Page 112 - Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

Cup, which he was desperate to play in. His scheme was to go to Vasco Da Gama for the rest of the
season so he could play in the South Africa World Cup of 2010. ‘You’re not leaving here. We’re not
investing millions of pounds in a player so he can shoot off to Brazil,’ I told him. Lovely personality,
Anderson.

I have always respected Brazilian footballers. Name a Brazilian player who doesn’t excel in big
games? They were born for the big occasion. They have a special quality: deep pride in themselves.
Great belief. There is a myth that Brazilians regard training as an onerous interruption to a life of
pleasure. Not true. They train conscientiously. The notion that they hate the cold is another fallacy.
The two Da Silva brothers for example: no tracksuit bottoms, no gloves – out they go. No country can
apply the rich mix of ingredients you gain from a top Brazilian player. Argentines are deeply patriotic
but I found they lack the expressive personalities of Brazilians.

With Nani we were buying pure raw material. He was immature, inconsistent, but with a wonderful
instinct for football. He could control the ball with either foot, head the ball and he bristled with
physical strength. He could cross, shoot. When you buy a player with all those talents, the trick is to
put them in order. He was a bit disorganised and needed to be more consistent. It was inevitable that
he would work in Ronaldo’s shadow because he was a winger from Portugal with some of the same
attributes. Had he been from Serbia, no one would have made the comparison. But both Ronaldo and

Nani had come through Sporting Lisbon, so they were always being studied side by side.
Ronaldo was blessed with outrageous talent, and was brave, with two great feet and a wonderful
leap. It was perhaps daunting for Nani to assert himself as a Man United starter against that backdrop.
To be up against Ronaldo in team selection was a problem in itself. In his first year he was on the
bench a lot. Nani picked up the language quickly but Anderson took longer. Because he’s Brazilian,
though, he brought incredible self-belief to the job. Brazilians think they can play against anybody.
I would say to Anderson: ‘Have you seen this Neymar in Brazil?’

‘Oh, great player. Fantastic.’
‘Have you seen Robinho?’
‘Wonderful. Incredible player.’
Every Brazilian name I mentioned would elicit this response. He thought everyone back home was
world class. When Brazil battered Portugal in a friendly, Anderson told Ronaldo: ‘Next time we’ll
play our fifth team to give you a chance.’ Ronaldo was not amused. That’s the kind of country Brazil

is. I love that story about the competition in Rio to unearth new No. 10s and thousands turning up. One
boy travelled for 22 hours on a bus. It’s a massive country, with talent everywhere.
I look back less fondly on our move for Owen Hargreaves, who was phenomenal in the summer of
2006 and was just the type of player we needed to fill the gap left by Keane. We started to put
together a bid for him. But I studied his playing record and felt a tinge of doubt. I didn’t feel a strong
vibe about him. David Gill worked hard on the deal with Bayern. I met Owen’s agent at the World
Cup final in Berlin. Nice man, a lawyer. I told him we could develop Hargreaves at United. It turned

out to be a disaster.
Owen had no confidence in himself whatsoever. He didn’t show nearly enough determination to
overcome his physical difficulties, for my liking. I saw him opt for the easy choice too often in terms
of training. He was one of the most disappointing signings of my career.
He went everywhere in search of cures for his various injuries: Germany, America, Canada. I felt
he lacked the confidence to overcome his injuries. It went from bad to worse. He was away in

America for the best part of a year. He saw Hans Müller-Wohlfahrt, the club doctor at Bayern
Munich, for his calf. In the games he did actually play, I had no qualms about his contribution. He was