Manuel Ugarte has been the most exciting signing for Manchester United this season, as he would aspire to smoothly take over the reigns from Casemiro, as the holding midfielder for them in the future.
His arrival at Manchester has also marked the advent of a flurry of posts on social media on how he seems to closely resemble the character “Brad Bellick” from cult TV show Prison Break.
While we all love a joke, the resemblance between the two is uncanny. They share a sharp jaw, with tiny eyes and close cropped hair. This makes the fictional character look like a future version of Ugarte, when he would be enjoying his retirement a little too much.
The rather famous lookalike character of Ugarte, played by actor Wade Williams, was one of the popular ones on the show and had featured in all of the seasons.
He was known for his complex personality and ruthlessness. Introduced as a mean correction officer with a sizeable presence, he was cunning and intimidating.
He was authoritative, greedy and insensitive during the initial part of the show. But to a lot of people’s surprise, his character transformed into one of benevolence and kindness as the show progressed to its later stages.
While Manuel might not want to be in the shape that Bellick is in, he would definitely hope he is able to settle in and have the same level of impact that the fictional character had at his work place.
To add to this, there a few striking similarities in the way both of them operate. Manuel who weighs 77kg and stands at 5 ft 11 in, is not the biggest guy around, but is in every way a mean figure, just like his look alike.
Like any other defensive midfielder he is ruthless in his tackles. His willingness and tenacity to track back when he is nowhere near it, shows how far he is willing to go to dominate the central areas of the pitch. His famous statement: “When I win the ball, I’m happy” is a testament to the same.
His authoritativeness and “raging dog” style of play makes him a frightening prospect to deal with and much like his doppelganger, he is not going to be the most likeable figure when he goes about his business.
While his aggression is his greatest strength, he needs to be careful in not mirroring the mistakes his look-alike does. He needs to exercise caution in not giving away cheap fouls and steer clear from putting his team in jeopardy.
Ugarte also needs to display vision and adaptability as he looks to settle down at the great club, as this was where the tough warden in Prison Break lost the plot as he was unable to adjust to changes at a new place.
All said and done, the South American is one of the most exciting signings of the Premier League and one can only hope he has a powerful impact which would make even his look alike proud.
