Manchester United’s win over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League last night had a quite special taste for a couple of players.
With Harry Maguire scoring the winner and Andre Onana saving a penalty in the last play of the match, that victory was seen as a bit of redemption for players who’d been under such big criticism.
After the match, Brazilian outlet TNT Sports managed to hold a couple of interviews, and the defender had a word with journalist Fred Caldeira.
That turned out to be a quite interesting conversation, with Maguire asked whether his bad moments at Manchester United made this specific situation feel better.
“Yeah, of course. I think you play football for moments like tonight, scoring the winner in a Champions League game at Old Trafford in front of these fans, and how they’ve supported me over recent weeks and the support that I’ve had throughout my career,” Maguire told TNT Sports.
“Listen, obviously there’s been a bit of negativity over the last year or so, but I’ve had amazing support throughout that as well. And the negative criticism is the one that speaks the loudest and the one that people click onto. But for sure, I’ve had a big following and a big load of support and I really thank people for that.”
“No, I’m really strong mentally. I’ve been through a lot in my career. I’ve been the captain of this club for three and a half years. Obviously, I’m not captain now, but I still have a big part to play in the dressing room and I want to make this club successful. I’m strong mentally. I have a great family, great friends around me. And like I said, it’s having that belief in yourself and having that belief that you can do it and you can play at the highest level. And I’ve always had that.
“I’ve proven that over my career and I’m 30 years old now. So I’ve been through a lot of 12, 13-year career, many games for this club, near 200, and many games for my country as well in big moments, big tournaments. So, listen, football’s a game of ups and downs, but I’m really pleased and proud the way I’ve handled it.”
Harry Maguire was a starter in Manchester United’s last three matches. Even with Raphael Varane’s return, the Englishman has been keeping the place left by Lisandro Martínez, who will remain sidelined for a while. That should mean he’ll hold that spot for the match against Manchester City at the weekend.
