There was a collective groan from Manchester United fans recently when it was announced that Marouane Fellaini’s contract had been renewed. The Belgian has been seen as symptomatic of Manchester United’s sluggish football, a big hulking individual who doesn’t possess technical prowess or passing ability, a club rather than a scythe among more talented midfielders.

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Others see him as the vestige of the Moyes Era, the Manchester United manager who was doomed to fail when trying to live up to Sir Alex Ferguson’s astronomic standards.  

All of it is rather harsh and it’s not Fellaini’s fault that his managers – Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Roberto Martinez – see him as a blunt weapon to unleash on the opposition to stop them from playing.

The truth is that football just isn’t about fleet-footed wingers or passing maestros, there’s also room for the destroyers – those who stop other teams from playing, disrupt their rhythm and protect the defence.

Read: France vs Belgium - where to watch? 

Ove the years' such footballers have been revered by teams. Roy Keane. Claude Makelele. France’s current midfield dyanmo – N’Golo Kante. These are men who can ruin the best-laid plans of opponents.

As France gets ready to face Belgium, while all eyes will be on attacking players like Lukaku, De Bruyne, Hazard, Mbappe, Griezmann and Pogba, Martinez will be quietly confident that Fellaini can pose a problem or two for the talented French squad.   

At this particular World Cup, the big midfielder has grown into the role, forcing his way in as the tournament progresses.

His introduction has allowed Martinez to play De Bruyne in the false number 9 role, freeing him up from defensive duties to play further up the pitch where his myriad talents could be put to better use – like shooting at goal and finding killer passes instead of trying to close down players.

Watch the second goal scored by Japan against Belgium, and you’ll see Kevin De Bruyne meandering at a snail’s pace as Alex Witsel runs out to prevent Genki Haraguchi from shooting.

 It wasn’t good enough and Belgium were 2-0 down before Chadli and Fellaini came along to try to force a comeback.

They were superlative to say the least, and Fellaini got the 2nd goal and the equaliser, rising highest to head in Eden Hazard’s cross. Belgium would go on to win and in the next match Martinez started both Fellaini and Chadli, with De Bruyne higher up the pitch.

Fellaini had another massive game against Brazil, shackling Neymar Jr while his more attack-minded colleagues – Hazard, Lukaku and De Bruyne – wreaked havoc further up the pitch. Fellaini adds a muscular presence in midfield next to Witsel, making the Belgium team far more balanced.

He won twice as many aerial duels as anyone on the pitch, and almost had the most blocks and most clearances other than the Belgium centre-halves. He even had a better pass competition rate than Eden Hazard.

Against France, Martinez will be hoping that Fellaini can do a similar job on the talented Mbappe and Griezmann.  Of course, Fellaini also has a dark streak that can get out of hand.

Last year, he lost his head in the Manchester derby, headbutting Sergio Aguero, which earned him a straight red and a three-match ban. He has had the tendency to throw out elbows at opponents, which could be catastrophic with VAR in play and the referees sure to catch on if Fellaini displays that streak. Belgium manager Martinez will hope that dark side is kept under wraps during this high-octane semifinal. 

As Belgium manager Roberto Martinez said before, he’s a winner and a warrior, “Quite simply Marouane Fellaini is a team player, a footballer who shares the best possible mentality for the team. He’s a winner and a warrior. very action matters to him. Nowadays you see a lot of inconsistency from players but Marouane doesn’t understand that. For him, every action is as if it’s the last of the game – he wants to win and puts in the whole effort.”

He added: “His size makes him awkward for opponents, but he has a good technical ability. Technically he is stronger than people think from the outside. But when you work with him closely you see he has important qualities.”

On Tuesday, Martinez will be hoping that the big Belgian can stop the French excursions of the likes of Pogba to lead Belgium to their first World Cup final. And if he does that, it will be a moment to savour for one of the most-vilified footballers in the modern game.