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Patrick Dorgu will play in the first final of his professional career this week<\/p>\nPatrick Dorgu joined Man Utd in January and his first season could end with a trophy, but it’s been a difficult campaign for the club.Patrick Dorgu will play in the first final of his professional career this week<\/p>\n
Before this week’s Europa League final, Patrick Dorgu will find a quiet time to pray and hope that his middle name delivers to bring him a first senior medal and provides some salvation for Manchester United’s season.<\/p>\n
Dorgu, a \u00a325million January signing from Lecce, will be playing in his first major final after becoming Ruben Amorim’s first signing at Old Trafford<\/a>. As a left-footed wing-back, he is a key component in the Portuguese\u2019s 3-4-2-1 system.<\/p>\n The switch to the Premier League<\/a> from a Serie A side who ended up getting relegated was a big step up for the Dane, but his religion has helped him and it went under the radar in March when he asked United to add his name to the official documentation, making him Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu on club and Premier League communications.<\/p>\n Although he was born in Copenhagen, he is proud of his Nigerian heritage. His middle name, which stems from his Igbo heritage from the land of his family, means God answers prayers, and he will be hoping he does just that in Bilbao on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family are religious and the reason they gave me that name was because of the meaning behind it,” said Dorgu. \u201cThey told me at a young age what it meant. It comes from my Igbo heritage.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family\u2019s culture is something I learned about. I believe in God and I am always praying. I hope we win the final – it\u2019s what I am praying for.\u201d<\/p>\n Dorgu might be a quiet presence around the United dressing room as he settles at the club, but he is multilingual. He speaks Danish and English, learnt some Italian during his time at Lecce, and speaks Ebo – a historical name from the Igbo language native to people from south eastern Nigeria – to his family, including his two brothers and two sisters.<\/p>\n His faith might have helped him since making the move to United. Dorgu has had a mixed start to life at Old Trafford, but he knew arriving mid-season at a club having a testing campaign was going to present its own challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I came there in a difficult moment (for the team), so I knew that nothing was going to be made easy for me,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting better game by game, getting more confident so I hope I can improve even more in the last games of this season and in the seasons to come.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is all about working hard, looking forward, believing in the coach and the players and to improve my game. It has been difficult but I think there will be a lot of good years coming up, so we just need to stay focused and win the final.”<\/p>\n The Europa League<\/a> final might be a contest between the 16th and 17th best teams in the Premier League, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. For one of the two clubs, a dismal domestic season will be glossed over by a European trophy and a seat in the Champions League<\/a>. For the other, the summer will be dominated by inquests into their worst campaign in more than a generation.<\/p>\n