Antony explains why he loves showboating during matches
Manchester United winger Antony justifies pulling out his bag of tricks during games because he insists it shows opposing teams that he is ‘the boss’.
The Brazilian is known for his showboating and his €100m arrival from Ajax in the summer was even marked with a viral clip of him performing what has become a trademark spin move whilst wearing a United kit for the first time.
Antony, whose impact has been considerable with three goals in his first six Premier League appearances, decided to do a 720 spin on the ball when United faced Sheriff in the Europa League at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
But his next move was to send an attempted pass out of play, meaning it achieved nothing.
Erik ten Hag, who has now managed the 22-year-old at two different clubs, said after the game that he doesn’t have a problem with such trickery ‘as long as it’s functional’. But the Dutchman said he will ‘correct’ Antony if see him trying ticks in games for the sake of it.
Ten Hag has, however, denied Antony was subbed off at half-time as a punishment, explaining that it was ‘more or less planned’ for him to only have 45 minutes.
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Antony himself spoke earlier this year about why he likes doing tricks in games.
“There will always be people who think the tricks are really cool and people who disapprove of them,” he explained to Dutch publication De Telegraaf in February.
“I think my actions are functional, because I want to show the opponent that I’m the boss. And often it results in a goal or an assist. So I don’t really care what others think. Regardless of the praise or the criticism, I keep my focus.”
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