WE’RE TOO GOOD TO GO DOWN!
Manuel Lanzini is puzzled by West Ham’s slump, but insists they’ll turn it round
HAILED as the next big thing to emerge from Argentina, River Plate’s precocious 20-year-old playmaker Manuel Lanzini was offered to several Premier League clubs in the summer of 2013.
Tottenham showed strong interest before eventually settling on Christian Eriksen, while Manchester United ruled out a bid because their new manager David Moyes considered him too similar to Shinji Kagawa.
Moyes has long departed Old Trafford but Lanzini is there today representing West Ham in the Premier League, and again on Wednesday when the same teams meet in a League Cup quarter-final.
While there is plenty of pressure on West Ham and manager Slaven Bilic because of their lowly league position, Lanzini’s roots rule out any chance of being overawed in front of 76,000.
‘If you think Old Trafford has atmosphere, come to the River Plate stadium. It’s much better,’ he says proudly. ‘The fans there are crazy, particularly for the Superclasico against Boca. Two weeks before the game, you can’t go out on the streets. If you lose, you don’t go out again until the next one. But if you win, amazing. Poetic.’
Lanzini joined his boyhood heroes from Buenos Aires aged nine and made his first-team debut at 17. In May 2013, he scored the quickest goal in Superclasico history after 43 seconds. The game was later held up for 10 minutes while supporters threw flares and missiles.
‘I think I can play anywhere after that,’ he says, puffing out his cheeks. ‘These are the games fans never forget. Whenever a River Plate fan meets me in the street, they say, “Thanks for the goal against Boca”. I won a league title with River, but all they talk about is my header.’
At 23, Lanzini’s evident maturity is testament to having played on three continents. He eventually left River Plate for a lucrative contract with Al-Jazira in Abu Dhabi before joining West Ham, initially on loan before a £10.5million transfer last summer.
Last season could not have gone better as he formed a double act with Dimitri Payet in West Ham’s run into Europe.
But this season’s results have been a mystery. West Ham have won only three league games out of 12, all by 1-0 scorelines, and face United, Arsenal and Liverpool next.
‘It’s very difficult to say why,’ says Lanzini. ‘We have started badly, and that’s with no players leaving and more coming in. ‘We’ve had meetings to analyse things because we couldn’t understand what was going on. I think we will progress because we have quality and one of the best players in the Premier League, Dimitri. ‘To play with him is incredible because you know he is going to do something fantastic. He creates chances, he leaves space for you, he strikes the ball very well.
‘Manchester United have very good players. But Dimitri is one of the 23 contenders for the Ballon d’Or so he must be at that level, right?’
It’s no surprise to learn that growing up, Lanzini’s idol was Pablo Aimar, a gifted No 10 in the classic South American tradition who also inspired a young Lionel Messi.
‘I watched how he could change direction and make his team-mates play,’ says Lanzini.
Now Lanzini finds himself in a golden era for No 10s in the Premier League, even though he played a bit deeper and scored from the spot in last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at Spurs.
He likes the variety offered by all of them. ‘Philippe Coutinho is fast, Mesut Ozil has got more technique. Eden Hazard has it all!’ he says. Personally, I like Coutinho a lot, but I am Lanzini.’
He doesn’t regret his circuitous route to England. ‘Everyone knows that football over there [UAE] is not as competitive but at that moment I prioritised other things,’ he says. ‘You have to take a gamble in life sometimes and luckily, I wasn’t forgotten about. I was later able to continue my career with West Ham and it helped that I’d already experienced a different life and culture.’
Off the pitch, he’s found d London a less intense place to live for a top-flight foottballer than Argentina’s capital. ‘It’s a lot more relaxed here,’ he says. ‘You can go out to eat with your family [Lanzini has a young child] and nobody bothers you.
‘When my dad visits, he loves to go to Covent Garden den to hear all the live music.’ ’
Lanzini also keeps in regular touch with the posse of ex-River Plate players in England; Erik Lamela (Tottenham), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton) and Roberto Pereyra (Watford).
Even so, life won’t be satisfactory until West Ham’s form picks up. Lanzini missed much of pre-season with a knee injury and Andy Carroll, Aaron Cresswell and Andre Ayew have also been out injured. ‘I think we will finish higher than we are now,’ he says, dismissing West Ham Ham’s s move to a new stadium as an excuse. ‘We just need to work harder and focus h harder on what we need t to do. If we do that, we a are good enough.’ Defeat at Spurs last w weekend was tough. Bilic lo looked haunted after seein ing his side concede twice in t the final minute. So twot games at Old Trafford take on a new significance. With West Ham chasing their first trophy since 1980, the cup tie will be as competitive as the league clash. ‘I know our manager plays the guitar but he hasn’t played for us yet,’ says Lanzini. ‘Maybe when we win a trophy!’