Manchester United’s former scout and academy manager Les Kershaw says that Rafael and Fabio’s talent were obvious when the Red Devils snapped the duo up from Brazil giants Fluminense.
Kershaw has monitored Rafael and Fabio’s progress at close quarters ever since he first spotted them as 15-year-olds playing for Fluminense’s youth side in the Manchester United Premier Cup.
“The Premier Cup is now played at Carrington but in those days it was on the road and in 2005 it was played in Hong Kong,” recalled Kershaw.
“As United’s Academy manager at the time I went over with our young players to take part. While I was there I was asked by the tournament sponsors Nike to be part of a scouting team who watched other matches and assessed the best players so they could name a Most Valuable Player of the Tournament award at the end.
“I went to see Fluminense play and Rafael and Fabio stuck out a mile.
“I can’t take credit for picking them out because you didn’t have to be a super scout to realise they were something special.
“It was there for all to see. They were very, very talented.
“I told our manager Sir Alex Ferguson about them. United were on tour and the final of the Premier Cup was a prelude to our seniors playing a Hong Kong select XI in the National Stadium.
“As Fluminense were in the final the manager was able to see them first-hand. I’d told him they were unbelievable and he realised they were different class.
“He instructed our scout in Brazil to keep an eye on them and he never let them out of his sight!”
Source: Manchester Evening News
