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Last season was one to forget for Manchester United with injuries and the manager’s flawed tactics leading to the club’s worst-ever Premier League finish.
The defence let in three goals or more on 15 separate occasions with Erik ten Hag hardly ever having the luxury of picking his strongest back four due to the sheer number of injuries.
Lisandro Martinez’s injury troubles were a particularly big blow with the manager heavily reliant on his ball-playing skills and his aggression at the back.
Without the Argentine, the team did not look as comfortable playing out from the back while they stuck to a low defensive line, leaving plenty of gaps in midfield for the opposition to exploit.
Injury hell
The World Cup winner suffered his first big injury in his debut campaign in red, a broken metatarsal against Sevilla back in April of last year.
It seemed like the centre-back had completed a full recovery ahead last season only for the problem to resurface again, forcing the defender to undergo an operation that kept him out for over almost four months.
Niggling injuries did not leave him alone, as the former Ajax star suffered from an MCL injury and a calf injury as the player missed over 40 games last season, partly caused due to a faulty rehabilitation process.
Speaking to La Nacion during the international break, the Argentine international revealed he has emerged as a better person and player following last year’s injury hell.
“On the subject of injuries… Look how I’m going to tell you: I’m very grateful for what happened to me. It’s hard to repeatedly go through injuries, because injuries destroy your head, they fill you with fear, with mistrust.
“Emotionally everything is negative after the injuries: you become insecure, you stop believing in yourself, you don’t even walk well, you don’t know what’s going to happen to you. But there’s the internal work to know how to cope and always take the positives.
Licha a better person post-injury
“I’m one of those who think that things happen for a reason, always. The injuries have improved me a lot, they made me a better person and a better player, a better professional. Precisely, after everything I went through, today I feel very calm, very emotionally balanced. I felt that it was a goal that I had to accomplish at some point.”
It has not been a smooth start to the new campaign for the club, neither for Martinez but he remains a fan favourite at the club for the passion he exudes every time he steps out onto the pitch.
The 26-year-old revealed that English fans in general are impressed with the will to win on display from Argentine stars, which makes them a huge attraction at their respective clubs.
“Do you know what happens? We Argentines are very grateful, when someone gives us a hand, opens their home to us, bets on us and trusts us, we return it and kill for the one who believ. I’ll explain it to you like this: clubs buy us and then, automatically, an internal instinct awakens in us that tells us that we have to give our lives for that club.
“We Argentines are very competitive, so we want to take that club to the top. And that way of being causes you to motivate your teammates, for them to catch on, for the mentality to be positive and winning and people immediately pick up on it. I think that’s why we’re so loved.
“The fans want their players to give their lives for their club, and the Argentines do just that. We immediately blend in with the club, and the fans notice it quickly. And something else: that connection happens because it’s spontaneous, it’s not forced, it’s from the heart, it’s noble. There are no poses.”
Martinez also revealed he came to Old Trafford to win and that while he is already happy with the two trophies in as many seasons, more needs to be done to reclaim the club’s lost glory days.
On United’s winning culture
“When I set foot in United’s training centre in Carrington, I felt something special. “We’re going to win here,” that’s what I felt. Like electricity, a strong energy of glory… something that motivated me a lot. “This is a place to win,” I told myself.
“Well, we’ve already won two very important titles [the League Cup, known as the Carabao Cup, and the FA Cup] in two seasons, but we have to keep growing to reach our goal, which is to become what Manchester has always been, one of the very great teams, one of the best in the world.”
Fans will hope to see this come to pass soon with Lisandro leading from the front. For now, the Argentine must return unscathed from international duty and improve his game in the games to come.
He has not looked like the same force as when he had first arrived and his manager will be relying on him to turn the tide for him in Manchester.
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