Brazilian midfielder Anderson arrived at Manchester United for £25million with the world at his feet in 2007, but he never lived up to the expectations that he would become one of the best in the business.
The 33-year-old made 105 appearances for United, scoring on just five occasions, and very quickly became a hit-and-miss star at Old Trafford. On occasions, the former Porto prospect showcased glimmers of a world-class player, but on others, he looked like he would struggle in games further down the footballing pyramid.
Andreson’s attitude appears to be the underlying reason why the midfielder was unable to reach his full potential, with many of his former teammates and coaches coming out and speaking of the personality traits that held him back. Mirror Sport takes a look at some of those quotes.
Dimitar Berbatov
Former Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov and Anderson shared the United dressing room for four years, but the pair may not have seen eye to eye on the training pitches. Berbatov is known for how he played with an aura of class, but he also knew what does and doesn’t make a quality player.
Speaking to FootyAccums on behalf of Betfair, the former Tottenham star said: “The worst trainer… I must say, Anderson. Although he had a lot of quality and talent and was really good on his day, at training sessions, he really p****d me off sometimes. Like I maybe used to p*** some players off, Anderson used to p*** me off.”
Rafael da Silva
Now playing for Brazilian side Botafogo, Rafael da Silva was one-half of the twins that were signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008. The duo had the pleasure of playing with Anderson at both club level and on the international stage, and Rafael claims that it was food that prevented his former teammate from going to the very top.
Writing in his autobiography, the right-back said: “We could be on the team coach and pass the services on the motorway and Anderson would jump up impulsively and yell 'McDonald's, McDonald's. Give him a football and he would just play with freedom and sometimes, if he got a good run of games, he could play as well as any player in the league.
“He picked up a lot of big injuries and then his problems with eating the way he did started to affect him. It was no coincidence that his best form came when he had a lot of games because that was when he couldn't eat so much.
“I will say something about Anderson – if he had been a professional football player, he could have been the best in the world.” It is some praise from Rafael to say that the now-retired playmaker could have been up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best in the business at one time and highlights the untouched potential he had.
Michael Owen
Former England international Michael Owen has shared a pitch with some of the greatest players of all time and will have also learned from several unbelievable coaches in that time. Therefore, one would expect the ex-Liverpool forward to know a top player when he sees one – and Anderson was exactly that.
Speaking to SportsJOE, via Planet Football, he explained: "He was very talented, was Anderson. Without being too general, he'd have that Brazilian attitude. He was a pretty relaxed guy. Maybe too relaxed at times.
"He loved being out there with a ball at his feet but he did not bother about weights, or anything really. Him getting back from injuries was often a slow process. He was a really good player but if he had that driven mentality, he could have been great."
Ben Foster
Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster spent three years with Anderson at United, but that didn’t hold him back from criticising his former teammate on the UTD Podcast. The 38-year-old said: “He could have been the best player in the world at one point, I promise you he could have.
"But he just didn't care, he didn't care about anything. Honestly, he didn't care about anything [laughs]. But you put him on a pitch and he was like that.”
Mick Clegg
Ex-United coach Mick Clegg will have known about Anderson’s fitness levels better than anyone else, and he recalled a time that Ferguson changed his tune with the 2008 Golden Boy and wanted to ‘hit him’ rather than protect him. He told The Athletic : "I used to have a stick and I said to Alex Ferguson very early on, ‘If he carries on, I’m going to hit him with my bleeding stick’.
"Fergie couldn’t believe it. ‘Don’t you dare. He cost me a lot of money. You can’t be hitting one of my players, are you mad?’. Then, six weeks later, Fergie came to find me. ‘Where’s that bloody stick?’, he said.
"‘Give me that stick. I want to hit him’. Anderson was more than capable of being an absolute stormer of a player. He just needed his head knocking. He didn’t keep fit. He chose not to put in the work, so it’s hard to have too much sympathy for him. He was a party animal.” The former Internacional star will have plenty of time to party now having retired in September 2020 whilst playing for Turkish side Adana Demirspor.
Louis van Gaal
Sometimes managers run out of ideas in terms of man-management and the last resort is telling the media exactly what they need particular players to do. Unfortunately for former United boss Louis van Gaal, telling Anderson that he was not fit enough to be picked for the team still didn’t prompt a response.
In 2014, the now-Netherlands boss said: “He's not always fit - and that is more his problem now. I wouldn't pick him yet because you have to be fit. Being fit to play is the smallest thing you can demand as a trainer.
"You have to have professional league fitness. You have to be fit. Fitness is the most important thing. First, you have to show your fitness. Not for just one day but for several weeks."
Gary Neville
Having recently been named as the best trainer that Berbatov has ever worked with, Gary Neville is certainly in a position to be able to criticise the work rate of others. The fullback played with Anderson towards the end of his career and after retiring, explained that he thought the midfielder will end up regretting the talent that he wasted as a footballer.
Speaking of Anderson to Sky Sports News in 2015, he said: “I think that there have been some really good performances but again, not consistently. And the fitness - he picked up a lot of injuries but generally you'd have to say he will look back on his United career with some level of disappointment.
“Having played with him, he's got an enormous amount of talent and I think of some of the games, I can think of a couple of games at Anfield I can remember, or against Liverpool, and I think in big matches he was really capable.
“He was a big-game player with a big-game mentality and lots of skill, but was never fit enough to do it consistently week in week out in the Premier League, and that's a real shame.”
