He is one of those players that the commentators never mention unless he does something reckless. He times his tackles brilliantly.
Rafael da Silva | 2010-14 Performances
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Sharkey you are one tedious gimp
this. evra's defending has been shocking these days. maybe we can start using fabio at LB for certain games now,
rafael was excellent.
Don't know if any one has posted this stat yet.
In 64 minutes Rafa made 9 successful tackles. Boswinga made 6, Ivanovic and Evra both made 4, all three of these players were on the pitch for 94 minutes.
In 64 minutes Rafa made 9 successful tackles. Boswinga made 6, Ivanovic and Evra both made 4, all three of these players were on the pitch for 94 minutes.
He was MOTM despite coming off 30 minutes early.
If you thought it was a baffling change then there's no hope for you.
Even though Rafael was playing very well Fergie wanted an extra attacker on. An easy way to do this is remove Rafael and shift Valencia back to RB. It's worked brilliantly before and it worked again yesterday.
Rafael was unlucky to be taken off but it was far from a baffling decision.
I don't agree with all the MOTM nominations. He defended very well but didn't offer much going forwards. You'd expect more than that for a full-back to be the best player on the pitch. Valencia looked more of a threat in his 20 something minutes at full-back than Rafael had in in the previous hour. You have to wonder if he was given a bollocking for being too gung ho and decided to be a little conservative until he has his place in the team nailed down. Which would be a very sensible approach.
Terrific performance though. I hope he gets a run of games. I wouldn't read too much into the substitution. Fergie's probably wary of playing him for 90 minutes as he has a history of getting cramp/injured in the closing stages of whatever game he starts. His decision was vindicated by Tony V's role in the third goal anyway.
Terrific performance though. I hope he gets a run of games. I wouldn't read too much into the substitution. Fergie's probably wary of playing him for 90 minutes as he has a history of getting cramp/injured in the closing stages of whatever game he starts. His decision was vindicated by Tony V's role in the third goal anyway.
I havent been Rafael's biggest fan, but the signs are there. Against Liverpoo and Chelsea he did really well. He still scares the life out of me sometimes, but he's all heart and he's learning
Not convinced by his positioning, he tends to follow the ball too much. He has a tendancy to dive in, and if he's skinned he panic's and gives away dangerous free kicks (and picks up silly bookings)
That said, he's as brave as a lion, and "if" he can continue to learn then he's got an excellent chance of holding down the RB berth for many years.
ps. I think people who are slating Evra are very premature. He's not been at his best but he's still the best left back in the Prem imho
Not convinced by his positioning, he tends to follow the ball too much. He has a tendancy to dive in, and if he's skinned he panic's and gives away dangerous free kicks (and picks up silly bookings)
That said, he's as brave as a lion, and "if" he can continue to learn then he's got an excellent chance of holding down the RB berth for many years.
ps. I think people who are slating Evra are very premature. He's not been at his best but he's still the best left back in the Prem imho
well said
By the way, he wants to play with Fabio at the Olympics.
The final is played one day before the Community Shield game (so that's one week before the league starts).
The final is played one day before the Community Shield game (so that's one week before the league starts).
Amazingly the Telegraph have marked him as our joint worst player yesterday with a 5/10. 
Amazingly the Telegraph have marked him as our joint worst player yesterday with a 5/10.
Whoosh.
Nothing wrong with that. He should want to play. Hopfully he'll get picked.
Amazingly the Telegraph have marked him as our joint worst player yesterday with a 5/10.
Honestly though, I'm sure the folk doing ratings just watch MOTD and score from that.
for me he was our best player vs Chelsky
The Mirror gave him a 5 too. fecking baffling.
After years of playing FF through various papers I've come to learn the ratings are usually way off.
They have their favourites who always score well even if they've been poor-average and then there's the unfashionable players who never score well (Fletcher).
With someone like Rafael it's a common misconception that he can't defend. He was taken off after an hour yesterday so the common conception coupled with Utd conceeding 3 goals and him being an "inconsistant" performer = a poor rating.
Just think... These people get paid handsomly to watch football and report upon it. fecking stealing a living most of them.
EDIT: This doesn't apply to just United obviously before anyone screams bias.
They have their favourites who always score well even if they've been poor-average and then there's the unfashionable players who never score well (Fletcher).
With someone like Rafael it's a common misconception that he can't defend. He was taken off after an hour yesterday so the common conception coupled with Utd conceeding 3 goals and him being an "inconsistant" performer = a poor rating.
Just think... These people get paid handsomly to watch football and report upon it. fecking stealing a living most of them.
EDIT: This doesn't apply to just United obviously before anyone screams bias.
Nail on head.
Idiots. One of the best performances he's given and probably the best defensively.
Why do we care about The Mirror's opinion?
Whilst I don't really "care" I do find it quite frustrating.
I think many people think that Rafael can't defend because he's a small Brazilian with decent technique. If he was a tall, bulky Englishman, many would think of his defensive ability in a very different light.
