Fernando is a player that many City fans were excited to see in action ahead of his proposed move from Portugal one year ago. He had received praise south of the continent for his commitment levels and physical presence; and many fans were keen to see the Portugese bring that to Manchester alongside the reliable Yaya Toure.
However, it has been a season to forget for him. Ever since that £12 million move from Porto, the midfielder has struggled to live up to his billing as a defensive rock and has fallen short of what was expected of him at the Etihad. He has frequently become vulnerable at the back at times, forcing Toure to give up his preferred attacking role and support the new recruit. And we all know that a Fernando-Fernandinho partnership does not work. (Think Arsenal at home last season).
Fernando now finds himself very much dividing opinion, with some fans calling for his head after one season in the job and others asking for him to get one more year under his belt to show off his true qualities that are evidently there from his time in Portugal.
Nobody really knew what it was that made Fernando struggle to adjust to life in the Premier League straight away- perhaps it was the intensity of the league itself, or maybe he simply struggled to settle in.
Thankfully, after latterly speaking to the press, our midfielder has finally revealed the reason behind his lacklustre performances last season…
“It was a very difficult year but I’m very optimistic about the start of the new season and I want to get going as quickly as possible,” Fernando told MEN.
“For me the thing about last season was that I played a lot of the games with pain. That limited my capabilities. Now I feel 100 per cent fit and I’m just looking forward to getting going again.”
“The problem I had last year was the groin. Every time I ran it was painful.”
With the news that both Fernandinho and new signing Fabian Delph are set to miss the start of the new campaign, Fernando must be feeling confident about his chances of breaking into the first team fold come the opener at the Hawthorns in a few weeks time.
“When you get into a big team with such an opportunity you want to give your best,” he said, “That’s what I tried to do last season. Obviously it didn’t go very well for me because of the pain but I’m looking forward to giving my best again now.”
Here’s to hoping. Let us know your opinion on Fernando- can he deliver next season? (@TheMaineBlues).
