Rafael da Silva | 2010-14 Performances

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I think a really underrated part of his game is his passing.

Rafael is actually a really, really astute passer. Incisive too. The number of times he threads the ball inside into the hole between opposition defence and midfield is brilliant.
 
Sultan said:
- Valencia is very comfortable beating his man on the outside. His weakness is his left foot, hence Rafael is more useful not overlapping Valencia, giving him an an easy pass option if the defender shows Valencia his right side.
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Agree here. And Rafael made some really useful runs on the inside of Valencia to allow him to get 1v1 with the fullback. There's very little to complain about attacking-wise, IMO. As marjen said he's a very decent passer, always positive and very capable in tight areas and only Scholes and Carrick average more passes per game than him which is a very useful attacking outlet. His crossing's not been great in recent weeks but he's one of our better crossers. Very capable of beating his man on the outside or inside and he's got a very decent strike. Not a whole lot more you can ask for from your fullback.
 
His crossing definitely isnt as good as it was last season. And I think he didnt make many runs forward yesterday because we were worried about Blackburn on the break. Lose the ball with Rafael bombing past Valencia and Blackburn will be up the other end of the pitch in 15 seconds with no right back to deal with.
 
Hellboy said:
I just saw that he gave an itw to MUTV. Is he fluent in english ?
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Nah, but he spoke some and seemed to understand plenty. He said Ashley Young was with him because his English isnt very good. But he had enough to answer the questions
 
Hellboy said:
I just saw that he gave an itw to MUTV. Is he fluent in english ?
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He had Ashley Young next to him in the interview because Raf said, "my english is not very good". His english is fine and he didnt make any mistakes and his vocab was decent also. I think its more a confidence thing speaking in front of the camera.

Still major LOL at Young laughing at Rafael whilst he was speaking though. Cheeky Sod :D
 
Here's an interview with the twins just before Christmas.





Not seen the latest one but I imagine not much has changed. Like skeeta has said I think their vocab is fine, just need a bit more confidence.
 
Like I've maintained throughout the season, he must play every match unless there's an issue with his fitness.

It's baffling if Fergie chooses Jones ahead of him at RB for any other reason.
 
He hobbled off against QPR FFS, why do people think he was dropped?
 
Had to have been injured since we could have used him on the bench. He did come off against QPR as well.
 
I think that right back position is weird. Jones always gets knocks as well playing there. Not just the twins.

Rafael is definitely better at being a full back. Jones is only better in the air. That's it.
 
kps88 said:
Had to have been injured since we could have used him on the bench. He did come off against QPR as well.
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Ah, makes sense. I didn't catch the game against QPR (only one I've missed this season :( ) so I hadn't noticed that. Hope he's fit for the weekend!
 
Jones doesn't just get knocks. He hobbles and limps around like he just got done with a UFC match only to last the whole game.
 
Attacking wise has been awesome.

Needs to look out for not making early tackles.
 
Not really being tested defensively, but playing very well going forward.
 
Should be starting every game at RB. His linkup play with Valencia is very good and he provides an attacking threat that Jones does not give.
 
Starting to look like the right back he looked like he could potentially become, that's about the biggest compliment I can give him. His and Valencia's understanding is great, and his runs make it so much easier for Valencia to get past his man and get crosses in when the defender has to worry about the overlapping run.
 
He's such a tough little fecker. Very rarely does he not come away with the ball in challenges.
 
Has calmed down quite a bit as well I think. Matured a lot this season and it shows. Great game again.
 
Godfather said:
Has calmed down quite a bit as well I think. Matured a lot this season and it shows. Great game again.
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This was summed up well in the second half when he ran about 40 yards chasing back and instead of sliding in he just stood up and nicked the ball back from the Villa player.
 
He has calmed down, but he's still very aggressive when he's trying to win the ball.

Good game today though. He's doing the best he can to help Valencia out offensively which is important to keep pressure up.
 
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