There are moments in a footballer’s career where everything comes together and their form just clicks perfectly into place.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the ultimate examples of this. When he signed with Manchester United in 2003, he was just a teenager, and took a while to establish himself.
He scored only nine league goals in his first two seasons combined, then nine in his third season. Then in 2006/07, he exploded into life, scoring 17 Premier League goals.
The trigger for this was the 2006 World Cup. Vilified by the English press for daring to wink at Wayne Rooney when he was sent off, United supporters rallied around him, and his form peaked to a new level. It was just the start.
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Marcus Rashford’s post-World Cup breakout
Marcus Rashford is currently enjoying a similar breakout, following the 2022 World Cup. He has returned from the tournament in inspired form, reaching new levels of both performance and consistency which he had not hit in his career to date.
Rashford has scored 10 goals in 11 matches since the tournament, more than any player in Europe. He has nine goals in 20 league games so far this season, and 18 in all competitions.
Last year he managed only five goals. While he was showing positive signs before the tournament in Qatar, Rashford has hit new heights since it finished.
Circumstances to Ronaldo’s are different of course. Rashford isn’t being abused by the press and opposition fans like Ronaldo was. But he has his own set of grievances to fuel his performance.
Rashford was given just four minutes off the bench in England’s quarter-final defeat against France, despite being the country’s highest goalscorer at the tournament. His form since is showing what a monumental mistake manager Gareth Southgate made.
How their post-tournament form compares
Marcus Rashford’s form since the 2022 World Cup is even more electric than Ronaldo’s back in 2006.
While Ronaldo returned with a goal in United’s 5-1 season opening win over Fulham, he netted ‘only’ four times in his first nine league games.
It was between late December and early February where Ronaldo took over, scoring 10 goals in a stretch of nine Premier League games.
Marcus Rashford is similarly flourishing at the same time of year, but with the timing of recent World Cup, his immediate form since the tournament is even more impressive than Ronaldo’s at the start of 2006.
Rashford looks unstoppable like now, with his performances similar to Ronaldo’s. He has an extra burst of pace, is willing to take players on, and has the confidence to score from anywhere on the pitch, frightening and embarrassing his opponents.
The best is yet to come
Ronaldo finished 2006/07 with a Premier League title. Rashford is unlikely to, with United leaving too much to do early in the season. But the situations are not really comparable, with manager Erik ten Hag in his first season.
Rashford will feel he has a good chance to lead United to a trophy, with the team on the verge of the Carabao Cup final. This would be a positive step forward. It was the League Cup in February 2006 which had first sparked a mini-revival under Sir Alex Ferguson after a mini-slump by his standards. Ten Hag will hope a first trophy will be the first of many.
From a personal perspective, Ronaldo followed up with an even better 2007/08 season in which he netted 31 goals in 34 league games, and 42 in all competitions.
Years later at Real Madrid he would go onto hit video-game numbers, famously hitting 60 goals in a season twice.
Marcus Rashford can’t be expected to replicate that, but it is fair to say he can continue to improve and set new standards year after year.
Like Ronaldo in 2006, Rashford in 2023 is finding his football just ‘clicks’, and he has the confidence to make a difference each and every time he is on the pitch.
Manchester United fans know a special player when they see one, and Marcus Rashford is checking all the boxes right now.
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