Andre Onana joined Manchester United last year as, in his own words, “the best goalkeeper in the world”.
Within weeks, his reputation had been badly damaged and he had to defend his mental health.
“For me there was a ‘what just happened?’ moment,” Onana said as he prepared for Saturday’s FA Cup final against Premier League champions Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
Onana, a former Cameroon international who won consecutive titles with Ajax, moved to United from Inter Milan for $57 million in the off-season and was seen as a vital part of manager Erik ten Hag’s plans to challenge for the Premier League and Champions League as a modern, ball-playing keeper.
But in his first weeks at the club he made a series of costly errors, became the subject of ridicule on social media and became a symbol of United’s struggles.
“I came here as the best goalkeeper in the world and then all of a sudden it all fell apart and I realised how hard football is,” Onana said. “I decided not to stay there, to get up and fight to the end. I know who I am, I know what I did to get here and you never forget what you did.”
“You can never get too high, but you can’t get too low either. At the end of the day, being a player for such a big club, if you win it’s great and if you don’t it’s terrible. You have to be in between, feel your emotions and be mentally healthy because it’s not easy to play for such a big club.”
Onana, 28, said it took him six months to “feel good” at United – and despite all the odds he was brave enough to accept responsibility and give an interview after the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich in September – but the blunders continued.
In the end, Onana’s form improved, United’s form did not.
Saturday is the 20-time champions’ final chance to salvage a season that saw them finish eighth in the table, their worst in the history of the Premier League, and lose 14 league games, their most in 34 years.
A win against City, who are the dominant force in English football and are trying to become the first team to win the league and FA Cup double in succession, would at least end the season on a high and also guarantee United a place in the Europa League.
Onana acknowledges that even if he wins, his campaign will not be considered a success.
“I don’t think it’s enough to play for this club and win the FA Cup. We are used to playing in the Champions League and we have players who have been in the Champions League final. It’s been a difficult season,” he said.
Saturday’s match was a rematch of last year’s final, which City won 2-1 on their way to winning the treble, which included the Premier League and Champions League.
Onana did not play in the match as his transfer to Old Trafford was yet to be completed, but the game will mark a personal rematch for him after Inter Milan lost 1-0 to City in last year’s Champions League final.
He said the game will be an inspiration for United, as they were superb in Istanbul but still fell short, with Inter also trailing but coming close to causing an upset.
“When you play against City, you don’t step on to the pitch if you already think they’re going to win,” he said. “They’re the best team in the world at the moment. We (Inter) were better than them in the Champions League final last year. We were lucky they beat us.”
Even a victory may not be enough to save Ten Hag’s job, whose position remains unclear amid growing speculation about his future and the changes being made by United’s new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe.
Onana was part of Ten Hag’s three Dutch league title-winning teams during his time at Ajax and has no doubts about his ability.
“We can’t hide, we are a very big club, we have to be positive and face the challenges, and I know things will change, if not today then tomorrow,” he said.
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James Robson is https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
