Experience with Manchester United icon helps in work as director of Paraná Clube

Possebon played just eight games for the Red Devils in the 2008/2009 season and was in the squad that won the Premier League. Even with few opportunities, the current manager learned several lessons, mainly from Alex Ferguson, which he explored in his work at Tricolor.

“Having experienced the club with Sir Alex Ferguson was without a doubt the greatest learning experience I’ve had, especially for the role I play today as executive director. He’s a guy of a very high level, with very high management skills. Any adjective he says won’t be up to what he is. It was a wonderful experience to have arrived young with a squad full of players from the top shelf in world football”highlighted Possebonin an interview with OneTwo Sports.

Right at the beginning of his time at Manchester United, the former midfielder suffered a leg injury during the game against Middlesbrough, in the English League Cup. Despite the news released in Brazil about the fracture, he denied the situation and said he had little chance due to the high level of his competitors.

“The injury I had there didn’t take long to recover. I was away for a month and then came back. What happened is that there weren’t as many communication channels and the internet wasn’t as widespread as it is today. When I had the injury, there was a journalist who ran the headline saying that I had broken my leg”, said the Paraná Clube director.

“I never broke my leg, had an injury and went back to training in 30 days. The opportunities didn’t come, not because of the injury, but because the players were very good. It was a fantastic experience, I was able to win the Premier League”Possebon added.

READ ALSO:

Paraná Clube manager played with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United

At Manchester United, Rodrigo Possebon played with big names in world football, including Cristiano Ronaldo, who this week became the first player to score a goal in six World Cups and is looking for the biggest title of his career with the Portuguese national team.

The two were champions of the English Championship, but were on the field at the same time on only one occasion (3-1 victory over Middlesbrough, in the English League Cup). In the 4-1 rout of Derby County, the former Brazilian midfielder replaced the Portuguese.

Even with little time together on the field, Possebon listed his former teammate’s main qualities and also highlighted that Cristiano Ronaldo was very receptive to the Brazilians. The squad that season also included twin full-backs Rafael and Fábio, and midfielder Anderson, who played for Coritiba years later.

“It was a fantastic experience, an amazing guy. He helped me a lot upon arrival and was a guy very close to me and the other Brazilians – Rafael, Fábio and Anderson. He was a very positive guy and taught us a lot there”said the leader of Paraná Clube.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is someone else that no adjective can’t express everything he is, one of the biggest names in the history of world football. When I arrived, the year I was, he won the best in the world award for the first time. He was a physically phenomenal guy and technically the same thing. What draws attention to him is the competitive issue, the mentality and the way he approaches everyday life, as well as how he prepares and the level of concentration”, highlighted Possebon.