Andreas Pereira and the curious case of the least Brazilian Brazilian footballer. (And Why His Recent Inclusion Perfectly Summarizes Manchester United in 2020)
Upon first inspection, Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira is everything one would think a football player for top team would look like. The highlights in his hair à la Beckham ‘98. The little goatee any 16 year old would be proud of. The Mercurials on his feet gliding across the grass.
Born and raised in Belgium to Brazilian parents, Andreas pereira was quickly scooped up by PSV Eindhoven’s academy in 2005. Staying there for six years before departing for Carrington in 2011. Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands and Lancashire, not a bad footballing resumé to have at just 16 years old.
Fast forward a couple years and it took an exquisitely placed free kick against Ipswich on his first start for the club to really get the majority of the fans attention. The quality was evident, he hadn’t won Manchester United’s under-21 player of the season award the year before as a coincidence. After Two consecutive years out on loan with varying degrees of success(at Granada and Valencia respectively) the United faithful were ready to see that quality that was shown in snippets before over an extended period of time.
Unfortunately for him, in his second full season as a prominent Manchester United player, he has far more often been the source of agitation and irritation rather than the subject of adulation. It’s the hope that kills you. He has all the tools, yet his decision making is some of the worst in the sport. The amount of times he has picked the wrong pass, held onto the ball for too long, shot when he should have laid it off, laid it off when he should of shot is honestly unfathomable. In the Liverpool game just gone there were countless examples. I think we all thought the same thing when he was bursting through the middle during the first half and he could have slipped though Daniel James on the right, but instead he chose to try and pick out Martial on the left. The pass was all-too-easily cut out by Joe Gomez who then proceeded to turn defence into attack for Liverpool. His performance, in which he had the lowest past completion of any outfield player, was really summed up when he collided with James on the edge of the box after running around looking “active” and “dynamic” for the most part of the second half (that is until he was hooked off for a 31 year old Juan Mata in the 74th minute).
When Pereira doesn’t think, he is a better player. give him a corner to whip in, he’ll whip it. Give him a free kick to hit, he’ll most likely find the target, but as soon as he’s in open play, it’s like a half Brazilian half Belgian deer in footballing headlights. I understand that the Theatre of Dreams may be a little bit of a sensory overload the first couple times, but after a half season that should have been over.
Let’s just look at his two Premier League goals for United for context. The first one, a beautiful curling effort in a 3–2 win over Southampton, good enough to win that United’s March 2019 goal of the month award. Not many players at the club have the ability to score that goal. The curl he enforces on the ball shows that he can produce magic whenever he wants, but to all the other Red Devils’ chagrin, he just doesn’t produce it nearly as much as he needs to.
The second goal is a very different story. Coming against Brighton in the early stages of this season. It seems he tried his best to ruin the chance by doing unnecessary step overs and getting tackled in the process. Luckily the ball broke for Martial who shot, with the rebound falling fortuitously to Andreas’ weaker left foot. He subsequently swung his left boot at it and a deflected shot which trickled over the line was the result. Not only did he hold onto the ball for too long, he had two passes on either flank that were crying out to be made.
These two instances adequately summarise his United career (so far at least, always the optimistic approach around here). A classic case of “from the sublime to the ridiculous” his increasing inclusion this season really highlights this young Manchester United team. One the one hand it’s a young, fast team with lots of homegrown talent and a potential to hurt teams on the counterattack. On the other hand, a team lacking in experience with wild inconsistencies and a lack of killer instinct. The stats back this up: 6th in passes with 12,259. 8th in passes backwards, 8th in through balls, 4th in shots but 7th in big chances Missed. Middle of the pack in many statistical categories for ultimately a mid-table team.
I do not have an agenda against Andreas Pereira by any means, but it is telling that a player of his level is starting for a club like Manchester United week in and week out. The club have slept walked into a crisis that is much more deep-rooted than just this season and 6–0 wins against Tranmere, although nice, are hardly going to make things better.
But all United need to do now is focus on the next game, as it’s all they can do. Game by game. Make it to the winter break largely unscathed (hopefully avoiding embarrassment at the hands of the other team in Manchester) and wait for players to recover. With Mctominay, Fosu-Mensah, Tuanzebe, Pogba and a host of others coming back to full fitness, and with the possibility of a January signing (don’t hold your breath through, it is Ed Woodward we’re dealing with here) the team could look a little more convincing come the third week of February. That elusive 4th place is a possibility, but not without both reinforcements and an improvement from the players already there, Pereira included.
