It’s a question that’s been asked amongst fans for numerous weeks now; a quick scroll through the fan forums and you’ll find pages upon pages of heated debates dedicated to it – Antonio Valencia or Rafael da Silva?
It wasn’t long ago that the South American colleagues were playing with one another, with Valencia playing right-wing and Rafael dovetailing him at right-back. In the Sir Alex days, the two combined to good effect and United had a successful record with both starting in the team, Rafael can be quoted in 2012 as saying that the two had ‘a very good understanding on the pitch’. However, with Rafael’s incessant injuries and Valencia’s willing adaptability, the Brazilian has found his relatively unchallenged right-back spot under threat from an unlikely source. With the Ecuadorian’s struggles on the wing, seemingly fighting with a crisis of confidence, Valencia’s recent performances further back appear to have not only given him a chance in the team and a release from creative pressures, this stint may just have saved his career at Old Trafford.
Statistically, the two rivals make for an interesting comparison, with each player excelling in the area in which the other should be better. Bar interceptions and fouls committed (per 90 minutes), both of which Rafael was better at, Valencia was more proficient at tackles and aerial duels won and he also was marginally less prone to defensive errors, although watchers of the recent FA Cup clash with Arsenal can vouch for just how costly one of his few errors were. On the attacking front, considering Valencia has played 11 of his 26 league matches as a right winger, he only marginally beats Rafael going forward. Rafael beats Valencia in amount of shots taken only; Valencia beats Rafael for chances created only by 0.02% and his success ratio for take ons prevails over his counterparts by 7%.
However, the futile battle that Rafael finds himself in to avoid following his brother Fabio out of the door at United is largely down to his current boss’ favourite word: Philosophy, and how much his differs from that of Sir Alex Ferguson’s, a manager who had a lot of time for Rafael. Under his guidance, Fergie’s sides were very adventurous and not as centred on possession based play as van Gaal is; Rafael’s committed and high risk style of play is a risk the current coach is not willing to take. This explains why the more conservative approach to the game that Antonio Valencia has takes his fancy, he has a better pass accuracy, suggesting that although Rafael may lose the ball more frequently, the passes he did complete were far more threatening to the opposition than Valencia’s, supported by the fact that he plays more backwards passes on average per game than Rafael, highlighting why Ferguson preferred Rafael, especially when chasing a game or trying to bombard opponents. Valencia did feature at right back once or twice under previous bosses, but only in times of severe injury crises did this occur; he may well have been a backup player under Ferguson had he stayed longer or out of the door, as rumours of a move to Juventus did persist with him for a while, with the player doing nothing to dispel them.
Although Valencia appears to be the more defensively responsible of the two and also has an ideal physique to excel in the position, as much as it pains to me to do so, looking back again to United’s last encounter with Arsenal, in addition to the slack back pass that led to Welbeck’s winner, the winger turned full back was far from his position for the opener, allowing Monreal to arrive in the box and slot home unchallenged. This is not the only time this has happened this season with Antonio, with Rafael’s ever increasing maturity he’s rarely caught out of position, his temperament? Still a work in progress. Whether he’ll continue to work on it at Manchester United is doubtful currently but he’s got 6 games to prove himself to a manager who has praised his ‘fantastic mentality’ and dubbed him ‘unbelievable’ once upon a time, that is if he can get on the pitch. Looking a cut above the rest in the under 21s as he been will not be enough to get him back in the side, but van Gaal will be reluctant to fix something that, in his opinion, isn’t broken, especially with the fantastic run of results the team are on at the moment.
So… Antonio Valencia or Rafael da Silva? Simply put, it depends on what you want, whether it be the safety first, trustworthy style of Valencia or the attacking and passionate throwback to united play of old in Rafael. One thing for sure is that the club look set to invest in the right back spot in the summer, with links to soon-to-be out of contract Dani Alves and rumoured contract rebel Nathaniel Clyne refusing to go away, so one of, if not both of the former dynamic duo could be set for a tough fight for their futures come the end of the season.
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