Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee has revealed how he won back the club’s supporters after an extremely difficult moment that would have broken many others.
Zirkzee joined United last summer from Bologna. He had a fairytale start to life at the club, scoring the winning goal against Fulham on his debut. However, he was unable to build on this and his performances nosedived.
The Dutchman was unable to replicate the sensational displays that he put up at Bologna, which convinced United to fork out £36.5m to secure his services.
The lowest point of Zirkzee’s struggles came in December, when he was withdrawn in the 33rd minute of a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle. Zirkzee was enduring a tough game, prompting Ruben Amorim to take him off. A section of supporters booed him as he ran down the tunnel on the verge of tears.
A report covered by The Peoples Person revealed that Bruno Fernandes – sidelined due to suspension and watching from the directors’ box – went down to the dressing room to persuade Zirkzee to return to the bench.
There were doubts over whether Zirkzee could bounce back from the setback, but he did so in impressive fashion. Despite being linked with a move in January, the 24-year-old put his head down, worked tirelessly, and ultimately earned his way back into Amorim’s plans.
Zirkzee excelled in an attacking midfield role, showing marked improvement and capping off the season with a strong run of form. What threatened to become a fractured relationship with the fans has since blossomed into something special, with Zirkzee now on track to becoming a cult hero.
He sat down with club media and opened up on that moment and how he came back from it.
“My dad was there for me, my mum, my best friend who basically lived with me in Manchester, so I was surrounded by good people. I was surrounded by great team-mates, they made sure I felt all right and at the end of the day I’m here to play football, so there’s no reason for me to really fold in that situation.”
“I suppose it was a great response, I think. It gave me a confidence boost as well because, let’s not forget as well, the away game against Liverpool is where, in my head, I had kind of lost the fans a little bit [against Newcastle] and the fans were then chanting my name [at Anfield].”
“It just gave me a confidence boost that I am not really finished here, you know what I mean. Then Arsenal was just great because it was 10 men surviving against a good team and, in the end, winning it in a way like this.”
“It was another eruption, you know. It was a nice moment.”
Zirkzee explained that the support he received from fans at Anfield gave him a major confidence boost.
“Yeah, 100 per cent, confidence and more so it gave a reason to work even harder to do ever more to not let them down. The least you can do is repay them with hard work.”
He reflected on some of his other big moments in his maiden season at Old Trafford. In particular, he spoke about his goal against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
“The Real Sociedad home game was, for me, maybe the first time I saw Old Trafford really go crazy. Like, no matter the situation, because they scored first and I think that was the first time we turned the game around because of the fans. They just really took us there!”
“That was nice, that was really nice and everyone was fired up because of that. It is up there with one of my better performances but I think everyone in the team played really good in that game and, as I said, the fans really took us there. You start playing with confidence and great things happen. That was a special night.”
Zirkzee finished the season with seven goals and three assists in 49 appearances across all competitions.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
