IN PRAISE OF PATRICE EVRA Having passed a tally of 350 starts for the Reds, Patrice Evra is deserving of recognition for his almost perpetual presence at left-back since his 2006 arrival... Prior to his United debut – a noon defeat at Manchester City in which he was substituted at half-time – Patrice Evra spent the morning vomiting. Although that day his body rejected its first ever 9am pre-match pasta dish, in the ensuing eight years nobody could accuse the Frenchman of lacking the stomach for a fight. Even in this highly testing season, the 32-year-old has been a model of consistency in the battle to guide United through the choppy waters of transition. Absent only when rested since David Moyes installation as manager, Evras unwavering presence and brimming experience have preserved his shoo-in status through the post-Sir Alex Ferguson shift change. While injuries, suspensions and changeable form have conspired to revolve Uniteds backline, the whirlwind of selection has been tethered to Evra and goalkeeper David De Gea. This season, the Spaniard is the only player to make more appearances than the Reds left-back, who has been unavailable through injury or suspension for just three games in the last five years. His consistency is incredible, says legendary Reds full-back Gary Neville. Hes been asked to play every single week for seven or eight years. The same thing happened to me, and the physical drain on you is massive, but he has been absolutely sensational. He was the best left-back in the Premier League for years, and you never would have thought that he would have such an impact when we saw him in those first few weeks at the club. It was a such a culture shock for him to get used to the Premier League, but he has gone on to become a great performer for United and one of the clubs most consistent players of recent years. His influence in that dressing room is not something you will understand unless youve been in there with him. I would say that, at times, he was almost the glue that connected the dressing room. You talk about the British players and the foreign players, and he had equally good relationships with all. Hes so vibrant around the dressing room, a huge character. He has a fantastic personality. Hes a leader, somebody who would really get everybody going before a game. It surprised me when I first started hearing him talk in the changing room, he was really passionate about the things he was saying to the team. our game today. Thats not something you often hear from somebody who has come to the club, rather than coming through the ranks. Sometimes it actually has more impact coming from somebody who has come in rather than somebody who has been at the club a long time. It did with him, and I think thats when Sir Alex Ferguson and the players first saw the leadership side of him, and that would ultimately make him a regular captain. The same has applied under the management of David Moyes. Evra has regularly deputised as skipper for Nemanja Vidic in the Serbians absence due to his standing within the squad. Patrice is one of the finest leaders around the dressing room that I have ever seen, the manager remarked earlier this season. He speaks well in everything he does and the way he speaks about the club is great. He is inspirational behind the scenes and reminds all the boys what their jobs and duties are. He knows we have to have a strong Manchester United. An embodiment of the clubs standards, Evras evolution has been remarkable. When he was first paraded alongside Ferguson in January 2006, combining a Del Boy jacket and roll neck, the new arrival from Monaco spoke barely a word of English and still harboured ambitions of plying his trade on the left wing. Now fluent and at one with his defensive tendencies, he is the sultan of the soundbite, always outspokenly proud of his association with United. Days after his debut, on Fergusons advice to learn about English football, Evra hurled himself headlong in his new surroundings. I got a load of DVDs, he revealed in 2010, about the Munich disaster and the Busby Babes, about Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, about [Eric] Cantona. The whole story of the club. You meet these people around the club and I wanted to know who they were, what they had done for the club. Out of respect. Because when you shake the hand of Sir Bobby Charlton you can feel the legend. All the young players here need to understand the history of the club. After I watched those DVDs I realised I needed to respect the shirt. I needed to respect the story. Every time I play that is in my head: what a privilege it is to play for Manchester United. When you pull on the shirt you are pulling on history, and I say thanks to God that I play for this club. His assimilation to life at United rode out an undulant opening year and a half. Recruited in the absence of fans favourite Gabriel Heinze, who was recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury, Evra edged out compatriot Mikael Silvestre to regularly start at left-back in the second half of the 2005/06 campaign, and rotated duties once Heinze returned to full fitness the following term. While the season was a personal and collective triumph, culminating in the Premier League title and a spot in the Premier Leagues Team of the Year, the selection of Heinze for the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea soured Evras campaign. Nevertheless, it was the Argentine who blinked first in the tit-for-tat battle to pin down the left-back berth, joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2007. A year on, Evra trailed only Rio Ferdinand for starts as the Reds reprised rule over England and conquered Europe, both at the expense of Chelsea, who continued to feature in the peaks and troughs of the defenders eventful career. Between the low of Wembley and the high of Moscow, Evra was involved in a post-match warm-down spat with a Blues groundsman. He demonstrated his fighting spirit that day, laughs Neville. I was warming down with him and he took on about five of them! After a lengthy investigation, the tête-à-tête ultimately cost him a four-match ban midway through the 2008/09 campaign. Fate decreed that Evra returned from suspension to immediately face Chelsea at Old Trafford, but in crossing for Wayne Rooneys goal in a 3-0 victory, Evra suffered a foot injury which would rule him out for the next seven games; comfortably his longest run of absence from selection. He was still on-hand when the silverware was being dished out, however, ending the campaign a Premier League champion, World Club Cup winner and Carling Cup winner. When reduced to a used substitutes role for the trip to Sunderland the following term, Evra conceded: The boss gave me a rest and I was angry because I want to play in every match for United. When I retire, maybe Ill look back at the games I missed. Although the Reds narrowly missed out on a record fourth straight league title, Evra still laid his hands on silverware, captaining United to Carling Cup retention at Wembley. While Nemanja Vidic was narrowly preferred to succeed Gary Neville as club captain, Evra retained his leadership qualities, sporting the armband throughout the Serbians troubles with injury and retaining focus and form throughout a series of consuming off-field incidents. Pilloried in his homeland for playing a prominent role in Frances tumultuous 2010 World Cup campaign, Evra was then caught up in a high profile altercation with Liverpools Luis Suarez. The duration of that case was punctuated by the death of Patrices elder brother, of which he learned shortly before Uniteds 6-1 defeat to Manchester City. Despite that taxing series of events – plus the harrowing nature of 2011/12s dethronement by Roberto Mancinis Blues – Evra returned to his finest form last term as United clinched a 20th league title. Furthermore, having previously struck three goals in six and a half seasons, the diminutive defender became an unlikely source of scoring. Measured as having the highest leap in the squad but previously charged with remaining in his own half as insurance, the Frenchman swapped roles with Rio Ferdinand. The results were startling, yielding powerful headers against Newcastle, Arsenal and Swansea, plus a crucial Boxing Day shot against the Magpies. Expertly-taken finishes at Cardiff and Stoke City have kept the defender amongst the goals this season, despite a slight change in attacking emphasis under new management and long-running speculation over potential new recruits in his position. Evras diligent reaction has merely served to underline his unwavering professionalism and dedication to the cause. Hes got great determination, desire and fighting spirit, admits Neville. He went from being an overly attack-minded full-back to somebody who was really aggressive in the air, a good tackler and over so many years now he has been a great performer for United. We now see him scoring goals, see him giving everything and see the way he leads on the pitch and tries to get everybody going. Theres no question that he has been great for Manchester United.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 23:03:24 +0000