Queiroz: Nani and Anderson are special
Fittingly, Portugal winger Nani is set to make his United debut in the former Portuguese colony of Macau today in the third game of his club’s Far East tour. Nani’s arrival from Sporting Lisbon was part of a £30m double swoop, which saw Anderson confirmed as a Red Devil on the same day.
Queiroz played a pivotal role in securing both players, heading out to Portugal with United chief executive David Gill to assist with negotiations.
Although both players have been bought with the future in mind, they are expected to be heavily involved in the Old Trafford outfit’s pursuit of silverware this term. And Queiroz is confident the United supporters will be as thrilled when they see the pair play as they were when Cristiano Ronaldo announced his arrival on English shores with an astounding debut against Bolton four years ago.
“I have known about Nani and Anderson for a long time,” he said.
“They are special players, with great gifts and fantastic talent. Of theirgeneration, we believe they are two of the best. Just like Cristiano Ronaldo, they are just the type of players we should be looking to bring to Manchester United.”
“They are both skilful players and their technique is excellent,” said Queiroz.
Queiroz, who helped guide Ronaldo through his post-World Cup trauma 12 months ago, is adamant Ronaldo can get better.
“If he doesn’t believe it, and we don’t believe it, he might as well retire,” he said.
“There is always room for improvement and there are a lot of things he can improve on.”
Given their nationality, Ronaldo and Nani are bound to be involved against Chinese league outfit Shenzhen at the 15,000-capacity Macau Stadium today.
Although the crowd will be small in comparison to the attendances on their first two tour stops in Tokyo and Seoul, United are sure to have been handsomely rewarded for visiting Macau.
In a city which resembles Las Vegas given the massive number of casinos, the Red Devils’ team hotel is the ultimate in opulence. First visitors to the Venetian Hotel which, when finished will contain 3,000 rooms, boast 12,000 staff and casino the size of a small housing estate.
The Carlos Tevez affair must feel like a long-winded game of roulette for United just now too.
Much to the irritation of senior figures within the United party, Tevez’s will-he, won’t-he move to Old Trafford has tended to dominate press conferences, obscuring, the club feel, the major purpose of their visit to the Far East.
A key meeting between officials from FIFA, the FA, Premier League and United, in the form of legal expert Maurice Watkins, are due to meet today in an effort to move the thorny issue of Tevez’s ownership a bit closer to resolution.
United are confident the 23-year-old will eventually join them, with Queiroz a firm backer of Tevez’s talent.
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