IT’S HARD TO know where it all went wrong but Angel di Maria, Manchester United’s record signing, will go down as the club’s biggest flop. But he really couldn’t care less.
And perhaps that explains why the club has appeared so resigned to losing him all through the off-season. Never did it appear United were particularly keen on keeping him and the long-running flirting game he has played with Paris St-Germain was never discouraged by United, in contrast to David de Gea’s situation. With the goalkeeper, United are fighting hard to retain him, digging in their heels despite Real Madrid’s dogged pursuit. It sends a clear message to the player: we want you and we’ll do anything to ensure you stay here.
Despite his eye-catching displays in the early part of last season, di Maria was soon on the wrong side of Louis van Gaal who was getting increasingly weary of the winger’s reluctance to be part of a wider system or ‘philosophy’. In May, the Dutchman was extremely blunt about wanting more him.
Players have to adapt to the team philosophy and Di Maria has to do that. Can Di Maria learn? That we have to wait and see. It is not because he doesn’t have the quality. He has to perform in a way that we want. Not in the way I want, but in the way we want as a club. When someone is sick for example, they have to change their behaviour. But it’s not easy — the old errors always come. And Di Maria is not playing at the moment.”
Usually, elite athletes are self-motivated. When they under-perform, they know it. Usually, elite athletes will look upon criticism and pressure as a good thing. A chance to right a wrong. There’s the story of Didier Drogba stepping up to take the winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich because he felt he needed to exorcise what he experienced four years before. In 2008, he was a scapegoat for Chelsea’s penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United after getting sent-off during extra-time.
In di Maria’s case, there has never seemed any likelihood in him remaining in Manchester for a second season to right the wrongs. There was nothing professional about his behaviour either, especially when he failed to arrive in the United States for the close of United’s pre-season tour. In the aftermath of his non-appearance, Van Gaal was left to admit that he didn’t know where his most expensive signing was – how humiliating for such a strong, domineering and ruthless coach. And how humiliating for the club too, who spent a fortune on bringing him to England.
Di Maria made his mind up long ago that he didn’t want to stay in the Premier League and that says much about his character. Towards the end of last term, he wandered in and out of games with little interest in taking them by the scruff of the neck – the very reason he was bought. There was the odd dribble, the odd flash of energy but it was usually followed by a misplaced pass or wild attempt on goal. Signed to provide creativity and individuality, di Maria finished out his days at United trotting rather helplessly around the pitch with no zeal or ambition, completely devoid of inspiration He looked lost but seemed so disinterested in finding his way back home.
Naturally, van Gaal’s way is bound to have irritated a player who was certainly told upon signing that he’d be a superstar in Manchester and be allowed the freedom to express himself, to rampage through teams, tearing defences to pieces week to week. Instead, he was challenged when he didn’t do something that fit the ‘philosophy’. That was stifling.
But instead of appreciating a manager’s quirks and unique style, di Maria merely refused to engage and van Gaal’s overbearing, old-school management style – a hallmark of his days as a PE teacher – made it easier to ignore. Di Maria simply didn’t need it. Other suitors could be lined up quickly, teams in better cities where his wife could be happier.
There was a harrowing attempted burglary on his house earlier in the year and that would’ve pushed him closer to a move elsewhere. When his struggles showed no signs of evaporating, when van Gaal kept him on the bench, it was only a matter of time.
And still, it all seems such a waste. Sometimes, there’s no click. Sometimes, there’s little common ground and it’s easier for both parties to walk away, no harm done. But when there are so many different pieces to the puzzle, it means plenty can still be salvaged.
Much is made of how ruthless van Gaal is. But that’s as much a positive as a negative. There is little chance that Sir Alex Ferguson would’ve allowed di Maria walk away from the club a year after he broke a transfer record to sign him. He would’ve put his arm around him and probably coaxed some terrific performances from him. Ferguson’s man-management was his finest managerial trait but he was also unwilling to part with the broken pieces.
Where Ferguson would’ve kept di Maria, he would’ve kept van Persie and Falcao too. And Rafael da Silva. Very rarely did he consciously make a decision to sell a player, only when they expressed an interest in moving elsewhere. A player departing United during Ferguson’s reign always seemed a seismic moment.
That’s not the case anymore. Players are quickly traded and everyone moves on. Di Maria’s exit is another example that United have come a long way in a short space of time.
But it remains unclear whether it’s in the right direction.
