Owen Hargreaves has delivered some interesting insight about Lisandro Martínez after interviewing the Manchester United defender.
Manchester United have continued their strong resurgence under interim boss Michael Carrick, who is set to remain in charge until the season’s conclusion.
The Reds followed up four straight victories over Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur by earning a deserved point on the road against West Ham on last week.
Although their display lacked its usual fluency, United showed determination and resilience, grabbing a late equaliser to salvage a draw.
With a brief pause before their upcoming fixture against Everton, Carrick will be targeting a return to winning form as his side push for a Champions League place next season.
Hargreaves gives interesting insight to Martínez after interview
One of the standout players for United in recent weeks has been Lisandro Martínez, who shined in victories against Manchester City and Arsenal.
The Argentine defender has worked perfectly alongside Harry Maguire at the back and his ability on the ball has been crucial to the style of football Carrick wants to play.
Owen Hargreaves has spoken to Martínez personally during an interview earlier this year and the ex-midfielder has reflected on what he learned from that interaction.
“He was a class act,” Hargreaves told club media of Martínez. :He’s had a difficult time with injury but he’s a proper character, a proper personality.
“The Argentinian boys have real heart and he spoke about that, actually: what it meant to play for Manchester United, the history of Argentinian players at this club and he wants to bring United back up to what it was.
“He said he remembers watching me in the Champions League final [against Chelsea] in 2008 and he wants to bring the club back to its former glory. He’s a proper personality and United will need him.”
Focus on what Martínez can do
It is easy to look at the things players can’t do and make judgements on them. Martínez is not the best at defending wide areas and can get caught out in moments.
But if you focus on what players can do, and have systems which maximise their strengths, then you can get the best out of them and Martínez is one of the best defenders around with the ball at his feet.
He solves so many build-up problems for the Reds and is not shy about firing passes to the likes of Bruno Fernandes or Matheus Cunha between the lines.
From Hargreaves’ words, it is also clear that Martínez is the right character you need away from the pitch and he is desperate to help put United back on top, and that’s the exact attitude every player needs.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.