Hesitation and caution have been replaced by calmness and incision. Lucas is seldom dispossessed and his passes are no longer solely to the back and to the side. Witness for example, his exquisite through ball to Luis Suarez in the first minute of Liverpool’s recent 5-2 triumph away at Fulham.
Although not as explosive as Mascherano, Lucas has excelled at breaking up opposition play in the middle of the park. He thrived in key home wins against Manchester United and Chelsea, successfully thwarting more distinguished central midfielders. The Brazilian finished 2010/11 with more tackles (172) than any player, whilst attaining a respectable tackle success rate of 65%.
His ascension from frustrating fringe player to first-team regular owes a great deal to the faith of former manager Rafael Benitez.
Speaking in December 2008, Benitez said: “”People just don’t know how good Lucas is. He is a fantastic player, he was captain of his club side at 19 and has already won full caps with Brazil.”
Shorn of Alonso and the Spaniard’s replacement Alberto Aquilani, Benitez placed greater responsibility upon the 24-year-old in 2009/10, and his faith was rewarded with much more assured displays. Lucas featured 35 times for the club in the Premier League that season, and his progress led to him being voted the club’s Young Player of the Season.
After Benitez’s departure, many envisaged an Anfield exit for the Brazilian, but he stayed at Liverpool and continued his good form into the new season. He maintained his first-team berth under Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish, and his consistency culminated in a new long-term contract.
Moving to play football in a different continent at a young age is a difficult transition to make at the best of times, but this is made even harder when one’s displays are constantly criticised. Instead of moaning or pining for a move away, the boy from Dourados knuckled down and worked hard to become a player worthy of the red shirt.
In this era of quick-fix fickleness, it’s nice to see how far a little hard work, faith and support can go.
The ten article was written by Zarif Rasul for FootballFancast.com. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.
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Go Lucas go…
Good artical.
I have writen in here several times in the past that Lucas is getting better and better and has been one of the very few players who could hold his head up high with his performances over the last couple of seasons. It amazes me that there are still people out there knocking him and saying (willing even) that his good form won’t last.
All I have to say to these people is go and support chelski or the sh*te over the other side of Stanley park if you insist on being such a bunch of *****