Valencia: Power Supply

Raised in the Amazon and fortified by military service, Antonio Valencia has taken an unlikely path to becoming one of United’s deadliest attacking weapons…

There's a rare, armour-plated beauty to be savoured in watching Antonio Valencia in full flow; a primal sadism stirred by the knowledge that, whether he needs to go around or through an opponent, he's almost certainly getting by.

The 2011/12 campaign has been a bittersweet affair for the 26-year-old. Deprived of pre-season by injury, then deployed as a makeshift right-back, he was only able to play his way into form in December when he returned to his true calling: physically and mentally brutalising left-backs while amassing assists galore. After Sunday's emphatic return at Wolves, he has now notched 12 since mid-December and embossed his overall contribution with well-taken goals against Wigan Athletic and Arsenal before his scintillating strike at Molineux.

He has been unplayable at times. If defenders aren’t barged out of the way or outstripped for speed, they are sucked into a high-risk battle of minds, in which Valencia’s penchant for crossing chicanery usually wins the day. Stop, start, fake, repeat until an opening arises. He can twist blood and bend reputations – just ask Ashley Cole, the only player to repeatedly shackle Cristiano Ronaldo, but as yet unable to match Valencia whenever United and Chelsea meet.

In Sir Alex Ferguson’s wide and varied attacking armoury, the Ecuadorian is a one-man arsenal. Rarely has Old Trafford seen a player with his blend of power and dexterity: a rhinoceros with the manoeuvrability of a hummingbird.

As a startlingly rare talent, it’s perhaps fitting that Antonio has taken such an untrodden path to stardom; trading the Amazon basin for the banks of the River Irwell. Born in Nueva Loja, capital of the Sucumbíos Province of Ecuador’s Amazon Region, Antonio and his five brothers would scour their city and its surrounding villages in search of glass bottles for their father’s bottle deposit centre. He would also help his mother sell ‘bolos’ (fruit juice in plastic bags) on matchdays outside the Estadio Carlos Vernaza, the local football stadium.

Initially spotted playing football recreationally with his friends by ex-player Pedro Perlaza, Antonio enrolled with local team Caribe Junior at the age of 14. So impressed was Perlaza with Valencia’s attributes, that he recommended the youngster to El Nacional, a local team keen on encouraging burgeoning talents. It also happened to be the Ecuadorian Armed Forces’ team, and required Antonio to move to Quito.

The youngster’s stint of service and football training had a profound effect. “Undoubtedly the work he did in the minor divisions with El Nacional helped him a lot to increase his strength and power,” says Ecuadorian football journalist, Rodolfo Mazur Oyola.

“El Nacional was the club that shaped him professionally. They honed his technique and also helped him in his personal training. He was always a special player due to his skills, but he used to be thin until he spent some time there. He began training with former members of the Ecuadorian national squad, who guided him and recommended he be taken to the first squad. It didn’t take long for him to gain the attention of Luis Fernando Suarez, the coach of the national team.”

It would prove a whirlwind few months. Three months after scoring twice on his international bow, and still only 19, Valencia was whisked to Villarreal by Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini. In the blink of an eye, the youngster had gone from Ecuador’s second tier to Europe’s top level, and a place on the bench when Villarreal held United to a goalless draw in the Champions League in September 2005. Playing time would prove elusive at El Madrigal, however, and he was hastily farmed out on loan to gain action at Recreativo de Huelva, in Spain’s second flight.

“He was young and maybe he struggled to adapt himself to European football,” admits Oyola. “Perhaps they were expecting a lot from him, but they did not consider that he was finding his feet in a new country. Then he did well at Recreativo. He had failed at Villarreal, but it was like he was taking a personal revenge on Spain with Recreativo.”

Though he had dropped a division, Valencia’s displays in Recreativo’s successful promotion push kept him in the frame for his country. Antonio was a cornerstone of Ecuador’s World Cup qualifying campaign, and it was in the tournament proper in Germany where his career took another unlikely twist.

