Bruno Fernandes in action during United's semi-final shootout victory over Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has been one of the driving forces behind their run to the Emirates FA Cup Final this season.
And as the Reds prepare to face their arch rivals at Wembley Stadium in the showpiece, the Portuguese took the time to speak to the official Emirates FA Cup Final match programme.
How is the feeling in the camp going into this one?
We’re all looking forward to it. Any opportunity to play in a final for Manchester United is special, so we have to be ready. We know that the fans will be there supporting us and we want to do everything we can to make them happy.
What would it mean to lift the Emirates FA Cup?
It would mean a lot of course. At this club we always have to be reaching finals and trying to win trophies. We know that is the minimum at a club like this and for us as players. Everyone knows the FA Cup, how important it is in this country and in football, so for sure it will be a special day.
How much did you know about the FA Cup when you were younger?
A lot for sure, everyone knows the history of this competition and how important it is to England and around the world. It’s a famous trophy for everyone that I watched a lot when I was growing up. Everyone knows that I used to watch United when I was younger so I can remember many happy memories for these teams in this competition.
Bruno has been one of the driving forces behind United's FA Cup run this season
This one will be a big one for the fans…do you get a sense that this one feels different to other derbies?
Playing against Manchester City is always a big game. We all know the rivalry, we know what it means to us and what it means to our fans. We want to win every game that we play for this club because that is what it deserves. Of course it’s a final so we want to win even more and bring home the trophy.
It’s been a great Cup run, are you a player who watches the games back?
I watch them many times. I think it’s always good to see what you’ve done so well in the past. Obviously, I’m not looking only at the good things but also at the bad things to make yourself improve, to make yourself better. When you see that, you also want to see the things that you have done well as it makes you feel good, it makes you keep the positive energy on yourself, the belief on yourself and that’s a good thing.
How would you assess United’s season overall?
We’ve made good progress and have improved a lot together but at the same time we know there is still a long way to go before we reach the level that we want to achieve. We’ve played a lot of games, we’ve had some great moments and some difficult ones, too. For sure we have made a good start in what we want to do here but we can never settle and be satisfied until we are winning trophies consistently.
You can read the full interview with Bruno, along with the thoughts of United boss Erik ten Hag, defender Harry Maguire and much more in the official Emirates FA Cup Final programme. Pre-order your copy here.
