Manchester United midfielder Fred was left awestruck as he watched old videos to study the game of Red Devils legend Paul Scholes.
Fred got off to a slow start at Old Trafford but has improved a great deal in the second half of this season, and he admits he was hugely impressed with the way Scholes got forward from midfield to score so many goals throughout his career.
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Fred is not much of a goal-scorer himself, having only found the back of the net three times in his two seasons at United so far.
Still, he managed to hit a brace in a Europa League win over Club Brugge after watching videos of Scholes breaking into the box to score.
“Before the game against Brugge, in which I scored two goals, I hadn’t scored a goal this season. We were at the hotel there for lunch, just before the game,” Fred told Esporte Interativo, as translated by the Metro.
“And the TV here likes to show old games. And they were showing only Scholes’ goals. And I was like, ‘Man, this guy gets in the box so much. He’s a midfielder and is always in the box, he always scores with his head, all the time’.
“Back then, I saw him playing but I didn’t follow so much, in Brazil I wasn’t able to watch all United games. And then, seeing his goals, he would enter the box, shoot from outside the box, right foot, left foot. And I said, ‘Man, this guy’.
“And then Bruno said, ‘See? You have to do that. Enter the box and you’ll score’. Then I went and scored two goals in that game. That’s why Bruno celebrated a lot, he was on the bench. I watched his videos and said, ‘Man, what a great player’.”
Man Utd fans will certainly be encouraged that the Brazil international is so keen on improving this side of the game, and that he’s been studying one of the all time greats in a bid to do so.