Senne Lammens was visibly devastated at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium after his late blunder against Spain cost Belgium a place in the World Cup semi-finals. However, the 24-year-old goalkeeper couldn’t be at a better club than Manchester United to help him overcome such heartbreak.
Belgium were drawing 1-1 with Spain when Senne Lammens replaced an injured Thibaut Courtois, one of the world’s top goalkeepers, with 20 minutes left to play.
More than deserving of his place in the Belgium squad after an impressive debut season at Manchester United, Lammens’ error proved costly for the Belgium national team in the end.
Sadly, Lammens’s struggle to hold on to Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort will be the lasting image of his debut World Cup campaign because it was the only appearance the United goalkeeper made since the tournament kicked off.
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The Theatre of Redemption
Lammens received mostly complimentary coverage in his first season at United, which is a stark contrast from when David de Gea arrived at Old Trafford as a young goalkeeper.
De Gea made several howlers in his first six months at United, but Sir Alex Ferguson rallied behind the Spaniard as much as he could, even if he had to take him out of the spotlight and rotate between Anders Lindegaard for a short period.
It could be argued that most other clubs would leave a young goalkeeper to drown in the media fallout. They would sit and watch as the flames intensified, but United is a different football club.
There are many examples for Lammens to look at.
In 1998, David Beckham was sent off in the World Cup against Argentina after kicking out at Diego Simeone, whose theatrics led to the red card being issued.
Beckham returned to an England that hung burning effigies of him outside pubs, but Ferguson rallied behind his young midfielder, who went on to play a significant role in the Treble triumph a year later.
At the next World Cup, in 2002, the Saipan incident split the Republic of Ireland into two, almost leading to civil unrest. Roy Keane was sent home after a falling out with Mick McCarthy, but he knew throughout that entire episode that Ferguson and everyone at United had his back.
One of the biggest talking points from the 2006 World Cup was Cristiano Ronaldo’s infamous wink when the Portuguese forward practically begged the referee to send Wayne Rooney off.
Although Ferguson addressed the situation between the two players, the English media grilled Rooney.
What all of these players have in common is that they bounced back from their World Cup disappointments and had the support required to make that a reality at United.
Hopefully, Lammens is the next example we can add to this list because his performances last term were far better than most people expected when United signed an inexperienced goalkeeper from Royal Antwerp.
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- Senne Lammens’ mistake against Spain costs Belgium a place in the World Cup semi-finals
- Manchester United always rally behind players after disappointing World Cup campaigns
- David Beckham, Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney are prime examples of that
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Michael Carrick must take inspiration from Sir Alex Ferguson’s siege mentality
Whenever a United player slipped up on the international stage, the English press swarmed like hungry vultures.
Except Ferguson was always a step ahead. The Scot mastered the art of turning public vilification into internal fuel to a point where it often felt like the players were willing to go above and beyond for the club.
Carrick can work on restoring Ferguson’s siege mentality by reminding Lammens that he has a bright future ahead of him at Old Trafford.
Mistakes are inevitable in football, especially for young goalkeepers.
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