He's been at the club a little less than three years, but the Old Trafford faithful have developed a special affection for watching Ander Herrera don the famed red jersey week in and week out. And the Spaniard doesn't’t do so for the mere sake of it.

 

It isn’t rare to hear the increasingly prominent ‘Ander Herrera’ chant ring out from the stands at the Theatre of Dreams, as the fans clap their hands furiously after calling out his name once. It’s a clear expression and indication of endearing the man who gives his all for the club every time he steps foot on the pitch for a club that needs more characters like him. The requirement for them however, won’t reduce Herrera’s influence in any way; After all, he’s got a unique personality indeed.

 

Having been awarded United fans' Player of the Season accolade recently, it can be said that Herrera deserved it more than anyone else. He may not have been the club’s highest goalscorer or the highest assist man, but it’s his display of fire and passion to never give up that has forced United fans to take the former Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad player to their hearts. 

 

It seems like a precocious rise to prominence for the man, considering how a majority of the Red Devils fan base demands Herrera to be handed the captain’s armband already. His work-ethic, hard-working mentality, the tendency to never give the opponent a moment of rest and the never say die attitude, silhouettes everything that the club has thrived on over the years. Herrera’s adherence to all of these qualities has made sure that the fans see flashes of many of United’s legends in the 27-year-old. Be it the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes or the Neville brothers, he has exemplified a whole host of abilities that supporters have feasted on in the past.

 

His performance against Chelsea at Old Trafford was simple, effective and brilliant; Handed the job to man-mark the mercurial Eden Hazard throughout the ninety minutes by Jose Mourinho, Herrera stuck to doing the job that he was instructed to do. He followed the little Belgian everywhere he went and kept him out of the game. There was hardly a moment when it seemed as if Hazard would be let free from the grasp of the man who never stops running. To top of a man of the match performance, Herrera scored United’s second goal of the game in what was Old Trafford's stand-out occasion this season.

 

That game only accentuated the belief that Herrera has to be made United skipper, but the Spaniard kept on doing his job discreetly and in a no-nonsense a manner. The amount of hunger, desire, urgency and will to win that he brings to the team is second to none. Herrera’s presence only inspires the players around him to take a leaf out of his own book. 

 

The Spaniard’s commitment to recover balls in the heart of the midfield makes him an indispensable member of the team. He won’t do anything out of the ordinary on the ball too many times, but it’s what he does without it that has caused United fans to fall in love with him. 

 

Ander Herrera exemplifies everything that Manchester United were and are striving to be. It’s the Basque in him that makes him play his heart out, but United’s the place where he can be loved the most.



Kaustubh Pandey