Alejandro Garnacho inspired Manchester United to their first FA Youth Cup trophy for 11 years on Wednesday night.
Earlier in the day, 17-year-old Garnacho was named United’s U18 Player of the Year, and by the evening he was replicating Cristiano Ronaldo’s “siu” celebration in front of 67,492 fans at Old Trafford.
Captain Rhys Bennett’s header had put United in front before Joshua Powell levelled for Nottingham Forest, but then Garnacho took centre stage.
Garnacho was fouled and picked himself up to score from the penalty spot, heading to the corner flag to mimic Ronaldo’s renowned celebration.
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The Spanish-Argentine winger then got his second in added time, with the deflected strike sealing a 3-1 win and a first FA Youth Cup triumph for United since 2011, when a side containing Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Ravel Morrison beat Harry Maguire’s Sheffield United.
Garnacho was even serenaded with “Viva Garnacho!” chants from the Old Trafford crowd after full-time, a song typically reserved for Ronaldo.
“That boy could be in any stadium in the world and he wouldn’t care,” said coach Travis Binnion.
“That’s his make-up. A few of them are like that and that’s why they are going to have good careers.
“This football club is remarkable at that, it’s the best in the world at that. We have to keep that going, we have a responsibility to keep that going – the pipeline. It’s nice to give the fans a bit of something because they’re different class.”
The victory caps off a whirlwind couple of weeks for Garnacho, who made his first-team debut in April’s Premier League draw with Chelsea.
Garnacho, who joined the club from Atletico Madrid in 2020, came on for the final minute at Old Trafford on 28 April, while he has remained an unused substitute in five league matches either side of that fixture.
At youth level, he has scored 15 goals this season, including four in the U23s’ league, while he had already scored five in the FA Youth Cup before Wednesday’s final.
Born in Madrid to a Spanish father and Argentinian mother, Garnacho represented Spain’s U18s and then made his debut for Argentina’s U20 side earlier this year.
It would appear Argentina and Spain could continue to battle it out for his representation, with United’s head of academy Nick Cox admitting there is interest from both nations.
“We’ve always been aware of Alejandro’s dual nationality and it is lovely for him to have two wonderful football nations interested in his talent,” Cox said back in March.
“I know he’s proud of his heritage. For us, we’re just really proud that there’s a young boy that’s developing with us that has reached a lovely moment in his career which is selection for a senior side.”
Garnacho could well have made his choice, however, having opted to drape an Argentina flag over him when celebrating their FA Youth Cup win.
Meanwhile, Cox was joined by club captain Harry Maguire to present Garnacho with the U18 Player of the Year trophy on Wednesday night, and he praised the youngster for adapting to life quickly in England.
“Alejandro has had a fantastic season and really deserves this recognition,” Cox said.
“There have been a number of Under-18s players who have performed exceptionally well throughout the year. Reaching an FA Youth Cup final is a fantastic achievement, so this was not an easy decision to make.
“Alejandro has shown great determination from the day that he arrived here from Spain, in the middle of a pandemic. He has adapted extremely well to life in Manchester and continues to improve on the pitch every day.
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“He remains grounded considering all that he has achieved this year and we know that he will continue to grow within our youth development system.”
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