The Velvet Tank is a term that has previously been associated with the machine that is William Carvalho. An elegant yet imposing figure, a graceful powerhouse in the middle of the park.
William Carvalho was an excellent defensive midfielder for Portugal; in a similar mould to Ruben Neves, Carvalho offered defensive intuition, an excellent reading of the game, and excellent passing range - but offered increased physicality too, making him an even more adept defensive presence, and a tough man to tackle.
As good as he was in that deeper role for the Seleção, though, Fernando Santos had a stroke of genius by pushing the former Sporting man further forward into a more box to box role, and it has only harnessed even more from William Carvalho's game.
In addition to offering good defensive cover, Carvalho now has the freedom to roam forwards for Portugal, and is therefore able to use that grace and passing ability to even better effect in the attacking third of the pitch.
That physically also comes in great use; such a calm presence, often it looks as though he may well lose the ball - but then you remember, this is William Carvalho, and William Carvalho simply doesn't lose the ball.
So assured, so composed that, even when put under immense pressure, Carvalho somehow wriggles free, using his strength to his advantage, before delicately, almost nonchalantly, feeding the ball to a teammate and continuing with the game.
He is a delight to watch, he really is. Though he doesn't have a great deal of pace it simply doesn't matter. Every other attribute you require in a box to box type player is near perfect, and his all-round class means that even if he does sometimes seem to just stroll about the pitch, he's almost always in full control of the midfield battle and in the right place at the right time. And when he's in possession and charging forward, he's very difficult to stop.
It means that William offers a great deal to his side defensively, but also, perhaps contrary to what many believe, a great deal going forwards too.
I must admit that I have not seen a great deal of William Carvalho at Real Betis. He's played a fair amount in his time in Spain, though injuries have held him back significantly since he moved to the La Liga side, particularly this season.
And they're not faring particularly well in the Spanish top flight, which is unfortunate. Not disastrous, but nothing spectacular as they sit 12th in the table. Whether that's despite Carvalho impressing is hard to say having not watched much of Real Betis over the last years.
So let's just focus on William for Portugal. And as you can probably tell from the rave review above, William Carvalho is a player who evokes huge admiration. He is an instrumental part of the Portugal national team, one of the handful of stars alongside Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Rui Patricio who is guaranteed a place in the Portugal starting lineup if fully fit. And rightly so.
Yet it should be pointed out that, somehow, William Carvalho manages to divide opinion somewhat. For reasons beyond me, there have been, over the last few years, a minority of Portugal fans who have wanted to see Carvalho dropped from the starting XI. And I for one simply could never understand that.
For me, there are few better central midfielders. He has the perfect traits to be seen as one of the best on the planet.
Is he world class? The Velvet Tank is the most perfect of nicknames for William Carvalho. Strong and elegant, a calm, composed, physical presence in midfield, an excellent passer of the ball. Whenever he plays for Portugal, he proves to be one of the best players on the pitch - and he is a world class footballer.