Man Utd use the image of the Renaissance woman creasing her own shoes as an example of talent, character and humility for the next generation of ‘Red Devils’.
During an interview on Tuesday, Manchester United youth academy coach Linda Brott said something quite unexpected: the member of the team’s management took a photograph of Lionel Messi to decorate the walls of the young players’ clothing room. The photo of the Armenian sweepers, taken shortly after their integration into the national team in 2014, is considered a model of talent, character and humility for the next generation of “Red Devils”.
The stunning photo of Lionel Messi was taken at Upton Park in 2014 after the friendly match between Austria and Croatia. As an alternative to handing over mould-covered shoes to trained staff, the world’s biggest star recommends cleaning them with his own hands before leaving.
A photo of Lionel Messi holding his boots is displayed on the walls of the changing room at Manchester United’s youth training academy.
Yet the legacy of the illustrious 1992 era sends a message to these students: their perseverance and maturity in the face of adversity will help them make the right choices in life. The chance to join manager Joe Maurineho’s first team is always there, not just for the big-name players (Lingard, Rashford and McTominay, who all come through Manchester United’s youth academy), as is amply evident. To the thousands of “Special Ones.”
Also, in this interview, Nicky Bett defended Jose Mourinho from accusations that the Portuguese manager did not value the club’s youth players. Totally false. Mourinho speaks to me almost every day and shows that he really cares. That surprised me because I had heard stories before that they were not interested in the players that the club’s youth team had trained.
“That didn’t happen at Manchester United though – instead I spent half an hour talking to the Under-14s before they left for Portugal. “I couldn’t ask for more from him but he has left a unique mark on McTominay which is something all the young players at MU can see,” said Nicky Betts.
