Rafael da Silva | 2010-14 Performances

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Thought he was awesome today, the fact he played in midfield, he showed determination, composure and at times his passing and final ball was excellent.
 
First half he was absolutely excellent. Faded a bit in the second, but he really has it all hasnt he?
What a player we have with him.
 
I see a bit of Keano's intensity and drive in him.
Future captain?
 
His mental strength and attitude is really a huge advantage, next to his obvious football qualities
 
I love Rafael and reckon he has been one of our best players this season, but I'm surprised at people saying he had a great game last night.

He was being played out of position and it showed - he had no positional sense of where he was meant to be and kept popping up all over the park, it left Smalling exposed at the back at times and also meant Smalling had very little support when he went forwards.

Rafael has the enery and technique to make fantastic runs through the middle of the park if need be, but he needs someone like a Carrick or Fletcher alongside him to drop back and hold position.

Yesterday was as much the tactics as anything but I felt we had nobody offering the back four any protection - we started off with Rafael, Scholes and Kagawa in the middle which already isn't a particularly balanced combination, then took off Scholes and Cleverley went into the middle instead which made the balance even worse.

In short, if we are going to play the likes of Rafael (or indeed Kagawa) in the middle, it is necessary to play Fletcher or Carrick to provide some positional discipline.
 
If we're talking about all round attributes how far away is he from being the best player in our squad?

Considering how likely it is that Fabio will develop in the same way we absolutely cannot risk letting him leave.
 
Rafael is fantastic.

Sure yesterday he looked a little bit lost, but playing a position you are completely not used to, it is hard to know what areas to move into and at what times.

But what he did do was drive forward with relentless energy, and kept us on the front foot in the last 20 minutes. His acceleration and dribbling from the RB position is such a great outlet for us, and he is very good in posession even in tight spaces.

When smalling plays there he can do a good job defensively, but its no suprise that we miss rafael massively in attack. When he was switched there the game changed IMO.
 
Escobar said:
His mental strength and attitude is really a huge advantage, next to his obvious football qualities
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He's a fighter and he's got the heart to take responsibility for the ball. There aren't that many defenders in our squad who will take charge of building attacks from the back, many of them prefer to have a midfielder take them ball of them. Rafa however will not only drive forward with the football at his feet but he's also good at deciding what to do with it, he's one of those players who does have a picture in the head and who can look up assess his options and pick the right pass instead of standing still with his arms spread waiting for a bail out.
 
He was ineffective yesterday but it wasnt his fault. Smalling pushing forward on the right left him no space to run into and he wasnt given the ball to his feet on the wing like Nani or Valencia are.
 
Not a great game from him up on the wing. Showed that he wasn't used to the position and as a result he wasn't as effective. Didn't help that Smalling doesn't offer that attacking help as well. Hopefully we go back to playing him at RB. Smalling can fight for a spot at CB for me. Rafael shouldn't be pushed about to try and fit other players in, we should be just locking his name down at RB.
 
Given a run in the team at RB Smalling has shown that he can be more than competent however i quite agree, Rafael's superb there this season and i expect it was simply some FA Cup tinkering on Fergie's part.
 
Adam-Utd said:
Rafael is fantastic.

Sure yesterday he looked a little bit lost, but playing a position you are completely not used to, it is hard to know what areas to move into and at what times.

But what he did do was drive forward with relentless energy, and kept us on the front foot in the last 20 minutes. His acceleration and dribbling from the RB position is such a great outlet for us, and he is very good in posession even in tight spaces.

When smalling plays there he can do a good job defensively, but its no suprise that we miss rafael massively in attack. When he was switched there the game changed IMO.
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Again I'm not trying to criticise Rafa but tbh I thought the different cane more from having a genuine winger than Rafa being > Smalling.

FWIW Smalling did well and tried to attack but he didn't get any support FROM Rafael because the latter was all over the park.
 
Been class so far, good interceptions and quality in possession.
 
He seems to sleep on the rebounds sometimes. That'll improve though as the rest of his defending has.
 
Was outstanding. He made Sterling look totally rubbish.
 
KM said:
He seems to sleep on the rebounds sometimes. That'll improve though as the rest of his defending has.
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Aye flashbacks of Bilbao, he'll learn. A driving force for us from Right-Back, if Valencia finds his mojo again they'll tear it up.
 
KM said:
He seems to sleep on the rebounds sometimes. That'll improve though as the rest of his defending has.
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This harsh criticism makes me laugh. In every case, the striker is always faster to react to a rebound than the defender but commentators always make it sound like the defender is sleeping. Rafael would have expected De Gea to save that or push it safety while Sturridge would be hoping there's a rebound.

I cannot blame Rafael for the goal. Gerrard shouldn't have been allowed that space to whack the shot in the first place. Our defence line stood off him and the outcome was inevitable.
 
Right up there in the running for MotM after the first half but wasn't quite as effective in the second half and think he gets most of the blame for the goal, for me. Too often he gets caught ball watching and loses his man around the box.
 
Beastly! I just wish RVP had scored that chance he created right before half time, it was a stunning piece of play from Rafael showing drive, pace, awareness and technique. I pray he's a lifer here.
 
Switched off for the goal but other than that you can't fault him for nothing. Absolutely dominant in the tackle and should have had an assist when he broke through and laid it off to Van Persie.
 
He was really, really good today except for the big mistake for the goal. Which is a shame because it was a world class performances aside from that.
 
If he isn't the best right back in the world within two years or so I'll be absolutely astounded. He certainly isn't there yet but I wouldn't swap him for any other right back in the world.
 
gza the genius said:
If he isn't the best right back in the world within a two years or so I'll be absolutely astounded. He certainly isn't there yet but I wouldn't swap him for any other right back in the world.
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There's a few good ones coming through elsewhere and Dani Alves and Lahm are only 29 but I think he'll be there or there abouts fairly soon.
 
elmo said:
Rafael will start for Brazil by the time the world cup rolls about.
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No chance. Scolari loves a calm head and Brazilians don't really rate Rafael because he has a history of being a bit shite for them. Dani Alves will start.

He's got two caps for Brazil to Alves's 59 and Alves is playing for the best team in the world, there's no way he's going to dislodged Alves when Scolari won't be taking any risks at a World Cup on home soil.

Plus Dani Alves is quite a bit better than Rafael anyway right now, so Rafael would need to push on or Alves decline anyway for him to even deserve it.
 
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