Barry the Pro - Darren Fletcher is the Scottish Zidane

Published: 11 Mar 2010 - 07:27:07

Click To Enlarge

Wayne Rooney is hysterically good at the moment. The boy is banging them in all over the place and ravaging defences like Pele in a Primary School playground.

In my book there's nobody near him right now. Lionel Messi is an enigma, and Cristiano Ronaldo is simply not playing in a good enough side to reach the heights he did at Old Trafford.

It's gone beyond hype. Rooney is legitimately the best player in the world.

Rooney's meteoric rise has been made possible by the best supporting cast in the business - a team of worker bees so dedicated they'll stop at nothing to let their greedy queen lap up the honey.

Ji-Sung Park, Antonio Valencia and Darren Fletcher might not find themselves on Real Madrid's wanted list in the summer, but how the Galaticos could have used their irrespressible drive last night.

Park is a manager's dream. He chases everything, always makes the right decision and is unselfish to a fault. There's something of the 1950s about his attitude, and you can't help but revel in his childlike surprise when he gets to play hero every now and then and help himself to a goal.

Valencia is another who leaves his ego in the dressing room. When he plays the right wing becomes a battlefield with only one winner, and he's growing in confidence with every game.

But when it comes to unsung heroes, there's one man who stands head and shoulders above the competition - and that man is Darren Fletcher.

Fletcher was brilliant last night. He dominated midfield and his distribution was superb. It was as if Alex Ferguson had dressed Zizou as a lanky Scot, rolled back time to 1998 and thrown him out there.

If ever you needed prove of Fergie's powers of alchemy, just take a look at Fletcher. Here is player who once looked destined for life in the Championship, strutting his stuff like a dominant prince on the biggest stage of all.

Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho might rule your footballing heart, but Fletcher is worth more than both put together based on last night's performance. If the boy was Brazilian, he'd be worth £30 million.

Fletcher's work-rate has never been in question, but his passing and spacial awareness have surpassed all expectation in the last two seasons. That's why he's first choice in United's midfield, and that's why he's the foundation to a new generation of success at Old Trafford.

If you need convincing, take another look at his assist for Rooney's goal at the San Siro. And watch last night's game back in full.

The Scottish Zidane is born.

- - -

Nag's Head trounced Internazionale Welsop 7-2 on Sunday.

Trounced is a great word isn't it. Is there a better descriptive word in the footballing dictionary for a dominant victory?

Hammered, battered, stuffed, murdered, destroyed, thrashed, spanked, walloped, slaughtered, buried, butchered, killed, ruined, tonked, pummeled, caned. None of them hold a candle to trounced.

READ BARRY THE PRO EXCLUSIVELY AT FOOTBALL.CO.UK EVERY THURSDAY