At just 21, David De Gea surely looks like a tenderfoot, but believe you me, he is one of the most expensive Goal-Keepers in the history of football. On 29th June, 2011, when Manchester United signed this young Spanish Shot-Stopper from Atletico Madrid for a whooping £18 million, it raised a lot of eyebrows and a couple of those were mine too.
Personally, I would have liked to see Lloris or Neuer as Van Der Sar's replacement and frankly, when you are paying such an ostentatious amount, you expect to get someone with some visible experience. But here we were, with a 20 yr old kid who wasn't even the 3rd choice Goal-Keeper of the Spanish National Side and just had a couple of seasons with Atletico (BTW, they finished a lowly 7th in La Liga in 2010-11 season). Honestly speaking, I feared the worst. Sir Alex did make a few blunders while replacing "The Great Dane" and I was petrified with the thought that he was repeating them this time as well. But then there was a ray of hope as well, as many experts believed that he had the talent but that it needed grooming. I sincerely wished Sir Alex's punt pays off otherwise we might be in big trouble this season. And now after 9 months, it seems that the punt has paid off and he again proved that he is the best judge of footballing talent. De Gea's last few performances has vindicated gaffer's decision and may I now say, it has also helped us to bury our fears. Over the last few weeks, this kid has surely turned the corner and proved that he belongs to this great club.
But it wasn't like that a few months ago. De Gea certainly had a baptism by fire at the Theatre of dreams. He made a horrendous start to life at Manchester and people had started writing him off before the league season even started. His performance in the Community Shield game inspired none. His first few months at Old Trafford were, let's just say, far from a pleasant stay. People questioned his decision-making capacity, his shot-stopping ability and even his attitude and looks. They said, he looks like a complete moron with that beard and the Shirt tucked out. He is far from a disciplined goal-keeper. Some even said that he is the polar opposite of Edwin in every aspect, talent included. And I can understand, if at that point he felt a bit let down by himself. But all these reactions to him were understandable. He had done hardly anything on the field to inspire confidence in him. And add to it the fact that he was coming to a big club and was trying to replace a big star, a national hero & a double- champions-league winner. Surely, he himself didn't expect anything but a lot of scrutiny.
David De Gea has revealed the criticism he endured in his early days at Manchester United has inspired him to prove his critics wrong. He said, "The criticism I received only served to make me a stronger person. The time I spent on the bench helped me to reflect and think. It encouraged me to keep fighting and work."
But, I guess, at the end of the day, this kid deserves accolades. He has moved on, tried to look more comfortable between the poles, is making far less mistakes and has had a, if I could say, pretty successful past few weeks. His performances against Norwich and Bilbao are certainly testament to his temperament & endorsement of the great talent he possesses and in someway, a vindication of Sir Alex's and Eric Steele's decision to get him despite his over-the-top valuation by Atletico. Despite all the mistakes that De Gea committed in the past, there is no denying to the fact that this kid has oodles of talent and I can even go a bit further and say that he looks like one of the best "Shot-Stopper" if not the best "Shot-Stopper" in the world at this point of time. He has got stunning reflexes and that 6'4" frame of his allows him to have a good command of the penalty area. Maybe, he just needs to gain a few pounds without really compromising on his reflexes.
At just 21, a Europa League, a European Super-Cup and an U-21 European Championship medal doesn't look bad in his trophy cabinet but with the talent he possesses & the temperament he has exhibited in the past few weeks and couple to it the fact that he now plays for Manchester United, it certainly looks like he should consider installing a bigger cabinet in his house. A English Premier League medal would be good for a start. :)
He is by no means a finished product but the process of turning critics like me around has already started. I hope he continues his startling performances & helps United in their quest for trophies. On 29th June, 2011, a young Spaniard came to the Theatre of Dreams with the dream of becoming the best goal-keeper in the world and I can now see the dream, slowly but surely turning into reality. Best of Luck, David.
P.S.: I see the world through red lenses. And bias is a word that exist in my dictionary but with a prefix of "red" :P :P
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