Who is Bebe? – Manchester United`s latest signing

"Some people possess talent, others are possessed by it. When that happens, a talent becomes a curse".
Rod Serling

On the 11^th of August 2010 Manchester United have signed Portuguese footballer Tiago Manuel Dias Correia- better known as “Bebe”- from unknown Portuguese side Vitória de Guimarães. It seemed a rather uncharacteristic move by Ferguson, who openly admitted that he has never even seen Bebe playing. Was this a genius move or just another disastrous signing by the ever so unpredictable Scot?

Until this date nobody even heard of Bebe, which is hardly a surprise, as he mostly spent his short footballing career playing on the streets of Lisbon and when things really started going for him, he even made it to the Portuguese third division, where he played for Estrela da Amadora (Summer of 2009 – August 2010). That maybe doesn`t sound all that bad, until we take it into consideration that this unknown 20 year old actually cost cash-trapped Manchester United an eye-watering £7.4 million.

Even the most die-hard United fan must have been secretly wondering whether SIR has finally lost his marbles by spending a small fortune on an unknown winger/forward/striker (depending on what paper you read or else he is extremely multi-talented) where as the club`s main problems are at the ageing back of the pack.......

Facts about Bebe:

• About being homeless: Bebe was brought up by his grandmother in Lisbon untill the age of 12, when the courts decided to place him in the care of the Church and he was moved to a shelter just outside of Lisbon.
• Yes, he did play at the 2009 European Street Football Festival for the CAIS team, scoring 40 goals in 6 matches. What the papers fail to mention is that even that wasn`t enough for the team to progress beyond the group stages. So imagine what some players of other teams must have been like!
• No, he never played in the Homeless World Cup even though it has been famously claimed in a lot of articles. True, he was considered for selection based on his tally of goals at the Street Football Festival, but he never actually made the squad.
• Yes, his agent offered the player for free to PSV Eindhoven, but the Dutch club politely declined, claiming that they wouldn`t by someone they don`t know at all.
• No, he didn’t even make it into United`s reserve team against Manchester City, apparently because he was struggling with his fitness.....
• But Fergie did eventually name him in the Red Devils` Champions League -25 men squad, though pundits say Bebe will never be fit or good enough to play at that level and SIR only picked him to dismiss journalists` accusations that Bebe in fact is not a world class talent as everyone was made to believe.
• He got his first (and probably last) call-up to the Portuguese U21 side just last week when he featured as a lone striker while his team ran into a 1-0 defeat against none other than the –full of real young talent- England. According to the experts, he won`t be getting rave reviews for that performance.........

I think I`ve done my research properly regarding this kid and I still cannot see the logic behind his big-money move. One lucky agent must have made a lot of money not just for himself but also for Vitória de Guimarães, the club who put a 9 million Euro buy-out clause into the unknown player`s contract, whom by the way the club signed on the free. Bebe has never even played for Vitória de Guimarães, apparently it was his “unbelievable” pre-season form that has alerted the likes of Benfica and Real Madrid. Of course Ferguson`s good friend Carlos Queiroz didn`t hesitate and urgently advised SIR, that at a cut-price of £7.4 million, signing Bebe in fact was a steal of the year.

What I don`t understand is that if Bebe is really so talented, how come he hasn`t been scouted earlier? Look at the likes of Cesc Fabregas (signed by Arsenal at the age of 16), Pedro Rodriguez (signed by Barcelona aged 17) or Alexandre Pato (signed by AC Milan at the age of 17). They represent true, undeniable talent, every one of them worth every penny the clubs have paid for them.

Optimistic United supporters claim, that he just needs more time and pundits and critics are just being jealous and impatient while he is indeed the new Nani in the making. Or more than likely it`s just Djemba-Djemba all over again for the Red Devils.