It was the start of an important season and Manchester United were in dire need of making a comeback statement after a recent pause of their title winning spree no thanks to Manchester City and Chelsea.
The once dominant traditional contenders where now at full fledge war with Arab and Russian billions.
Something else troubled The Red Devils though;They were entering a season without legendary goalie Erdwin Van der Sarand there was a lot of uncertainty over the success of whoever was going to take the baton from the then 31-year old. The last time Manchester united faced a goalie crisis; it took years to land one capable of really standing in the big shoes of legend Peter Schmeichel. And that person was yes Van der Sar.
The first few matches of David de Geawere far from fun. The Spaniard was soon under fire for having a very poor foot work. Even as flashes of his brilliance were sometimes aired the uneasiness refused to go.
A few matches would come and as the personal demons got the better of the former Atletico man, Ferguson relegated him to the bench while putting second choice Anders Lindegaard in his stead. For that to have come from a man who singlehandedly eagle-eyed him for a long time meant a new low.
After sometime, the Spaniard got another chance to show he was the right man for the job and boy did he take it. From getting his footings right to performing outrageous reflexes akin to a cat, the Spaniard soon got a hold of “fans favourite” tag and hasn’t looked back ever since.
Forget about success not forthcoming De Gea is right up there with Schmeichel and Van der Sar as far as gloved legends go. He may even surpass them should the trophies pour in to his record. Anything is possible.