"A dream come true" were the words that Anthony Elanga opened with during an exclusive Q&A at University Academy 92 - an institution founded by the Class of 92 situated only minutes from Old Trafford.
The opening to the interview proved just the magnitude of the meteoric rise that Elanga has undergone over the past six months. To the 20 year-old, recent times have been completely dream-like.
Up until Ralf Rangnick took interim charge at Manchester United in December, Elanga had remained a regular within the club's youth side in between being sporadically named on the bench and being granted very occasional minutes for the first team. Now, he is regarded by many as an integral part to and a shining light within the present United outfit.
Despite having scored on only his second start for United's senior team to close out the 2020/21 campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Elanga had to wait until December to feature from the outset again - in the Champions League against Young Boys. The fixture was a dead rubber, but it was an audition that Elanga passed having also impressed coming off the bench against Crystal Palace in Rangnick's first match in charge.
Even though he was yet to feature again in a disrupted December, after only being given a long-term contract by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in March 2021, a further extension was announced before Christmas. Elanga quickly caught Rangnick's eye.
By the turn of the year, whether it be featuring every week off the bench or increasingly frequently as a starter as a reward for his impressive output, Elanga was entirely integrated into the first team, scoring away from home against both Brentford and Leeds United.
But "scoring in the Champions League" against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano is Elanga's career highlight thus far, as he detailed. "Growing up you’ve always dreamt of playing in the big competitions like the Champions League," he continued. "That was a really special moment."
The Q&A was held on the day of the FA Youth Cup final - a competition that Elanga was participating in only two years ago. Elanga claimed that missing out on the Youth Cup final after a semi-final loss to Chelsea in that 2019/20 season is his worst career moment to date. "The one that I regret is the Youth Cup two seasons ago, when we lost to Chelsea in the semi-final," he said. "I’d never got down like that before."
"I wish the under-18s that play today bring the trophy back," Elanga added. And so they did.
Elanga has proven just the rewards that United's academy can reap over recent months. He admitted that "it's difficult" to transition from abroad. "I had to move school as well," he explained. "I had to come from a different country in Sweden - transitioning to English wasn’t easy. I was living in Manchester then moved to Sale, a new school. I did football in school so had to catch up after school - I didn’t want to but did it anyway."
But, ultimately, there are no regrets. Elanga was keen to express that it is important to "take risks and step out of your comfort zone". If it wasn't for doing just that, Elanga likely wouldn't have experienced his dream moment in Madrid or, as is also of much personal value to him, may not have heard his name being chanted by the Stretford End.
On the subject of first hearing his chant, an adaptation of SNAP! song 'Rhythm is a Dancer', Elanga said, "It was special. It was my first [home league] start against West Ham - I didn’t know what to do when I heard it. It was just special.
"When I scored at Atletico Madrid, they were just singing that for the last 20 minutes. It was different, you know."
From his willingness to take risks and step outside of his comfort zone, Elanga also gained the opportunity to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, who he had grown up watching. The mention of Ronaldo's name brought an instant smile to his face as, on top of describing him as "an amazing player", he assured, "He's a great person as well - someone you can speak to. He gives you great advice."
He continued to say "he helps me", describing him as "a leader around the changing room".
Elanga also made sure to dispel misconceptions about club captain Harry Maguire, suggesting, "He’s a leader himself, a nice person."
It's personnel of Ronaldo and Maguire's ilk that are invaluable to youth players, as expressed by Elanga who, like many of his tender age, has to put up with the pressure of 'hype' and negativity from within the media and across social media. Ronaldo ensured that he promptly offered words of encouragement after Elanga missed a penalty in the shootout defeat against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
"I’ve always been about just blocking it out, keeping positive," Elanga said. "You could have a bad game and the next thing you know people are on to you. All you’ve got to do is try and block it out and stay focused."
Elanga is certainly doing a good job and staying grounded, offering the advice to "stay humble, be you, be yourself".
His professionalism, hard work and general standard of performance earned him a first senior call-up for Sweden in March. Elanga admitted, "Having played for them in the youth team, I was shocked. I though I was going to get called for the under-21s at first.
"And obviously the manager called me and said that he wanted me to be involved with the senior team. It was just a shame that we couldn’t qualify for the World Cup - the World Cup would’ve been nice, but it’s always special to be called up for the national team. I’m looking forward to more games with them."
The way things are going for Elanga, there is little doubt that he will become a regular for his native Sweden. From a UEFA Youth League goalscorer in November to a UEFA Champions League goalscorer in February, it has been a remarkable rise.
Credit goes to UA92 for hosting the Q&A session, with a huge thank you to Anthony Elanga for his time - he was scheduled to visit for five minutes but ultimately spent around half-an-hour on the campus. He was in no rush to leave, taking photographs, signing autographs and staying around to speak to people.
I had the pleasure of having a personal conversation about the Youth Cup final, in which he detailed the importance of the competition and the significance of playing in front of a near-full capacity Old Trafford. He was highly encouraging of people to support the youth sides knowing the importance of the academy system himself.
A further thanks goes to Anthony for allowing the use of these quotes.
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