Alejandro Garnacho pretty much exploded onto the scene as a Manchester United player back in 2022.
A goal on his debut against Real Sociedad in the Europa League made sure of that. Only nine days later, the Carrington graduate would repeat the trick, racing onto a Christian Eriksen through ball to open his Premier League account in the dying seconds of a dramatic 2-1 win at Fulham.
It’s fair to say, however, that Alejandro Garnacho’s Argentina career has not quite taken off at the same breakneck speed.
Manchester United’s top scorer has had his moments in the blue and white stripes – Garnacho was ‘electrifying’ during the odd early cameo appearance while he provided his first Albiceleste assist against Chile in June – but this month’s World Cup qualifiers will not rank particularly highly amongst the finest moments in the winger’s young career.
Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho struggles as Argentina boss explains why
Garnacho did not even get off the bench during Argentina’s 1-0 win over Peru on Tuesday.
Five days earlier, he struggled to influence proceedings during 26 minutes of action in a shock 2-1 defeat by Paraguay.
Though Lionel Scaloni, the manager who guided Argentina to World Cup and Copa America glory, feels that Garnacho’s ineffective outing in Asuncion can be explained by the context surrounding his introduction.
Paraguay were already 2-1 up at the time of his introduction, and were therefore happy to sit deep and deny Garnacho the space he needs to thrive. Furthermore, a pitch that was almost more weeds than grass did not make life any easier for the 20-year-old peroxide prince.
“I think that the moments of the matches, both for him and for [fellow youngster] Nico Paz, were not the same,” Scaloni explains during a press conference. “We know that.
“We saw the difficulty of the match the other day with Paraguay. There was no space, the pitch was dry and it did not favour [Garnacho’s] his game.”
While the local press were not exactly impressed – Garnacho received a rating of 5/10 by one Argentinian publication – Scaloni remains fully behind a player who is likely to have a long career ahead of him on the international stage with Angel di Maria having retired and Lionel Messi’s Albiceleste career in it’s autumn days.
“The message is that they are young, and we are going to put them in [the team],” Scaloni adds, insisting that further opportunities will come around for Garnacho, Paz and co.
“It is the only way to see them. Without friendly matches, [we need to] put them on the pitch whenever the team needs it.”
Rio Ferdinand defends Garnacho amid Man United criticis
Back at Man United, Garnacho has found himself coming in for criticism for the first time. That, in itself however, is testament to the growing expectations surrounding a player who has come on leaps and bounds in the last two years.
For Old Trafford legend Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, Garnacho’s impressive statistics at Man United speak for themselves.
“I’ve got a stat here,” Ferdinand says. “None of these players have more goals and assists this season than Garnacho; [Bukayo] Saka, [Ousmane] Dembele, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Rafael] Leao, Nico Williams, Michael Olise, Phil Foden…
“He is a trier. He gives you everything he’s got!
“He reminds me of Nani in that sense. Nani didn’t always pick the right decision. Nani didn’t always execute at the end of it, but one thing he never lacked was balls! [He would say]; ‘Give me it again!’.
“I will tell you one thing; the amount of players that had ability but made a mistake on the big stage and went into their shell or took the easy option, there’s loads of them. There are not many who [say]; ‘Give it to me again. I lost it three times but give it to me again’.”
“There are other of players who have more ability than [Garnacho]. But they will not have the character and the perseverance to elevate themselves.”
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