Since arriving from Atletico Bilbao after a botched late move involving imposters pretending to arrive in Bilbao on the orders of Manchester United which brought us the summation of a dark and baffling time in the transfer activity of the club, Ander Herrera has yet to establish himself as a first-team regular at Old Trafford.
While he has had ups and downs, spells out and runs in the side, he has never held a place in the team for a long period of time but is still highly regarded by the fans for his attitude.
And rightly so. His performance in the Manchester derby was exactly what the team needed when he was introduced at half-time, as he showed a fighting spirit and refusal to accept what was happening. More than anything else, you really get the feeling that Ander Herrera cares about Manchester United, and the fans love that.
Speaking to the media before United take on Feyenoord in the Europa League, Herrera reiterated his refusal to give up, and it was exactly the type of thing that has endeared him to the club's supporters.
Herrera: "I can make mistakes because I am human but what I am not going to do is give up. Never." #MUFC #MUTVHD https://t.co/O6Pt8Yz71E
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 14, 2016
The reponses to that video tell their own story:
@ManUtd captain him
— ry (@RyanHairsine) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd love this guy ❤️
— Shibani (@shibani_mufc) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd Spanish Paul Scholes.
— _fortydose (@keexperez1) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd What a guy. Please let him play alongside Pogba and a 3rd midfielder in 4-3-3. Second half against City was good with that formation
— Kristian (@smudbass) September 14, 2016
And of course he has previous with excellent interviews, the best of which came early in his career as he faced his first FA Cup trip to a small English club, a challenge that he absolute relished:
I almost cried watching Messi against Man City. He's so good! But hey, I get excited easily and not only with the major teams. I'm a classic man and I was delighted when we played vs Yeovil Town in front of 8,000 standing people yelling at me: "Who are you?"
Not your typical ego-centric footballer, is Ander Herrera, instead he is a man who puts the team first, never moans, and refuses to accept surrender. He understands what it means to play for a club the size of Man Utd, and the fans love him for it.
Mourinho, too, appears to be coming around, as he described Herrera's performance in the Manchester derby as amazing, and considering how well the Spaniard has performed when played under Jose, he will likely feature a lot more in the coming weeks.
