It’s not often that a sports player goes straight from Manchester United to Manchester City…. Only a few players have moved across the city to play for the other team because of how much these two football giants hate each other. It was one of the hardest things that young defender Frederic Veseli did in 2012.
A Change of Mind on the Last Day
It was crazy on the last day of the summer transfer window. It was a fork in the road for Frederic Veseli. He had three and a half good years with Manchester City, but he wanted to start over. The talented back didn’t think there was a clear path to the first team in the blue half of Manchester, so he made the brave choice to switch clubs.
Adam Bouskouchi, Veseli’s former agent, said that Manchester City was mostly focused on winning big prizes and titles, which made it hard for young players like Veseli to get chances. He was looking for a club where he could grow and really make a difference. It was almost time for the answer.
Effects of “Sir Alex’s”
Veseli was interested in becoming a top player in England when he talked to different teams in his home country and other countries. When Sir Alex Ferguson talked to him in person, it made a big impact. Veseli decided to join Manchester United because of the famous manager’s words, track record, and desire to help young players grow.
Loss for Manchester City
Manchester United was interested in Veseli before, which is interesting, but the competition was very high, and he ended up going to City. The Blues knew about the talented teen and made a deal with him before he led Switzerland to win at the Under-17 World Cup in 2009. The Swiss national team did an amazing thing when they won the youth game with Veseli as their captain. Other teams missed out on the chance to sign him, though, because of this win.
Frederic Veseli: Captain of the World Cup and Getting to Manchester
In the Under-17 World Cup, Frederic Veseli led Switzerland to win over Italy, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Colombia, and Nigeria. This was another impressive step in his career. After this big accomplishment, he moved to Manchester, where he first lived with his father. City found him a place to stay with a local family who were big fans of the team and had already housed another City player, Alex Nimely.
Unexpected problems and missed chances
As Veseli continued to get used to his new surroundings, he grew as a person. He worked hard and trained with Manchester City’s first team because he thought he deserved more chances. He was about to make his start with the first team, but a bad hamstring injury ruined his plans. Roberto Mancini told him that he would be playing his first game in the last league game of the season. He even called Veseli’s family to tell them the news. However, Veseli’s accident broke his heart and took away his chance.
A Journey Full of Events to the United States
Even with the loss, Veseli’s journey went on. He went to the United States with Manchester City before the season started. Things went wrong with his passport, though, and this trip almost didn’t happen. There were worries about his trip to the United States because his ID wasn’t biometric. The problem was fixed after several trips to the passport office and the US mission. Veseli was able to get to the US, even if he had to fly in economy. He thought that this could be his big break in professional sports.
A Good Summer, but More Competitors
While Veseli was in the US over the summer, he got a lot done and made a big difference. However, Manchester City had a good summer as well. They got Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, and Gael Clichy. It wasn’t by promoting young players that the defense got stronger; it was by getting Stefan Savic. There was more and more competition to make the first team.
Hard Decisions for Frederic Veseli and a Get-Together in a Pub
Roberto Mancini wanted to extend Veseli’s contract as the last year of his deal was coming to an end. But Veseli wanted a clear path that would let him go on loan and get important playing time. He was willing to stay. Sadly, there was no way to come to an understanding. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United reserves played against Veseli while he was still playing for City.
A Random Meeting Frederic Veseli with United’s Assistant Manager
Veseli’s trip took a big turn when he met Rene Meulensteen, Manchester United’s assistant manager, by chance in a pub. Veseli told them about what was going on with him at Manchester City while they were talking. City was changing how they did things, with a focus on getting their school system back on track. At the time, Brian Marwood was in charge of football and made it clear that young players who didn’t like their job at the club could leave and look for work somewhere else. Meulensteen found Veseli’s story interesting.
Frederic Veseli Getting to Manchester United
When Veseli told Roberto Mancini that he was leaving, Mancini was shocked. He still wished Veseli well, though. After getting his things together, the young defender went to Manchester United’s training ground and made the life-changing choice to join the team. The move from one side of Manchester to the other was something that hadn’t been done before the deadline.
How Frederic Veseli got to play for Manchester United
Veseli said he was thankful to have joined Manchester United and was excited to show what he could do on the field. He made his choice because there was a clearer path for new talent at United. He said that the club’s focus on developing players was different from Manchester City’s focus on winning titles.
After that, Veseli worked hard with the first team, but he had to get in better shape to meet the club’s high standards. Even though the reserve team didn’t give him many chances, he could feel the special energy and aura of Manchester United and knew he had made the right choice.
Let down and a move to Portman Road
Veseli kept training with the first team and sometimes played for the reserves, but it was hard to get into the first team because of players like Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, and others. Veseli went back to the reserve team after another good preseason tour, but he was eventually let go.
The journey goes on
A lot of Championship teams, like Leicester, Burnley, Barnsley, and Ipswich, were interested in Veseli. The Italian team Udinese was also interested. The race to sign the highly rated center back ended with Ipswich Town coming out on top. Veseli’s time at Portman Road did not live up to the early hopes that were raised for it.
A Glimmer of Hope with Loan Spells
Frederic Veseli was loaned to Bury and Port Vale, where he did very well. In January 2015, he moved permanently to Port Vale. He made decisions about his business on his own and fired an inexperienced agent.
A New Beginning in Switzerland
After a while of not enjoying the game as much, Frederic Veseli went back to Switzerland to go to college and study law. During this time, he was offered a trial with the Swiss team Lugano to try to get his football career back on track.
Getting a childhood dream come true
Frederic Veseli took the chance when he was called up to play for the Albanian national team while he was at Lugano. His dream came true when he played for Albania in Euro 2016, which made him a member of the team. He had reached a big goal, since he hadn’t been able to find a team to play for a year before.
Problems and court cases
Even though Frederic Veseli had some successes, he also had problems. He had a contract issue with Lugano that kept him from playing for two months. In the end, he signed with Serie A team Empoli, but Lugano started more legal problems for him. Veseli was cleared by the courts after a long fight and could continue playing football.