Anderson : First Impressions

I crawled out of bed earlier than usual to catch Brazil's latest international play and was really irritated that

a) I woke up too early and the game was scheduled to start 4 hours later. For those of you wondering, yes I bloody woke up at 5am.

b) Anderson didn't start the game.

I was wondering if I would have been wasting my time since Anderson might not get a chance to play at all. Thankfully Brazil played like a bunch of drunks and Mexico raced to a 2-0 lead by half time. Dunga was left without much choice but to throw the kitchen sink at Mexico in the second half.

Before I go into my impressions proper, let's recap what I've said about Anderson previously. He's skilful and pacy, and looks clinical but unfortunately rather much like pint-sized player.

Positives
Skilful - There were times he was dancing around the Mexican defenders and midfielders.
Pace - He's definitely pacy. No doubts here.
Size - Wow, I was really fooled here. Those grainy videos on YouTube made him look like a child. After watching him in action, he actually looks pretty well-built, with a pretty solid looking upper body. He's certainly no pushover in a strength contest. Reminds me alot of Rooney with alot more guile.
Vision - Too bad he was surrounded by clowns today. Some of his passing was pretty world class. Able to pick out players in tight situations, but to be fair, Mexico gave them alot of space.
Crossing - This is what impressed me most. He could cross with both legs, and do it accurately. More importantly, he could do on the fly, meaning that he doesn't need to stop the ball to cross. Did I mention he could cross with both legs?

Negative
Maturity - Dribbled into the opponents one too many times for my liking. Going to take a while playing with the team before he understands the way we play. It took us at least 2 years to see Ronaldo become the player he is today, I'm sure we can afford that kind of time for a talent like Anderson.
Lazy - If the ball is within a 5 metre radius, he'd run and chase for it. Any further and you'd see him walking. Doesn't seem to move into space without the ball. He's way too pedestrian for my liking. To be fair to him, the entire Brazilian team played like they have 50 pound weights on them. No one was really making space.
Finishing - I was right, YouTube makes everyone look like clinical finishers. Anderson didn't look clinical today. He had a couple of really good chances but couldn't put them away.

In conclusion, this is the first game I've caught him in action. And I'm too entirely impressed with what I've seen. That being said, he has the intangible skills and althletism to move on to the next level. All he needs is to delevelop his understanding of the game further. Definitely a diamond in the rough. Thankfully we have one of the best in the business in Ferguson to polish this diamond.

There are still another couple of chances I'll (hopefully) catch Brazil in this Copa America, and probably another few more should Brazil make it to the quarters. Anderson should have done enough to win a starting place in the next game. He was possibly one of the better players for Brazil, even if he didn't play particularly well.

Side Note
I can't wait for Alex to join Chelsea. He plays exactly like Rio. In fact the entire Brazilian defence plays like Rio, probably why Brazil lost 2-0. I'm curious to see how well he plays with Terry in the centre.

Considering that Rio looks the part of a world class defender playing beside Vidic for United and with Terry for England. I seriously would like to know if Terry is good enough to make Alex look world class as well.