Triunfo contra a adversidade

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I can verify that Lucas Leiva has read this article and contacted me via twitter and said “obrigado”

Lucas Leiva arrived to Liverpool from Germio in 2007 with a good reputation and the youngest ever winner of the Bola de Ouro. Previous winners have included Zico, Romario and Kaka.

Lucas captained Brazil to the U20s South American youth title in 2007 plus scoring 4 goals during the championship.

The reception Lucas received on his arrival can only be described as mixed, some fans who follow South American football knew of this young and exciting talent others simply didn’t know anything about Lucas at all.

The Brazilian played over 30 games in his first season at Anfield and 39 in the next which included the game that most fans still believe is the best performance from Lucas, the 4-1 at Old Trafford.

Lucas stepped in for Alonso that day and put in a performance that was simply class, but even then he was struggling to win over the Liverpool fans.

Last season saw Lucas finally win over the fans by being consistent week after week and winning the fans player of the season award, It is no more than he deservers.

Lucas is now one of the first names on the team sheet and rightly so, now when fans look at the line up, if he is not part of it we start to worry.

So what has changed for him so much over the last two years? Well for a start he is a natural attacking midfielder and needed to learn a different role as a holding / defensive midfielder which was completely the opposite to the role he was use to.

We all remember when Thierry Henry came to Arsenal, he was a winger for Juventus when he arrived but was then transformed into one of the best strikers the Premier League has seen and it’s just the same with Lucas, he is now one of the best Defensive midfielders in the Premiership.

But the biggest transformation Lucas has managed to overcome is the one to win over the fans, he has silenced his critics and has become a fans favourite in the space of two years. Why you may ask? Simply because he gets the Liverpool thing, as fans we love a player who gives everything and someone who puts on the shirt and will fight for the cause.

He has managed to overcome all the negativity that was unfairly directed at him and overcome it by putting in consistent performances which has finally won over the Anfield faithful.

Lucas has now become a regular both for Liverpool and Brazil and we are proud of him and the even better news is that he young and on a long-term contract.

My friend Ben Granville said to me “Lucas is a beacon of light against adversity” and I totally agree with him.

The difference between Lucas and some other players that have been at Liverpool over the past few years is that he wanted to stay and fight for his place and prove he was a good player while others only wanted to fight for their wage packet.

So next time you watch the Reds take a look a Lucas as recognise he is a ” triunfo contra a adversidade”.

 

 

15 Comments

  1. Hi Brian,

    This is a well written article and I like the phrase in Portuguese (I’m from Portugal)…

    But I still don’t believe Lucas is good enough to be on LFC starting XI. He’s a poor passer of the ball and when we’re playing with 2 center midfielders we need both of them to carry the ball forward and start attacks.

    He wins a lot of balls but he also looses a lot of balls.

    In my opinion, when Gerard get’s back Lucas should be the one of the team.

    YNWA

  2. Rafa defended Lucas against constant media hostility and from a misguided minority of fans. “He’s a fantastic player” said Rafa, and he was right. This boy gives everything for the cause. He is someone who is now indespensible and deserves all the praise he gets.

    1. It’s funny that you consider me an idiot because I have a different opinion from yours. That should make you an idiot in my eyes (since you have a differente opinion from mine) but nahhhhhhhhh. I don’t care about you mate.

  3. Reydelmundo – Even though I disagree with Nuno slightly I will always pay more attention to his comments as he took the time to politely put his point across without resorting to childish name calling. Going round calling people ‘idiots’ with such poor reasoning leaves you looking highly foolish.

  4. Nuno,
    if KK take Lucas out of the first 11, and we’re left with Adam, Henderson and Gerrard, one can only guess how many goals will be scored against us at every match. As for not being a good passer, you need glasses, amigo. He’s the best passer Liverpool has as of today. He always finds a clean pass to an open player, and initiates almost every attack. He could pass the ball sideways like Henderson, or try an impossible wayward pass like Adam, but he keeps it simple and open our play every time. Try and check it out next match. Um abraço vermelho.

    1. As I said, I’m from Portugal so I only watch the games on television but I watch all of them and with passion. The game against Wolves almost wrecked my heart :)

      Again, Lucas put out a show defending but struggled going forwards and my opinion is that we need our 2 center midfielders to have that ability.

      And I don’t believe that playing with Adam and Gerard would cost us more goals. We have to wingers who can help defend (Henderson or Kuyt and Downing).

      I can’t find any other top team in the EPL that plays 4-4-2 with a defensive midfielder and they don’t suffer more goals than us.

      YNWA

  5. Lucas still has time to add the box to box midfielder he was in Brazil and start scoring goals, Rafa like with Gerrard has added more to Lucas game.Plays with control.

  6. Alan Hansen spent a fair portion of MOTD a year or so back explaining the true role of a central defensive midfielder sitting in front of the back 4 . He used another player as the example (who I won’t name – plays for the wrong reds…) and I finally understood this widely unappreciated role which is often unnoticed when executed at its best.
    You hit the nail on the head Brian when you highlight how his approach had to change and Fabio you are spot on with your point. It is unbelievable how much Lucas protects our back 4 and sends the play the other . Ont eh team sheet eery time for me – along with Kuyt… but that’s another story

  7. I would be the first to admit I used to critisise Lucas on a regular basis. I never thought he was good enough to wear the red shirt but how wrong could I be. I feel guilty now when I think about how I used to slag him off to my friends.
    If all of our players showed his commitment and desire to succeed we would be very lucky. He has never complained and just carried on trying and I for one am glad that he has been given (and taken) his chance for LFC.
    If it has taught me anything it is that we that should give a player a fair crack before we critisise (maybe Poulson excluded!). Adam/Henderson slaters maybe you should keep quiet for the time being!!!

    1. well said… how about Caroll too… lets get off his back… and if they all learn how to be tenacious and fighters like Lucas they should be just fine… Personally, I love Lucas because he epitomizes what Liverpool stands for! he gets it and for that I AM GRATEFUL to him! YOU NEVER WALK ALONE!!

  8. Nuno just shut up ur mouth lucas is simply d best i’ll put my life out 4 him anytime & anyday dn’t b suprise 2 c him bcome d club captain once gerrard steps down.

    1. Can I have a different opinion from you or am I not allowed? I’m not a critic of Lucas commitment, I’m a critic of his quality to play the ball.

  9. I personally believe that Mascherano leaving was the making of Lucas. When we were playing two holding mids Masch was making all the tackles and the games tended to pass Lucas by. As the sole player tasked with breaking up the opposition play he has really flourished and come into his own. All supporters of other teams who used to criticize him would give anything to have him in their squads now.

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