A messenger's report and voila!
Sports for Qatar, after Portugal's victory over Uruguay (photo: Paz Hasdai, editing: Nir Chen)
Bruno Fernandes reached the last Euro after the best season of his life.
Everyone expected him to shine and lead, but what, he didn't really show up for the tournament.
In the second game against Germany (4:2), Fernando Santos took him out in the 63rd minute.
It was a particularly anemic performance.
All the things that characterize Bruno - the delivery, the movement, the passion - were not there.
He just stood on the field and touched the ball a total of 33 times until he was substituted.
In the next two games, against France at home (2:2) and Belgium in the round of 16 (1:0), he came off the bench and had no impact.
Santos saw what everyone in the house saw.
Jose Mourinho went crazy: "Portugal is at the highest level and can beat anyone, but we need 11 players. In the last two games, Fernandez was on the pitch, but didn't play. He has incredible potential. He can pass, he can score, he squeezes Penalties, he scores penalties, he can score free kicks. He has a lot to give, but the reality is that he just wasn't there. Portugal have three fantastic attacking players: Bernardo Silva, Cristiano and Jota. We need the connecting player and Bruno just doesn't Play".
A year and a half has passed.
Bruno after a season with mediocre numbers, carrying a giant monkey in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo on his back, is positioning himself as the next leader of the Portugal national team.
He returned to the sources.
To the little things that made him who he is - one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
As a player, he understands that Cristiano's presence should free up space for him and free him to do the things he knows how to do.
In this World Cup, Bruno took the formula and applied it on a personal level as well.
Everyone is messing with Cristiano, Cristiano is messing with Cristiano, so Bruno stepped into the space and took over the team.
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entered the space he left.
Fernandez with Ronaldo (Photo: GettyImages, Justin Setterfield)
Let's go back a bit.
Bruno was close to a move to Tottenham in August 2019, but Sporting Lisbon dropped the deal.
The context was angry.
His agent reassured: "I will bring you an offer from your dream club."
In the first week of 2020, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his assistant Mike Fillon flew to see him in action.
The Norwegian saw Bruno messing with the referee and arguing with the opposing players and Sporting losing to Porto 2:1.
It was enough for him to realize that he is exactly the type that Manchester United needs.
"I complain against those who play against me," explained Bruno in an interview with "Athletic" in September.
"Ola saw it as a passion. On my first day at United he told me to be me: 'I know what you can do with the ball and I want you to be the leader you were at Sporting.'"
That's what he did.
"What you see on the pitch is Bruno, full of passion for the game, who doesn't give anything away easily. I can fight with someone who is my friend off the pitch. Wolves has a lot of Portuguese players, but if I need to kick them and fight with them, I will do it. I need it . When I'm quiet, I don't feel like myself. I need to feel alive."
When Bruno was alive, he became the most important player at United in the Solskjaer project, who at times looked like the man who would bring the Red Devils back to the top.
He still fights with players and referees, receives yellow cards for confrontations and sometimes it is argued against him that he is "out of control", but this is what motivates him.
Solskjaer called Bruno "a player who influences results. He produces, scores and takes risks. He is brave and sees the pass. Sometimes I tear the hairs out of my head and shout: 'There is a simpler pass,' but you can't take away from Bruno what he is. You want him to He will be the X factor and that players in front of him will run and open passing opportunities for him."
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"You can't take away from him what he is."
Bruno Fernandes at United (Photo: GettyImages, Justin Setterfield)
Bruno finished the 2020/21 season with 28 goals and 17 assists, disappointed at the Euros and then got a new teammate: Cristiano.
He had to move aside, take a step back from the front.
Not something he's not used to after years with CR7 in the national team, but definitely something that hurt him.
In fact, since Ronaldo arrived at United, Bruno's numbers have gone down.
He had to deal with a new narrative that accompanied him: the feeling in England that Ronaldo was hurting his effectiveness.
"This is not a fair statement," Bruno defended himself.
"Most of my assists were for Ronaldo. I had a bad season in terms of numbers. I don't think it has anything to do with Ronaldo."
Then came the World Cup.
Ronaldo came to him after the storm of the interview with Piers Morgan and the release he so wanted to receive from Manchester United.
He arrived in Qatar with a swollen chest with all eyes on him and aiming for - to beat Leo Messi in the metaphorical final of Dancing with the Stars - the last dance.
Bruno, the ultimate sidekick, the one loyal to the club of his dreams, greeted him coldly.
At that moment, something fell.
While Morgan sticks to his role as Ronaldo's advocate (and Messi's critic), England's top commentators have sided with Bruno.
Gary Neville and the other members couldn't hide their delight at the move.
On the grass, Cristiano and Bruno get along great.
"I don't feel uncomfortable and I don't need to choose a side," Bruno said at one of the press conferences.
"It's a privilege to play in the national team alongside Ronaldo and the fulfillment of a dream to play alongside him in the team. Cristiano is an inspiration, but we knew that nothing lasts forever. He made his decision and we have to respect that."
Bruno also did not address the rather embarrassing saga of who scored the goal against Uruguay.
He has no need to explode because he knows very well: Ronaldo's shadow is behind him.
forever.
World Cup 2022 in Vala!
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This saga is also behind them.
The controversial cover (photo: official website, from YouTube)
Juan Mata previously defined Bruno as "football sick".
The Portuguese himself testified that the TV at home is always on for football and that he is ready to "watch any game at any time".
As a child, he played with his father and his friends.
He abused them with tricks and they kicked him in frustration.
"My dad also kicked me and he's very strong! In football, you're always going to meet someone older or more experienced. It's all about being smart and passing your weapons to win. As a number 10, I try to find dead zones where no one sees you or guards you , and if someone guards you, they clear space for someone else."
Ronaldo would have created for Bruno the dead spaces he loves so much on the pitch.
He is also the man who paved his way to be the leader of the team in the current tournament.
He once again attracted all the attention, made himself the center, maybe even a little self-deprecating, and into the vacuum that was created Bruno stepped in and became the most important man in Portugal.
Ronaldo wants too much, Ronaldo is angry when he is substituted, Ronaldo annoys the coach, and Bruno, cunning as he is, living off dead surfaces as he is, is there to show who the new boss is.
No matter where Portugal end up, when Bruno returns to Old Trafford and lines up for the next major tournament, Ronaldo will no longer be there.
1/1 Portugal national team player, Cristiano Ronaldo
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This tournament raised Bruno's stock.
He will come back stronger and more senior than him.
A prospect for a future move, perhaps on the verge of entering the 100 million club.
In talks about renewing his contract with United earlier this year, Fernandes demanded competitiveness from United.
He wants to fight for titles and be part of a team that is able to compete against the best.
He was promised there that it would happen within a window or two.
"He is almost always present since he arrived at the club, very stable. He is one of the best players in the league along with Kevin de Bruyne in everything related to goals, assists and creating situations," claimed Gary Neville before the World Cup.
"Manchester United is faltering and sometimes it's a bit forgetful how good he is. For me, he is on the same list as the greatest players of the club: Cantona, Van Nistelrooy and Rooney. They all played in wonderful teams and he is in a team that is struggling. His career is brilliant. He is an important player and one of the most important signings of the club. He can be part of a successful United."
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