Anderson dreads upbraiding by United players over his Beijing bad hair days

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The Brazilian arrived at 5am yesterday morning after completing his Olympic duty in Beijing minus his trademark dreadlocks.

Instead, Anderson sported a rather strange hairstyle, curly but far shorter than before.

Barnet bother: Anderson plays for United at Portsmouth on Monday without his trademark braids and dreadlocks

That's more like it: Anderson with his hair nicely braided last season

So, while he put tiredness and his follicle trouble to one side in helping United to their win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park, stand-in skipper Rio Ferdinand was not about to let the 20-year-old get away with his fashion disaster.

'His Barnet is shocking at the minute,' laughed the England defender in his best Cockney accent.

'His extensions have come out and there has been no-one in China with the capability to braid them up again. He has had to wait until he gets back to Manchester, so we had a little joke with him about it.'

Ferdinand was prepared to acknowledge Anderson's contribution to the win, which came just three days after he helped secure a bronze medal for Brazil, even if the achievement has not exactly been praised on Copacabana beach where only gold was expected, a finish made worse by the fact Argentina successfully defended their crown.

However, the five games Anderson played in the Far East ensures he is fully fit. And Ferdinand is predicting big things from the former FC Porto man this season.

'Anderson did well,' said Ferdinand. 'He is a fantastic footballer. He has great ability and we have not seen the best of him yet. I am sure of that.'