Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes has taken some criticism in recent weeks as the club’s results have dipped. The Brazilian midfielder has not been at his usual high standards in the Magpies midfield, and United’s form has suffered too as a result.
The Brazilian star was made skipper in the summer by manager Eddie Howe. The influential schemer replaced Kieran Trippier in the role.
Trippier remains a strong influence on the Newcastle dressing room. His blast at the Newcastle defence in the aftermath of their 2-1 FA Cup defeat against Brighton on Sunday was keenly felt among the corridors of power at St James’ Park. The 34-year-old is a major presence with Howe’s squad, despite relinquishing the armband.
Guimaraes’ leadership style is different, but the player has strong relationships with a number of the squad, particularly his fellow midfielder Joelinton. The Brazilian is close with his countryman and the two men are a strong double act around the training ground.
Bruno has also switched roles recently to accommodate Sandro Tonali in the first team, moving from his previous central position to become more of a No.6. It was a change which paid instant dividends for Newcastle, who went on a nine-game winning run either side of Christmas.
Guimaraes continues to lead by example with the squad, and showed his empathy and support for Tonali on Instagram in the last couple of days. Tonali proposed to his partner Juliette Pastore and shared news of their engagement on Instagram by posting a picture of himself kissing his new fiance as Juliette revealed her huge sparkling ring. The 24-year-old player simply captioned the picture with the word “YES” alongside a wedding ring emoji.
United captain Bruno was one of the first to respond, replying ‘Congrats fraaa’ with a heart emoji, before a number of Newcastle players past and present weighed in too.
The message came amid another show of unity from Guimaraes, who attempted to shield teammate Anthony Gordon from criticism after his red card against Brighton. Newcastle ultimately lost the game after the rush of blood by Gordon, who will now miss the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
Guimaraes was keen to take responsibility for the defeat, however, despite being only introduced as a second-half substitute. After the game he took to social media to post: “Disappointed not to progress in the FA Cup, as it was clearly one of our goals. Moments like this are when we need to stick together the most.
“I know that when eliminations like this happen, it’s hard to accept, and we always look for someone to blame. If you need to find one, you can blame me.
“We have two weeks before one of the most important games for the club in recent years, and we must be ready for this great opportunity. My only request is that, in this moment, we stay united as one and go after the best for the club because we still have great things ahead.”
Given Gordon’s absence, and now Lewis Hall being ruled out with a broken foot, Newcastle will need all the unity they can muster up to beat Liverpool. Guimaraes has a key role in pulling the squad together.
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