The Duality of Bruno Fernandes - How one man's obsession drove him to become one of the best in the world.

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"I think that if you have a dream, you need to be a little bit obsessed. You need to be creative, too." Bruno Fernandes was quoted saying to The Players’ Tribune, after mentioning how his teachers' naysaying drove him to work harder to achieve his football career.

Herein lies the Duality of Bruno Fernandes. At Manchester United, he's the orchestrator of their attack, and the stats don't lie. He has 15 G+A (via @Transfermarkt) so far this season. However, beyond these numbers, beneath the surface, resides the other side of this dualism.

Bruno Fernandes started his youth career playing in defence for Boavista, until a loan move to Pasteleira. The Pasteleira youth team lacked a number 10, and in his assessment, coach Antonio Peres felt Bruno’s bravery and ability warranted giving him a chance. Everything changed.

Bruno went from a centre-back to an attacking midfielder, but the qualities of his past role remained, and in some ways, enhanced his abilities in his new role. And to this day, this is what drives Bruno Fernandes towards reaching the pinnacle.

In an age where the quintessential number 10 has died a slow death, where former masters of this role have adapted to deeper positions or perished, Bruno Fernandes asks the question, “What if I can defend as well?”

Among midfielders, Bruno ranks 6th in tackles won in all of Europe with 31, and a total of 74 attempted tackles puts him at 3rd highest attempts, which aligns with his bravery mentioned before.

Out of all central midfielders (including defensive) in Europe this season, Bruno ranks 7th highest with an incredible 65 interceptions, highlighting his awareness and game sense.

Compared to other midfielders, with a total of 90 free ball pick ups (loose balls), Bruno ranks 8th in Europe, which showcases his ability to position himself to recover those second and third balls to start United’s attack.

Bruno ranks 9th for total challenges won by a midfielder with 114, and even though his success rate is 43%, he actually has the highest number of challenges attempted, which further strengthens the narrative regarding his bravery.

Bruno has had many adjectives attached to his name, from wasteful to ambitious to outrageous, but it is his obsession to being perfect, his bravery in taking the enemy on, and his creativity that drives himself, and his team forward.

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Images via @iF2is
The Players' Tribune article - https://tinyurl.com/TPTBruno 
Data via @InStatFootball