Patrice Evra: It was 11 men against 11 children

May 8th, 2009 | By: jeff | 4 Comments »

“It was 11 men against 11 children.” That was Patrice Evra’s perspective after marking Theo Walcott in the UEFA Champions League 2nd leg as his Manchester United side visited and deposed Arsenal.

It’s not a charitable assessment, but Evra’s flirtation with egomania is grounded in a really excellent performance. Theo Walcott was Arsenal’s best hope to create something against United – the one player who had the ability and form to make a breakthrough, and Evra shut him down completely.

The other United player who had the beating of Arsenal in him was Christiano Ronaldo. I’m partially inclined to agree with Evra insofar as he and Ronaldo are concerned: they were on another level, not quite like me playing sports against my 4-year-old son, but far too much for Arsenal on the night. Their supporting cast, the other 9 players, did quite well too, but Arsenal would have probably been much more in the match if it weren’t for the standout performances from Evra and Ronaldo.

Should Man United cash in on Ronaldo and use the money to bring in Ribery? The first big transfer story to break, several weeks before the end of the season even, is that United want to bring in Ribery, and are willing to break the old transfer fee record set when Zidane went from Juve to Real Madrid.

I wouldn’t let Ronaldo go, If I were Sir Alex. I might try to bring in Ribery to play ahead of Park and Nani, but United have to be enjoying their trophy run. They won a league and CL double last season, and they look set to win one or both of those again this season. Selling the team’s best player isn’t a strategy I would necessarily use to keep the run going. If Ribery were added to the existing mix of players, it would be hard to take our eyes off that United side.

For this CL Final, though, I’m pulling for Barcelona, and hoping for a great performance from Thierry Henry. All the reports are that he was great recently as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 6-2, in Madrid. Henry and Messi both scored doubles in that match, I believe.

Hopefully this Champions League Final will have goals. I’m going to encourage some uninitiated Americans I know to watch the match – and if it ends 0-0 and goes to penalties, it will ruin “soccer” for them, and make them doubt my credibility, always going on about “The beautiful game.”

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Comments

By Ronald | May 8th, 2009 at 11:19 pm

well, evra is kinda-sorta right in his statement……cause compared to the age average of united vs arsenal, arsenal are much younger in a sense.

i tend to look at it this way, instead of looking at the fact evra might be inflating his ego a bit.

By alex | May 11th, 2009 at 6:19 am

Jeff, I think that Henry is injured at might not play in the UCL final. Although I too am pulling for a Barcelona win, I am not too confident they will be able to beat Man U. Chelsea essentially shut down Barcelona for 180 minutes by playing a physical game, and remaining tight in the back. In my opinion, Barcelona merely got lucky to break through in the 93rd. Man U — an extremely strong counterattacking team — will most likely copy Chelsea’s wall in the back, and use every counterattacking opportunity to their advantage. Moreover, they will most likely play a physically, which I think should throw Barca off their game.

I’m surprised no one is talking about Malouda and Anelka. Under Hiddink, Malouda is back in form, and is starting nearly every game. Anelka too has found his form recently. Further, both complement each other very nicely. I would like to see Doms call these two up, and start both of them.

Evra is great defensively, but he has been giving up the ball a little bit too easily recently when he comes up to support Man U’s attack.

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By GFC | May 11th, 2009 at 7:46 am

I think that Ronaldo leaving Man U is just as good as done, after the heavy flirtation between the Portugal star and Real last summer I am sure that SAF will allow him to move on to Spain this summer and cash in while his stock is so high. Now should SAF look to replace him with Ribery? I would hope that Frank would look to stay a Bayern a little longer, he has been too prone to club jumping and I think that staying with Bayern to continue to develop and grow would do him wonders. Granted being an Arsenal fan means I do not want him anywhere near Man U as well! However I do feel that he is becoming the face of Bayern, if he moves to Manchester he will get lost in the pantheon of stars there. As the leader of Bayern, he will continue to grow as a player and leader, something Les Bleus will desperately need if they hope to qualify for South Africa.

By Jeff | May 12th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

Good points on the CL final, Alex.

I’ve seen Malouda playing for Chelsea, and he has been ok, but I would rather not see him back playing for France, because his anemic performances were so hard for me to accept. I think he’s had more than enough chances for France, and his recently improved form at Chelsea is not at the level where I’d be confident that he would play well for France. For me, he’s not a player who can make a difference. He can fill a spot, and occasionally get a shot on target, but at international level, I like seeing players who have a bit more about them. I guess that’s a long way of saying that I’m not a fan.

Nico, on the other hand, I like.

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