The Edu Effect
Whatever the extraordinary merits of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and the rest of Arsenal’s superstars, this last two months should be best remembered for the flowering of one previously unheralded figure, Edu, who has suddenly become an absolutely key component of our all-conquering team.
Edu has been at Arsenal for over three years now, but it is only in the second half of this season that even a guaranteed starting role has been his. The reasons for that are many. He arrived amidst controversy, having had to wait back in Brazil for six months whilst passport irregularities could be resolved, during which time his sister was tragically killed in a car accident. Wenger bought him from Corinthians for some £6 million, and for a long time that expenditure looked like a folly. Uncertain in his passing, rarely first to the ball in the tackle, and the victim of some severe misfortune with injuries and own goals, it seemed likely that he would quietly disappear at any time into that same black hole that swallowed up Kaba Diawara, Luis Boa Morte and others of Wenger’s more mysterious purchases.
But Le Boss stuck with him. Games here, games there, and slowly but surely he began to show just why he was worth buying, peaking in a performance of massive competence away to Inter Milan. Since Christmas however, he’s been simply sensational, and has driven his compatriot, the controversial Gilberto Silva out of the starting line-up. Full of vigour, and with a quite brilliant goal against Celta Vigo behind him, he’s now the Barclaycard Player of the Month and looks a constant menace, breaking up attacks and launching counter-offensives just like Petit used to do.
I think there’s an important lesson in his rise to prominence – one that is being learnt elsewhere in this strange season. The burden of expectation on footballers at the highest level of the game is necessarily high, but it can take time for even the most talented of figures to find their feet. In the era of Abramovich, where Joe Cole amongst others is struggling for recognition and game-time because his success has not been instant, Edu shows that talent still needs to be nurtured, and that manager’s initial thoughts about players will often be proved right if only a way can be found for those players to keep on getting chances.
Edu is not alone in this, because the two other success stories of 2003-2004 are in much the same situation. Louis Saha and Juan Pablo Angel had each been at their respective clubs, Fulham and Aston Villa for similar periods to Edu. Saha had annihilated the First Division in his first season at Fulham, but had struggled at the top level until this year, when his hatful of goals secured him a move to Old Trafford which has been initially successful. Angel’s case is much closer to Edu’s: after a big money move to England from South America he had experienced severe family problems, and had been a fitful presence in the first team, particularly under the unreconstructed approach of Graham Taylor. This year however, both have been top-rate, sitting proudly just behind Henry, Shearer and Van Nistelrooy in the Premiership scoring charts. Angel has done so well, he’s even been listed as a transfer target for Arsenal, although this seems unlikely ever to happen.
Football, as the Rio Ferdinand debacle amply demonstrates, rarely learns any kind of moral lessons. But perhaps the case of these three players should be seen as one – a lesson from the game’s past that should be learnt. One need only think back through the history of international football to see how often it comes about that apparently unfulfilled talents have made giant leaps forward and propelled their teams to glory. Oliver Bierhoff was going nowhere before Euro 96, but then his late, late show to win that tournament for Germany took him onwards and upwards to success at AC Milan. Schillachi was meant to be watching Gianluca Vialli in admiration from the sidelines along with the fans before Italia 90, but when Vialli was injured in the opening match, it was Schillachi who set the tournament alight with a torrent of goals. And of course, the most dramatic example of them all is Sir Geoff Hurst, who was expected to be an unused deputy for the great Jimmy Greaves before the 1966 World Cup – Greaves was dropped by Sir Alf Ramsey, Hurst stepped up, and the rest is history.
Edu too, was expected to be nothing more than a deputy this season. But he has blossomed into an absolutely magnificent player, who is indispensable to our chances of claiming the Treble. This must have been the guy Wenger saw at Corinthians all those years ago – but for all us fans demanding big name signings, someone new to push the team on, he’s a reminder that the answer is sometimes right under our noses, just waiting for the chance to shine.
