It is\u00a0a shame that a player who has been as brilliant and as consistent as Antonio Valencia this season will probably have his deserved spotlight\u00a0taken by the ever-present Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107, whose goals have truly ignited the Premier League. The Ecuadorian full-back, in his eighth season at the club, is arguably going through his best campaign for the Red Devils and to many, has been their finest player this season.<\/p>\n
Jamie Carragher, on a Sky Sports broadcast of Monday Night Football, once jokingly said to his on-air compatriot Gary Neville\u00a0that full-backs are either failed wingers or failed centre-halves, commenting that no one wanted to \u201cgrow up and be a Gary Neville<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n The remarks were obviously for comedic purposes and taken very lightly, but in hindsight, to a certain degree, the Liverpool legend was spot on. Not many budding footballers dream of spending their careers on the flanks of defence, they just happen to be placed there as per the situation with the team. And it is a similar case for Antonio Valencia.<\/p>\n A right winger by trade, Valencia always possessed the standard qualities of a natural full-back. Reliable stamina to move up and down\u00a0the flank, endless energy, willingness to put himself on the line when defending and most importantly, one-footedness. You rarely get to see him use his weaker left foot, and even now, when he rarely gets a chance to use it in a relatively dangerous crossing situation, he\u2019d prefer playing it safe with a low back pass with his right. He wasn\u2019t that great a goalscorer in his\u00a0attacking days either, a trait most synonymous with full-backs.<\/p>\n He\u2019s lasted the test of time at Old Trafford, signing in 2009 when they had played two UEFA Champions League finals in as many years, winning one, and were the best club in England, playing at the peak of their powers. Since then, he\u2019s been the club\u2019s Player of the Season in 2011-12 as a right winger, seen Sir Alex Ferguson retire, David Moyes join and leave in a\u00a0span of\u00a0nine months, Louis van Gaal come and go in a dire two-year spell and be a part of football\u2019s greatest inevitability in the modern era \u2013 Jos\u00e9 Mourinho managing Manchester United.<\/p>\n What\u2019s consistent in that phase is Valencia\u2019s desire and his ability that has kept him in each of the four managers\u2019 first-team plans, which is a testament to his quality.<\/p>\n The third manager, Louis van Gaal, was the most influential figure behind Antonio Valencia\u2019s current form. In the Dutchman\u2019s two-year stint at the club, he never had the opportunity of deploying a natural right-back, with Matteo Darmian, purchased in his second season, being the only full-time right-back.<\/p>\n Valencia managed 57 appearances in that phase, with almost all being in defence, and along with the 2016 FA Cup, he was Louis van Gaal\u2019s parting gift to the Manchester United faithful, along with his former apprentice and subsequent successor, Jos\u00e9 Mourinho.<\/p>\n As mentioned, Antonio Valencia is in his best year in the red of Manchester United. The first name on the team sheet in most games, he\u2019s shown an unbreakable desire to perform at his best week in and week out, with his commitment to the cause being first-rate.<\/p>\n He was also the club\u2019s Player of the Month in November\u00a02016<\/a>, an award he should never have been close to seeing as he only just made a swift return from injury in the middle of the month (he also went on to win it for a second time in January 2017<\/a>). His performances have lit up the right flank this season, and he\u2019s formed formidable partnerships with those he\u2019s shared the right flank with \u2013 be it Juan Mata, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial.<\/p>\n The 31-year-old is in the best shape of his life and even under the spotlight, he continues to play his starring role with the same shyness off the\u00a0pitch that he showed when he first arrived at the club. He\u2019s even forced the Manchester United executives to trigger a contract extension<\/a> earlier this year that keeps him at the club until the end of the 2017-18 season.<\/p>\n Though the quality of the final ball is still improving, he\u2019s been a major asset to Mourinho, even playing at wing-back several times with the most recent being a potential Man of the Match showing in their controversial 1-0 defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Chelsea in the FA Cup.<\/p>\n Valencia’s game by numbers vs. Chelsea:<\/p>\n 2 dribbles MOTM. #MUFC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wtx9whS4VV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 13, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
\n2 interceptions
\n2 blocks
\n5 tackles won
\n100% win rate<\/p>\n