Monday, March 3, 2008

SQUAD PROFILE -Anderson




ANDERSON






Anderson, full name Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira, came to prominence when he was chosen as player of the tournament in the 2005 world under-17 championships.

Dubbed the new Ronaldinho, Brazilian wonder kid Anderson completed his move to Old Trafford in July 2007.

There is a striking resemblance between Anderson and international superstar Ronaldinho, not only in terms of looks. Like Barcelona's attacking wizard, Anderson is incredibly skilful and his array of talent will surely dazzle the Premiership.

Both Anderson and Ronaldinho started their careers at Gremio in Brazil. Anderson (or Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira to give his full name) joined the Porto Alegre club at the age of just five.

He made his first

appearance for Gremio in 2004, aged just 16 but with his club side in the Brazilian second tier it was internationally where Anderson made his name.

He shone with Brazil at the 2005 South American U-17 Championship and 2005 U-17 World Cup, winning the Adidas Golden Ball for most valuable player.

An Anderson wonder goal for Gremio against Nautico in November 2005 earned a 1-0 win and promotion back to the top flight. That goal and his impressive showing for Brazil's young side persuaded FC Porto to sign Anderson in January 2006.

He continued his promising displays at Porto. He won many honours including the Portuguese Championship in 2005/06 and 2006/07, although his progress was hampered by a broken leg causing him to miss much of last season.

Sir Alex Ferguson and his right hand man Carlos Queiroz were clearly impressed and fought off interest from Barcelona to get their man. Anderson will battle with fellow new signing Nani, Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs for a place in the starting line-up. His favourite position is wide left but he has also featured in central midfield.

On the international front, Anderson earned his first call up to the

Brazilian senior squad in the summer of 2007 and featured in the team’s Copa America campaign.

Anderson has already earned many plaudits, none more so than from Mario Zagallo, the World Cup-winning player and manager.
On 30 May 2007, it was confirmed on the Manchester United website that the club had agreed, in principle, to sign Anderson from FC Porto for an undisclosed fee, reported to be approximately £17m. On 29 June 2007, he was granted a work permit to play in England, and the move was completed on 2 July, with Anderson signing a five-year contract. He made his Manchester United debut on 3 August 2007, playing 45 minutes of a pre-season friendly against Doncaster Rovers, which United won 2-0. He was given the number 8 jersey for the 2007-08 season, the number worn by Wayne Rooney the season before.

Anderson made his competitive debut for Manchester United against Sunderland on 1 September 2007. He was substituted at half time and replaced by Louis Saha, who went on to score the winning goal. Anderson later went on to make his Champions League debut against Sporting Lisbon, coming on as a substitute for Ryan Giggs in the 76th minute. He played the full 90 minutes in the Carling Cup match against Coventry City on 26th September 2007, in a team consisting almost entirely of youth and reserve team players. Manchester United lost 2-0; however, Sir Alex Ferguson had gone on to say that he was one of the best of a very poor bunch which played in that match.

On 6 October 2007, Anderson came on for Nemanja Vidić who suffered a concussion in Manchester United's home win against Wigan and put in what was described as his best performance of the season so far. He then made his first Champions League start on 23 October 2007 as he put in a man of the match performance to help United to a 4-2 win over Dynamo Kiev. His recent performances have drawn attention and credit by pundits. He put in great performances against Arsenal and Liverpool, which made people stand up and notice.

"Everything suggests he is going to be a superstar, a prodigy, as he has undisputable quality," he said.

If Anderson lives up to the expectations, Premiership and European defenders will be having many sleepless nights working out ways to deal with his trickery.




Full name - Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Date of birth - April 13, 1988
Place of birth - Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height - 1.76 m
Playing position - Attacking Midfielder, Winger ,striker

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