Where was that yesterday? If anything his tackles were measured and the ones he made, he won. It was a fantastic performance. They couldn't get past him.
It's between him and Smalling for our best right back in my opinion which is very encouraging as they are both very young and they both offer very different qualities which are suitable to different tactics.
It does still worry me that we don't have a similar option as competition for Evra. Fabio is the obvious one but he's never fit and has been preferred at right back.
It does still worry me that we don't have a similar option as competition for Evra. Fabio is the obvious one but he's never fit and has been preferred at right back.
Not for me, Rafael is a much better right back, whilst Smalling is a much better central defender.
With Vidic out injured, Smalling is in fact our current best central defender. I very much doubt Chelsea would've scored the 3rd with Smalling on the pitch.
I'd have to say that Rafael is a much better right back than Smalling, mainly because it's his natural position. Smalling filled out the position well earlier in the season, however he showed weaknessed while playing there sometimes and he's much more solid when at centre back.
I had him as MOM alongside Rooney yesterday; difficult to choose between them. On the back of his brilliant performance against Liverpool I think he should be nailed on for the RB spot every game now.
I think if he can shake off his proneness to injury then he will be one of the best about. He is a superb tackler, eight against Le Arse and nine against Chelsea yesterday are top end numbers against some of the best teams in the league.
Isn't that the silver lining with all these crazy injuries, though? Every now and again, someone appears that you've almost forgotten about and is like a new signing, injects a bit of oomph, a bit of life. Rafael has been sensational last few weeks and although I hadn't forgotten about him, I'd forgotten how good he can be. Makes a tangible difference to us.
It is great to see him back as he looks like a top class addition to an unsettled defence, lets hope that he can stay fit.
I agree that Smalling is a fantastic centreback, especially for his age but I think you are criminally under rating Smallings contribution at right back earlier this season. He was solid and played a big part in the fact we'd conceded sod all goals aside from the 6 City had put past us up until Christmas.
Smalling will be a centreback though and a quality one. Therenodowbowtha.
It' difficult to compare them because like I said they offer totally different options. They are polar opposites as players. One is energetic and erratic and a complete pain in the ass for opposition wingers both in defence and going forward. The other is cool calm and collected, silky on the ball and very difficult to get past while offering a very important ariel threat going forward and a calmness in defending the oppositions set peices.
I'm just glad we have them both.
For anyone who thinks Rafael can't defend, name one game where he was owned by another winger.
Yes he gives away some free kicks but he seems to deal with tricky and pacey players well.
He has a few things to work on but he is our #1 choice RB and will play as long as he is fit.
What a player.
Yes he gives away some free kicks but he seems to deal with tricky and pacey players well.
He has a few things to work on but he is our #1 choice RB and will play as long as he is fit.
What a player.
Also Jones can be just as good at right back as Rafael, and will offer him strong competition.
Jones is not a right back. He's an emergency cover there.
I disagree.
Personally I think RB is sorted for a long time, I think Rafael is a special player that will go on to be one of the best in the World.
I love Jones, he's a brilliant, brilliant footballer, I'm just still not sure where his best position will eventually be.
His defensive play has improved immeasurably. He's so much more considered now and it's a huge boost.
For a 21 year old, he's already gathered good experience - 79 appearances for the first team.
Hopefully, if he steers clear of injury, he'll see his name guaranteed on the team sheet.
Chance for his brother too, the way Evra is going.
For a 21 year old, he's already gathered good experience - 79 appearances for the first team.
Hopefully, if he steers clear of injury, he'll see his name guaranteed on the team sheet.
Chance for his brother too, the way Evra is going.
I have no problem with this. It means that he is essentially having his pre-season with the Brazilian olympic team rather than us.
Agreed about rafael.
Still feel Jones should be used as a midfielder. Far too good to be restricted at CB where both smalling and evans are better than him currently. At RB, we have rafael who has it in him to be the best in the world injuries permitting.
Rafael is easily our best right-back. Some people saying Smalling and Jones are just as good in that position are just wrong. I've always seen Rafael as our long term option there. I do think Jones is the better back-up there though. Smalling can play well there but you can tell it's a lot less natural for him than it is for Jones.
Rafael is a much better right back. His positioning is better than both Jones and Smalling, and he's much better at not allowing wingers to turn and run at him, and also at not letting them get crosses into the box(Evra take note!).
I thought he was brilliant against Liverpool and Chelsea. His composure on the ball and big game temperament makes him really useful, plus he's a real fighter as well.
I just hope Fabio and him can shake off their injury struggles and get a full season under their belt, but they're probably not at the right club for that. Such rotten luck with injuries..
I thought he was brilliant against Liverpool and Chelsea. His composure on the ball and big game temperament makes him really useful, plus he's a real fighter as well.
I just hope Fabio and him can shake off their injury struggles and get a full season under their belt, but they're probably not at the right club for that. Such rotten luck with injuries..
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