It’s the 14th of February, the day of love and also the date when one of the world’s most loved footballer’s was born. Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria celebrated his 27th birthday and received wishes from the fans and his team-mates. A special occasion to be born on and his team-mates took this opportunity to show some love for their enchanting no.7.
Marcos Rojo: “I first met Angel with Argentina’s national team. He was always a cool guy. We’ve got along well since the first time we met. He is young and so am I, so I’ve always had a good relationship with him. And here at United we are the only Argentinians, so we are almost always together. We’re always talking, or sharing a mate tea [a type of tea in Argentina] or whatever. He is a great person. He is very humble, but very serious when it’s time to work. He is a great father, too – I think he shows that he loves his family a lot. He is a great person and an excellent professional.”
Michael Carrick: “There are players who have got tricks and can drop the shoulder to go past players, but he is so direct in his play. It is almost like Giggsy used to be in many ways. When he picks that ball up he can carry it and change direction pretty quickly, so it is very tough to defend against – especially if he is doing through the middle of the park. You get wide players who do it, but you don’t see many players dribble through the middle of the pitch.”
Phil Jones: “He’s up there with the best; he’s a fantastic footballer. He’s a quiet lad and he goes about his business quietly around the dressing room. But he’s got everything – he’s got the skill, the speed, the awareness and he can score goals. The balls he delivers are wicked and hard to defend against. He’s exactly what we need.”
Daley Blind: “I remember playing against him in the Champions League. I recall the games against Real Madrid, as they were hard games for Ajax. Everybody at Real Madrid is a great player but I especially know Angel now, and I know how good he can be. I really enjoy playing with him and I am learning from him. It’s nice to work with him and see it from close quarters. He is always smiling! He’s getting English lessons now so it’s nice to get a word sometimes to laugh about. It’s nice to have him in the team.”
Ashley Young: “Angel was a fantastic signing. Real Madrid have other top players in their team, like Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, but he was the one who stood out for me in that team last season. When you add quality to a squad that already has quality it can only help us. We saw in the first couple of days in training just how good a player Angel is and what we can expect from him. He was definitely a great signing for us.”