Evra: My toughest year

Sunday’s topsy-turvy finalé to the 2011/12 Barclays Premier League season wouldn’t have surprised Patrice Evra one bit. In fact, in many ways, it was the only possible conclusion to a roller-coaster ride of a campaign he describes as the toughest he’s ever had. “There were a lot of difficult moments,” he says, eyes downcast, head shaking in disbelief. “Before the game against Manchester City in October my dad called me to tell me I’d just lost my brother. Nothing else can be more difficult than that to find out before a big game. There was the case with Luis Suarez as well. “I know that's not the way a Manchester United player should talk when you don't win the league. It sounds like I'm finding an excuse. But it's the truth. I don't want to lie to people. This year has been so difficult.” The “case with Luis Suarez” was particularly upsetting for Evra, who alleged the Liverpool striker had racially abused him during a match at Anfield. An FA disciplinary hearing eventually found the Uruguayan striker guilty and banned him for eight matches, but the process took more than two months, during which Evra’s credibility was regularly challenged. On his return to Anfield for an FA Cup fourth round tie in January, he was subjected to boos from the home fans for the entire 90 minutes. Then, when Liverpool came to Old Trafford in the league, a fixture that came just five days after Suarez returned from his ban, there was further controversy when the Liverpool striker refused to shake Evra’s hand before the game. “It was a very difficult time,” the Frenchman recalls. “For my family as well. It was difficult, so difficult. “I think that game at Old Trafford was the most pressure I've ever felt in my life... all about shaking his hand. For me it was very difficult before the game, to decide to shake his hand. “I think many people would never have tried to shake his hand. But I tried and he refused. For me, it was like, ‘What's going on?’. “But I couldn’t go mad. Although, you see the first tackle, a tackle on Rio Ferdinand [smiles]. If I had caught Suarez then I could have had a red card straight away and I'd have been off the pitch.” A fixture that is always a fraction away from boiling over had turned even nastier following Suarez's refusal to shake hands and there was further rancour at the final whistle when Evra celebrated United’s victory wildly in front of the Stretford End (and, it must be said, in close proximity to Suarez). Liverpool’s players took objection and players from both sides had to be separated by stewards. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted afterwards that Patrice “shouldn’t have done that”, but Evra reveals now, for the first time since the incident, that his celebration was merely an outpouring of emotion, a public release following months of keeping his counsel during the racism row. “People thought my celebration at the end of the Liverpool game was because Suarez had abused me,” Evra reveals. “But it was more than that. Finally I could say thanks to my team-mates. “I know everybody was playing to win for Manchester United that day, but also a little bit for myself. That's why my celebration was like that. “What's happened to me – personal things – this year have been really tough. But I just kept playing. “In your life you have good and bad experiences but the most important thing is how you react, and I think I reacted in a good way. That's why I'm proud of myself. “People can criticise me and say many things but this year I am stronger than ever, mentally. It was a big challenge this year, a personal challenge with myself.”