“I was over in Germany for the whole World Cup,” recalls Paul Jewell, then manager of Wigan. “I went to watch Ecuador against Poland and this lad stood out, playing in central midfield. I thought he was a good player and when I found out he was 20 I couldn’t believe it. I watched him for the rest of the tournament, pursued it and we got Antonio on loan with a view to buying him. The daft thing is that there was no competition for him. I think he definitely slipped through the net of the big clubs. I was really impressed when I saw him because he had such a great understanding of the game.”

The language of football proved Jewell’s most effective method of communication with his new signing, who had little knowledge of English and needed a dressing room interpreter to convey tactics before matches – yet Antonio made a mockery of linguistic difficulties with a swift integration to the Latics setup.

“He was such an intelligent footballer that he just slotted in really quickly,” says Jewell. “He‘s a very intelligent boy. He’d pick up on what I said, even though it was in a Scouse accent. Every day he worked hard, was very courteous, very tough and a terrific pro. As a manager you’d love a team of Antonio Valencias.

“He was suited to English football because he’s tough. Not many players come over from Ecuador with a silver spoon in their mouths, and you could see immediately that he was a hard worker and he flourished. Although he didn’t say too much, he always had a glint in his eye and a wicked sense of humour – I see him now and I wish he’d smile more because he looks so serious! He’s at one of the top clubs in the world, which is no surprise to me because he’s that good a player.”

It didn’t take too long for Valencia’s talents to prick the interest of bigger clubs. Wigan exercised their option to sign the winger permanently from Villarreal in January 2008 – for a knockdown fee of around £4million - and a year on, Latics manager Steve Bruce revealed that Antonio had rejected the chance to join Real Madrid. Six months later, however, he couldn’t resist the chance to be part of United’s rebuilding exercise after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The move had a knock-on effect back in Ecuador. “The entire country was thrilled,” reveals Oyola.

“Without any doubt, his presence at Wigan increased the interest of the Premier League, which was already followed closely by many people. People wanted to follow his development. Unfortunately, because Wigan used to be a small team, their games were not broadcast regularly, so fans used to wait the release of special reports in order to see how he did.

"However when a Wigan match was announced to be broadcast the whole country was there to see him in action, regardless of the time. There was great excitement when he joined United, because it meant he had moved into the elite of world football. The news touched the entire country, not just football fans. All of Ecuador became aware of him.”

Manchester cottoned on pretty quickly, too. Valencia immediately struck up fruitful relationships with his new colleagues, and his arrival coincided with the most prolific season of Wayne Rooney’s career – the striker was on course to double his previous season’s tally before injury decimated the final eight weeks of the campaign. The form of his supply lines – Nani and Valencia – was central to his success.

Antonio’s second season with the Reds failed to reach the levels of his first, but through no fault of his own. Having suffered a fractured and dislocated ankle in an early season draw with Rangers, he missed six months of action. Despite a rapid recovery to finish last season in devastating form, Antonio found his start to 2011/12 similarly disrupted by both an ankle blow and a pressing need to operate as an auxiliary right-back. He played his way into form in early December, however, and was United's most menacing attacker until he strained a hamstring at Ajax last month.

Valencia's comeback at Molineux showcased his value to the cause: a goal, two direct assists and a support role in the Reds' fourth goal. As impressive as Wayne Rooney's string-pulling was, Sky Sports' failure to recognise United's number 25 as the man of the match at Molineux was perhaps motivated by consideration of their post-match interview, with Scouse brogue superceding a three-way ordeal of interviewer, player and translator.

Sir Alex Ferguson, however, was quick to salute his winger's influence on proceedings. "He could be very important," said the United manager. "His form before he got the injury was outstanding. Now he is back we hope he stays back fit. He is such an honest, hard-working player. You get two sides to Antonio. He is prepared to work really hard. He can tackle, he can run, but he can also beat a man. He has got everything."

Patrice Evra summarised Valencia's January display against Bolton by proffering: "I think he ate a motor." Two months on, after an enforced pit-stop, the Ecuadorian appears ready to take United's race for the title into overdrive.