The clash between the two Manchester giants was a typical British derby, full of blood and thunder and played at 100 miles an hour. But in the middle of all the madness was a 34-year-old veteran, orchestrating the game like a great composer, almost without breaking sweat Michael Carrick was again the Man United fulcrum.

As the former Tottenham man appears to be entering the twilight years of a glittering career; it finally appears the masses are beginning to see Carrick for what he is. The rise in popularity of a similar midfield player Andrea Pirlo has inevitably led to the two being compared. Finally, maybe ten years too late Carrick is finally being recognised as the ‘English Pirlo’.

In the last two major tournaments, Pirlo has been the chief tormentor for England, he has ensured the midfield chased shadows for 90 minutes, lots of effort, but all in vain. If the colours of the shirts were swapped in Sunday’s Manchester derby, it quite easily could have passed as a clash between England and the Azzurri.

In James Milner, City possessed a midfielder with real desire; closing and pressing the mercurial Carrick in the early stages, but just as Pirlo has done before, his superior footballing intelligence means there is only ever one winner between passion and technique.

With midfielders like Fellaini and Mata, it is a testament to Carrick that United play football at the pace they currently do. Never seeming to look hurried, but always hurrying his team along.

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For over a decade Carrick has been criminally underused by the national team, always behind the ‘Roy of the Rovers’ Gerrard and the free-scoring Lampard. The fact that England have consistently looked so laboured and slow in possession against superior opponents whilst not using Michael Carrick, seems laughable.

In a game where millions of pounds of foreign talent was on display, it was a player who could be selected by Roy Hodgson that shone brightest. If he is now, finally, given the run in the team he has deserved for so long he can make the deep lying midfield position his own, Pirlo has seemed to enjoy a late career renaissance, Carrick can still do the same on the national stage.

Perhaps Carrick’s criminal under valuing is an indictment of the English supporter. Go to any game and which of these scenarios garner a bigger cheer; a player completing his 50^th pass of the game with frightening accuracy or a player hitting his first 60-yard pass out of ten attempts? Maybe the common football fan is finally waking up to what the United midfielder actually offers. He will not be central to the highlights, he will not have assist after assist or goal after goal, but he is a vital cog in any successful team.

His game is about so much more than passing, his awareness on the pitch means that not only does he recycle possession so effectively but he can intercept the opposition’s passes with comfortable regularity.

With only 35 caps for England it seems like Carrick has been wasted in a Three Lions shirt, but if his recent performances are anything to go by, he has a lot of football left in him. Carrick can still be England’s Pirlo and it may prove to be the difference between the national team making up the numbers at a tournament and becoming real contenders.

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