Patrice Evra, United Legend

Steve Bartram pays tribute to Patrice Evra and his remarkable Manchester United career following the Frenchman's decision to join Juventus...

Prior to his United debut, a noon defeat at Manchester City in which he was substituted at half-time, Patrice Evra spent the morning vomiting. Although that day his body rejected its first-ever 9am pre-match pasta dish, in the ensuing eight years, nobody could accuse the Frenchman of lacking the stomach for a fight.

Even in the testing 2013/14 season, the 32-year-old was a model of consistency in the battle to guide United through the choppy waters of transition. Absent only when rested by former manager David Moyes, Evra’s unwavering presence and brimming experience had preserved his shoo-in status through the post-Sir Alex Ferguson shift change.

While injuries, suspensions and changeable form have conspired to revolve United’s backline apace, the whirlwind of selection has been tethered to Evra and goalkeeper David De Gea. Last term, the Spaniard was the only player to make more appearances than the Reds’ left-back, who had been unavailable through injury or suspension for just four games in the last five years.

“His consistency is incredible,” says legendary Reds full-back Gary Neville. “He's been asked to play every single week for seven or eight years. The same thing happened to me, and the physical drain on you is massive, but he has been absolutely sensational. He was the best left-back in the Premier League for years, and you never would have thought that he would have such an impact when we saw him in those first few weeks at the club. It was a such a culture shock for him to get used to the Premier League, but he has gone on to become a great performer for United and one of the club’s most consistent players of recent years.

“His influence in the dressing room is not something you will understand unless you've been in there with him. At times, he was almost the glue that connected it. You talk about the British players and the foreign players, and he had equally good relationships with all. He's so vibrant around the dressing room, a huge character. He has a fantastic personality. He's a leader, somebody who would really get everybody going before a game. What surprised me, when I first started hearing him talk in the changing room, he was really passionate about the things he was saying to the team.

“‘Come on boys, this is our game today.’ That's not something you often hear from somebody who has come to the club, rather than coming through the ranks. Sometimes it actually has more impact coming from somebody who has come in rather than from somebody who has been at the club for a long time. It did with him, and I think that's when Sir Alex Ferguson and the players first saw the leadership side of him and that would ultimately make him a regular captain.”

The same has applied under the management of David Moyes. Evra has regularly deputised as skipper for Nemanja Vidic in the Serbian’s absence due to his standing within the squad. “Patrice is one of the finest leaders around the dressing room that I have ever seen,” Moyes remarked early in the campaign. “He speaks well in everything he does and the way he speaks about the club is great. He is inspirational behind the scenes and reminds all the boys what their jobs and duties are. He knows we have to have a strong Manchester United.”

A poster boy for the club’s standards, Evra’s evolution has been remarkable. When he was first paraded alongside Ferguson in January 2006, combining a Del Boy jacket and roll neck, the new arrival from Monaco spoke barely a word of English and still harboured ambitions of plying his trade on the left wing. Now fluent and at one with his defensive tendencies, he is the sultan of the soundbite, always outspokenly proud of his association with United. Days after his debut, on Ferguson’s advice to learn about English football, Evra hurled himself headlong in his new surroundings.

“I got a load of DVDs,” he revealed in 2010. “About the Munich disaster and the Busby Babes, about Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, about [Eric] Cantona. The whole story of the club. You meet these people around the club and I wanted to know who they were, what they had done for the club. Out of respect. Because when you shake the hand of Sir Bobby Charlton you can feel the legend.

“All the young players here need to understand the history of the club. After I watched those DVDs I realised I needed to respect the shirt. I needed to respect the story. Every time I play that is in my head: what a privilege it is to play for Manchester United. When you pull on the shirt you are pulling on history, and I say thanks to God that I play for this club.”

His assimilation to life at United rode out an undulant opening year and a half. Recruited in the absence of fans’ favourite Gabriel Heinze, who was recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury, Evra edged out compatriot Mikael Silvestre to regularly start at left-back in the second half of the 2005/06 campaign, and rotated duties once Heinze returned to full fitness the following term. While the season was a personal and collective triumph, culminating in the Premier League title and a spot in the Premier League’s Team of the Year, the selection of Heinze for the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea soured Evra’s campaign.

Nevertheless, it was the Argentine who blinked first in the battle to pin down the left-back berth, joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2007. A year on, Evra trailed only Rio Ferdinand for starts as the Reds reprised rule over England and conquered Europe, both at the expense of Chelsea, who continued to feature in the peaks and troughs of his eventful career.

Between the low of Wembley and the high of Moscow, Evra was involved in a post-match warm-down spat with a Blues groundsman. “He demonstrated his fighting spirit that day,” laughs Neville. “I was warming down with him and he took on about five of them!” After a lengthy investigation, the tête-à-tête ultimately cost him a four-match ban midway through the 2008/09 campaign. Fate decreed that Evra returned from suspension to immediately face Chelsea at Old Trafford, but in crossing for Wayne Rooney’s goal in a 3-0 victory, Evra suffered a foot injury which would rule him out for the next seven games; comfortably his longest run of absence from selection.

He was still on-hand when the silverware was being dished out, however, ending the campaign a Premier League champion, World Club Cup winner and Carling Cup winner. When reduced to a used substitute’s role for the trip to Sunderland the following term, Evra conceded: "The boss gave me a rest and I was angry because I want to play in every match for United. When I retire, maybe I'll look back at the games I missed.” Although the Reds narrowly missed out on a record fourth straight league title, Evra still laid his hands on silverware, captaining United to Carling Cup retention at Wembley.

While Nemanja Vidic was narrowly preferred to succeed Gary Neville as club captain, Evra retained his leadership qualities, sporting the armband throughout the Serbian’s troubles with injury and retaining focus and form throughout a series of consuming off-field incidents. Pilloried in his homeland for playing a prominent role in France’s tumultuous 2010 World Cup campaign, Evra was then caught up in a high profile altercation with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. The duration of that case was punctuated by the death of Patrice’s elder brother, of which he learned shortly before United’s 6-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Despite that taxing series of events – plus the harrowing nature of 2011/12’s dethronement by Roberto Mancini’s Blues – Evra returned to his finest form last term as United clinched a 20th league title. Furthermore, having previously struck three goals in six and a half seasons, the diminutive defender became an unlikely source of scoring. Measured as having the highest leap in the squad but previously charged with remaining in his own half as insurance, the Frenchman swapped roles with Rio Ferdinand. The results were startling, yielding powerful headers against Newcastle, Arsenal and Swansea, plus a crucial Boxing Day shot against the Magpies.

Expertly-taken finishes at Cardiff and Stoke City kept the defender amongst the goals in 13/14, despite a slight change in attacking emphasis under new management and long-running speculation over potential new recruits in his position. But Evra’s diligent reaction merely served to underline his unwavering professionalism and dedication to the cause.

“He's got great determination, desire and fighting spirit,” admits Neville. “He went from being an overly attack-minded full-back to somebody who was really aggressive in the air, was a good tackler and over so many years has been a great performer for United. We have seen him scoring goals, giving everything and the way he leads on the pitch and tries to get everybody going. There’s no question that he has been great for Manchester United.”

Credit: Manutd.com