Adnan Januzaj was born on the 5th of February 1995 in Brussels and began his football career with FC Brussels but joined Anderlecht as a 10-year-old in 2005. He then joined Manchester United from there in 2011 at the age of 16, and everyone at the club's Carrington training base believed he had the talent to go all the way. He had a good relationship with youth coaches Paul McGuinness and Warren Joyce while he trained with the first-team squad under Sir Alex Ferguson before making the bench in the legendary Scot's final game in charge against West Brom in May 2013. It was that natural ability, first touch, powerful shot and skill which made him stand out, and after a successful pre-season under Moyes he was earning comparisons to the game’s elite. The former United youth coach Eric Harrison said in 2013, "Januzaj is outstanding and I think he is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo. He can beat people and with Wilfried Zaha, I think there is some outstanding quality there." Scoring twice on his full debut for Manchester United against Sunderland on the 5th of October 2013, people got overly excited, which often happens when it is a club of this stature, and everything is heightened and exaggerated. Manager David Moyes had been under pressure following two costly defeats and had turned in desperation to Januzaj and after seeing him subsequently put in a small number of sprightly showings, comparing the 18-year-old to Wayne Rooney, and said in his post match press conference, "As far as debuts go, I would be surprised if even the great players in United's past have shown such promise on day one. It wasn't just the two goals, his whole game was outstanding. We know we've got a really special talent, but we'll keep his feet on the ground. He's going to be a top, top player." Their former star Quinton Fortune claimed that Januzaj reminded him of Cristiano Ronaldo, and team mate Robin Van Persie said, "I can honestly say that of all the young players I've seen he is right up there in the top one or two. Gary Neville, when Januzaj broke into United’s first team, said "I’ve played at United and you're very conscious of adding too much pressure to young players. However, I genuinely think this guy could be one of the best in the world. I think he's that talented." Moyes admitted in the years that followed his sacking at Old Trafford. "He's a wonderful player, gifted with great balance and the ability to go past people with ease.When I see his poise on the ball he has characteristics of Johan Cruyff."
However, Januzaj had played a little over 100 minutes of professional football and was still making his way in the world, never mind making his way in the game. Michael Laudrup was a little more realistic. "I hope he's the kind of player who knows he will have to develop and move on and on and on, and not think that just because you’ve played 10 games in the Premier League then you’re already there at the top. At 18, 19, 20 years old you're still a boy. It’s important to keep your feet on the ground, but it depends on the people you have around you. It’s very important you’re at the right club with the right people - family and friends - to advise you." Adnan maybe should have heeded this warning as having taken on Ryan Giggs' famed number 11 shirt for the 2014/15 season, he would ultimately fail to replicate his early heroics, seemingly suffering from the departure of David Moyes. Moyes had managed Januzaj well, resting him when he needed to be rested but playing him often enough to fast-track his development. The 2014/15 season under Louis van Gaal saw the elegant left-footer fail to register a single-goal involvement at first-team level, having notably been restricted to just seven league starts and was shipped off on loan to Borussia Dortmund in 2015, but made just 12 appearances for the Bundesliga side. After linking up with Moyes again the year after, having joined Sunderland on a temporary basis - where he provided no goals and just 3 assists in the top-flight for the Black Cats - the once-promising gem was allowed to join Real Sociedad on a permanent deal in 2017, with Jose Mourinho sanctioning the player's £9m sale. Moyes had told him that despite his talent, he needed to improve his performances at Sunderland if he wanted to break into Manchester United's squad. That move to Spain ultimately brought some much-needed stability to his career as he went on to make 168 appearances for the La Liga side in all competitions, contributing 23 goals and 21 assists in that time. He also came back onto the radar of those in England when he scored against England for Belgium at the World Cup in 2018, then reunited with the Red Devils when taking on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side in the Europa League in 2021, with club legend Paul Scholes hailing him as 'brilliant' in the first-leg meeting. After departing the Basque side at the end of his five-year spell in San Sebastian, the 28-year-old was snapped up by Sevilla on a free transfer, only to then be sent on loan to Turkish outfit, Istanbul Basaksehir in February 2023.
At a time when he could have been entering his peak years as a leading figure for Manchester United he is now plying his trade outside of Europe's top five leagues. He has had a fine career, no doubt, but is a story of a footballer feted to the heavens based on not very much at all. In due course, it became clear that he did not deserve to have greatness foisted onto his slender shoulders. Instead he was merely good. Decent. Better than some, worse than others - an all too familiar story.
http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/06/footballs-nearly-men-javier-saviola.html
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