Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho predicted he would score two goals in the FA Youth Cup final last season before going out on the pitch and delivering exactly that against Nottingham Forest, in front of a record-breaking Old Trafford crowd.
Garnacho contributed seven goals and three assists in the Under-18s' successful Youth Cup campaign last term. The youngster was outstanding in the competition and he's recently broken into the first team under Erik ten Hag.
The 18-year-old scored against Real Sociedad in the Europa League and Fulham in the Premier League earlier this month and his well-taken goal at Craven Cottage was of particular importance, as it won United three points deep into stoppage time.
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Justin Cochrane, who spent a year as United's Head of Player Development, was praised by Garnacho for having a role in his academy education when he departed for Brentford in the summer and he's now reflected on his work with the teenager.
Cochrane recalled the night that United's U18s played Nottingham Forest in the Youth Cup final and he explained that Garnacho nonchalantly told him in the dressing room before kick-off he would score two goals.
“It’s hard with these young players now,” Cochrane told the Training Ground Guru Podcast. “I think he’s into two or three million followers [on Instagram Garnacho currently has 3.2m followers] - just in one year, it’s crazy.
“He has got that quality that he thrives in the big moments. He did it in the Youth Cup [final] last year. I remember speaking to him before the game. He was taking ages to get ready. The players were ready to warm up and he still didn’t have his boots on.
"I said, 'Alejandro, come on! Get ready, hurry up.' He was like, 'Don’t worry coach, I’ll score two goals today.' And then he went out and scored two goals. Little things like that make you laugh.
"Me and Travis [Binnion, who leads the U18s] would speak about it and laugh about it. Some of these high-talented players can drive you up the wall at times, but you need to be able to work with talent and work with difference.
“Not everyone is going to be the model young player. And they are young players, 17, 18, 19, not adults, and they don’t think like adults all the time. They shouldn’t. They are going to be a bit challenging, a bit different. You’ve just got to be accepting of that.
"It’s not accepting that anything goes, but you’ve got to have an understanding that they’re going to push the boundaries and you’ve got to know when to pull them back in.”
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