Miguel Veloso’s dream year just gets better and better

Man United front runners to land precocious Sporting talent

Miguel Veloso is very much the man of the moment of Portuguese football.

The 21-year-old capped a memorable year with a typically assured display on his senior international debut on Saturday, not putting a foot wrong in his defensive duties and peppering his play with a series of wonderful raking passes, seemingly GPS-guided to their intended target such was their accuracy.

The quality of the 21-year-old’s performances since he broke into the Sporting first team little over a year ago makes it a question of when, rather than if, Veloso becomes the latest star from Alvalade to be snapped up by one of Europe’s elite clubs.

Veloso spent most of his football education as a central defender, but his assurance on the ball, reading of the game and pinpoint passing are assets that are more fully harnessed in midfield.

Like all great players Veloso seems always to have time on the ball to arrange the best solution, even in tight situations. His uncanny ability to win himself a yard of space and deliver the perfect pass, be it 4 yards or 40 yards, lends him the priceless ability to turn defence into attack in an instant.

Football family

For a player who one year ago was known only for having a famous footballing father, Antonio Veloso, the Benfica and Portugal stalwart defender, Veloso junior wasted little time in showing that he was a special talent.

Sporting coach Paulo Bento was so convinced of the defensive midfielder’s attributes that he had no hesitation in selecting the then 20-year-old for Sporting’s opening 2006/07 Champions League match against the mighty Inter Milan.

The youngster repaid the faith shown in him by turning in a man-of-the-match display to completely shut out Figo and company and help Sporting to a memorable 1-0 win over the Italians.

Despite the exceptional performance, Paulo Bento resisted the temptation to make Veloso a regular immediately. He spent most of the following three months on the bench, but from February onwards he would definitively earn his place in the side. It was no coincidence that during that time the Lions embarked on a run of 13 wins and 4 draws in 17 matches to lift the Portuguese Cup and miss out on the domestic double by just one point.

€30m buy-out clause

Sporting reacted by slapping a 30 million euro buy-out clause on the player when tying him to an extended contract. However, a similar deal was agreed by Nani, yet the lure of the world’s most high-profile league and a reported 10-fold increase in the winger’s wages were arguments that Sporting simply could not compete with.

Veloso has confessed he is a huge fan of Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid, but given Manchester United’s excellent relations with the Lisbon club and the fact that two international colleagues already play for the English Colossus, including close friend Nani, Alex Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz would appear to be in poll position to sign Veloso.

Indeed, Veloso himself did nothing to douse speculation of a move to United after the two clubs recently met in the Champions League. “Playing for Manchester United is the dream of any player. I’m proud to be linked to the club,” the player said on Portuguese radio immediately after the encounter.

The sight of Veloso effusively celebrating the goals of fellow starlet Nani was a common occurrence last season. It is a scene that is likely to be repeated umpteen times in the international arena over the coming decade, and it’s a good bet at Old Trafford also.

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