Whatever the extraordinary merits of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and the rest of Arsenal’s superstars, this last two months should be best remembered for the flowering of one previously unheralded figure, Edu, who has suddenly become an absolutely key component of our all-conquering team.
Edu has been at Arsenal for over three years now, but it is only in the second half of this season that even a guaranteed starting role has been his. The reasons for that are many. He arrived amidst controversy, having had to wait back in Brazil for six months whilst passport irregularities could be resolved, during which time his sister was tragically killed in a car accident. Wenger bought him from Corinthians for some £6 million, and for a long time that expenditure looked like a folly. Uncertain in his passing, rarely first to the ball in the tackle, and the victim of some severe misfortune with injuries and own goals, it seemed likely that he would quietly disappear at any time into that same black hole that swallowed up Kaba Diawara, Luis Boa Morte and others of Wenger’s more mysterious purchases.
But Le Boss stuck with him. Games here, games there, and slowly but surely he began to show just why he was worth buying, peaking in a performance of massive competence away to Inter Milan. Since Christmas however, he’s been simply sensational, and has driven his compatriot, the controversial Gilberto Silva out of the starting line-up. Full of vigour, and with a quite brilliant goal against Celta Vigo behind him, he’s now the Barclaycard Player of the Month and looks a constant menace, breaking up attacks and launching counter-offensives just like Petit used to do.
I think there’s an important lesson in his rise to prominence – one that is being learnt elsewhere in this strange season. The burden of expectation on footballers at the highest level of the game is necessarily high, but it can take time for even the most talented of figures to find their feet. In the era of Abramovich, where Joe Cole amongst others is struggling for recognition and game-time because his success has not been instant, Edu shows that talent still needs to be nurtured, and that manager’s initial thoughts about players will often be proved right if only a way can be found for those players to keep on getting chances.
Edu is not alone in this, because the two other success stories of 2003-2004 are in much the same situation. Louis Saha and Juan Pablo Angel had each been at their respective clubs, Fulham and Aston Villa for similar periods to Edu. Saha had annihilated the First Division in his first season at Fulham, but had struggled at the top level until this year, when his hatful of goals secured him a move to Old Trafford which has been initially successful. Angel’s case is much closer to Edu’s: after a big money move to England from South America he had experienced severe family problems, and had been a fitful presence in the first team, particularly under the unreconstructed approach of Graham Taylor. This year however, both have been top-rate, sitting proudly just behind Henry, Shearer and Van Nistelrooy in the Premiership scoring charts. Angel has done so well, he’s even been listed as a transfer target for Arsenal, although this seems unlikely ever to happen.
Football, as the Rio Ferdinand debacle amply demonstrates, rarely learns any kind of moral lessons. But perhaps the case of these three players should be seen as one – a lesson from the game’s past that should be learnt. One need only think back through the history of international football to see how often it comes about that apparently unfulfilled talents have made giant leaps forward and propelled their teams to glory. Oliver Bierhoff was going nowhere before Euro 96, but then his late, late show to win that tournament for Germany took him onwards and upwards to success at AC Milan. Schillachi was meant to be watching Gianluca Vialli in admiration from the sidelines along with the fans before Italia 90, but when Vialli was injured in the opening match, it was Schillachi who set the tournament alight with a torrent of goals. And of course, the most dramatic example of them all is Sir Geoff Hurst, who was expected to be an unused deputy for the great Jimmy Greaves before the 1966 World Cup – Greaves was dropped by Sir Alf Ramsey, Hurst stepped up, and the rest is history.
Edu too, was expected to be nothing more than a deputy this season. But he has blossomed into an absolutely magnificent player, who is indispensable to our chances of claiming the Treble. This must have been the guy Wenger saw at Corinthians all those years ago – but for all us fans demanding big name signings, someone new to push the team on, he’s a reminder that the answer is sometimes right under our noses, just waiting for the chance to shine.
