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The current Manchester United side are a far cry from the broken team that finished a lowly sixth in the Premier League last season while breaking numerous unwanted records along the way.
Erik ten Hag deserves credit for transforming the fortunes of the team in such a short span of time with the club set to contest its first domestic cup final in six years on Sunday.
Ahead of the Carabao Cup summit clash against Newcastle United, it is important to note the stellar role played this season by Raphael Varane.
Varane enjoying taking United back to the top
New signing Lisandro Martinez has quickly become a fan-favourite but Varane’s cool, composed style of defending has elevated the duo’s status as Ten Hag’s go-to defensive partnership for the big games.
“I think if you look, we are very different, but together there is a complementarity,” the French defender was quoted as saying by The Times.
And despite winning one World Cup, four Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles with Real Madrid, Varane seems to be enjoying being in the Carabao Cup final with United.
🗣️ – Raphael Varane on Lisandro Martinez: “I think if you look, we are very different, but together there is a complementarity.” pic.twitter.com/MbGqewkjBc
— UtdXclusive (@UtdXclusive) February 26, 2023
“A final is always a special game and at a big club like Manchester United it is even more important, so the motivation is the same. If it’s a final, I want to win it, that’s the thing.”
And Varane admits he is enjoying the journey of taking United back to the top more than the years at Madrid where they were mostly at the top.
“With Madrid, my best memories were when we were climbing and on the journey rather than the arrival,” Varane was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“Honestly, it’s better when you’re going up. When you are on the top the only thing that can change is to disappoint. You can’t do anything better because you’re already there.
Varane thrives under pressure
“When you can grow with the club and the team, that’s a great feeling. It’s about the winning mentality and when you start to win you just want to win and nothing else.”
And Varane has the chance of becoming a part of history as he and Erik ten Hag try to take back United to the top of the English footballing pyramid.
But that will require a lot of sacrifice and the need to emerge triumphant on the big occasions starting on Sunday.
“There is always pressure; of course I feel it when it’s a big game,” Varane said. “When it’s special, like a final, you feel different from the moment you wake up in the morning.
“But pressure is something that is very important in my game. If I play without pressure I don’t play very well. I need that tension to be at 100 per cent in my performance.”
A decade on from the time when Varane could have been a United star, the World Cup winner is finally close to achieving his dreams of winning trophies as a Red Devil.
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