My first long-form bit of writing publicly ever was about Bruno Fernandes. I sort of have to thank him for kickstarting my career in football. I was a Med Student who enjoyed watching football when I wrote it.
From an analyst's perspective, I was a novice though. The work itself was good (I think, I should read it back) and well-reasoned but at that time I was partly critical of Bruno Fernandes' approach. I called it scatter-gun, making a machine-gun comparison.
At that time the types of attacking midfielders I liked best included the likes of Mesut Ozil and David Silva. At that time I said they took a more sniper-like approach given their meticulous and precise approach to breaking teams down.
As time has passed, I have a huge respect and fondness for Bruno Fernandes. Sure he might turn the ball over, albeit less than he used to, but he forces the issue. He's brave and impressive.
That brings with it it's own challenges that he manages to shoulder well. It opens you up to criticism. It's much easier to hide.
His approach increases the likelihood his team concede but it massively increases the likelihood they score which is key in a sport in which scoring appears harder than ever.
Having someone you can trust with that chaos-inducing approach is rare – Kevin De Bruyne, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bruno Fernandes.
People criticise Bruno for his demeanour but to me he comes across wildly likeable, competitive and passionate. He embodies the role of a friend-mentor to many of the players.
They'll certainly have appreciated his willingness to take the hits for his teammates over the years before, often single-handedly, dragging them to important results.