While there has been next to nothing for Liverpool fans to smile about so far this season, one of the very few rays of lights to have shone through the generally mediocre first-team performances has been the form of Lucas Leiva. There is no small irony here, as a couple of seasons ago he was very much seen as a smear of mediocrity tarnishing a generally excellent, title-challenging Liverpool side.

Lucas joined Liverpool in the summer of 2007 with no small degree of expectation attached to his acquisition. He cost £6 million – a fair amount for a 20-year-old, was the reigning Player of the Year in his native Brazil, and was joining a squad that had its sights on establishing their Premier League title credentials having reached two Champions’ League finals in their previous three seasons. His introduction to the Premier League, however, proved difficult as he was consistently found to be somewhat out of his depth in the hustle and bustle of English football, and the luxury of time on the ball that he’d previously been afforded in Brazil had been taken away and replaced with a swift set of studs in the ankle from Lee Cattermole. He was often caught in possession, and committed a lot of fouls – not due to being particularly dirty, but because he was consistently behind the pace of the English game.

Although he was behind Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso in the midfield pecking order for the majority of the 2008/09 season, he came under heavy criticism from the fans for his performances when he was called upon, with monthly fanzine the Kop naming him – fairly harshly – as one of the five reasons Liverpool didn’t win the league. Things didn’t get a great deal better the following season when, with Alonso offloaded to Real Madrid, and his supposed replacement perennially injured or ill, Lucas was faced with playing (in a team desperately lacking both form and confidence) next to Mascherano – a pairing of two players far too similar in style to ever flourish together. Of course, the British punditry judged him on his (non-)ability to perform the vacant ‘Alonso role’ – a position compatible with neither his technical ability nor footballing inclinations, and he was slaughtered. “Benitez is crazy to put his faith in him”, “He isn’t fit to lace Alonso’s boots”, we were told, despite it being patently clear that the were a completely different mould of midfielder. Liverpool’s midfield most certainly lacked creative spark, and much of the blame for this was being dispatched towards Lucas.

It should be remembered that throughout this lengthy period of poor form and sustained criticism, Lucas never hid. He never once stopped looking to receive the ball during a game, regardless of how many ten yard square passes he shanked into touch. He never once stormed down the tunnel on any of the many occasions that the manager’s decision to substitute him was met with cheers from the Liverpool fans, and he never tried to change his style of play, no matter how many pundits accused him of lacking Alonso’s vision. And, eventually, towards the second half of last season, his form steadily but noticeably improved. He put in an imperious display at Anfield in the 2-0 defeat of Manchester United, not – surprise surprise – spraying passes ‘Alonso-style’ from one side of the field to the other, but harrying, niggling, and pestering the opposition into mistakes; time and again forcing the United midfield to surrender possession. His passing was also becoming far more assured, and even quietly creative, and he finished the game with not just a good performance and an assist, but an immeasurable confidence boost. Lucas had finally began to adapt his game to the increased quality and freneticism of his footballing surroundings, evident in his newfound capacity to appear in pockets of space between defence and midfield in which to receive the ball, his wasting far less time labouring in possession, and his increase in both physical aggression and robustness.

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