaking records and individual honours. We have been lucky to witness him in a United shirt when his powers were on the rise, but unfortunately when he hit top gear he ran to Madrid where he won everything for numerous times. He returned to the club when his powers where on the wane and the club opened their arms to him based on his past and his marketing ability. During his return, he did save United a couple of times, but I am not sure if it hindered what was already being built and putting him into the team made the team have to again restyle its play like it was and has been doing over a number of years due to the continuous chop and changing of managers. out of Ronaldo, which were the seasons commencing from 2007 onwards, which if Sir Alex didn’t step in, it would have been two. The ambition Ronaldo has is one that only the few that can share similar traits will understand that winning must be done at all costs, and nothing will get into their way. I understand his departure in 2009, to go to Madrid and not because it was his dream, but for the duel with Messi in La Liga but also for the continuous opportunity to go for every trophy. He knew that at United, this couldn’t be achieved and it has been seen recently due to lack of being competitive in major tournaments. This is not being critical of United or of Ronaldo but just an eye opener that both beasts couldn’t please each other and that is why he has decided to leave again. The experts will says he wasn’t loyal to the club, but I think Ronaldo was being loyal to himself as he knows he is putting in his last fight to keep his records until Messi takes them off him, or to continue to play until Messi retires.

While you may be saying I am contradicting myself in this article, I am not. I would prefer having De Gea in my team, knowing he has the back of the team, rather than Ronaldo who would play in the team only if he knew it would benefit him. I believe De Gea will be recognised as the best goalkeeper United had and who thinks differently must recognise the level of players David has had to contend with, whereas his predecessors have had rock solid defenders and a midfielders made of steel. I will continue to enjoy David in goal for United and some fans will be sad with the departure of Ronaldo.

My question to them is who is their No 1?

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