The recent criticism of Louis van Gaal, allegations of him ‘destroying’ Manchester United coming from former Barcelona forward Hristo Stoichkov, are certainly over-the-top and somewhat far-fetched. Yet some Manchester United supporters have been left bemused by the majority of the team’s performances since van Gaal took charge. Whilst few would go as far as to claim that he is actually destroying
United, some might be questioning whether he is really meeting the demands of the club. Is Louis van Gaal a tactical genius or just an erratic manager living off of past glories?
Now I’m not for one moment going to consider Stoichkov’s comments as any more than the passionate reproach of a former player with an axe to grind and an opportunity to do so. You don’t earn a reputation similar to the one which van Gaal has garnered without being a brilliant manager.
He’s achieved success at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and most notably at Ajax in the early 1990s and arrived in Manchester last summer with a status as one of football’s pioneering managerial thinkers and to some degree that still (deservedly) remains.
van Gaal has shown no aversion to making swift and often surprising tactical changes during his short spell at United. He began with a three-man defence and marauding wing backs but quickly abandoned it, only once or twice returning to it over the season, following a slow and stuttering start to the 2014/15 campaign. Perhaps that particular formation failed to work because van Gaal inherited an injury-hit back line lacking in experience and leadership, something surely crucial to adopting a radical change in formation and tactics. Although van Gaal eventually conceded defeat in his three-man defensive crusade and returned to four at the back, underlying every line-up and formation is the hint of a manager trying to impose a tactical revolution. He seems determined to do things differently, to put his own stamp on the way the team plays.
At times, the strict structure of van Gaal’s teams whilst at United have felt overly complex and stifling. You get the feeling that the players have so much to learn and to adapt tactically, and possess a fear of stepping outside the parameters of the manger’s set-up, that performances have often left the team looking stagnant and restricted. If we are criticising van Gaal, and there is acceptable scope for this, his Manchester United lack fluency in their attacking play. This puts more pressure on the defence, making it more vulnerable than it appeared in the past. When you look at the attacking talent at the manager’s disposal, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata are two of the best in the business- and he had Angel Di Maria and Robin van Persie available last season- then a lack of fluent forward play is baffling to say the least.
There is the feeling that the manager is still working out his best side and possibly as important, he’s still searching for a system that fits both the players and how he wants them to operate. You could say that all the pieces of the jigsaw are there but van Gaal is stillsifting through the box searching for the ones that fit together.
There are van Gaal cynics who point to Angel di Maria’s failure at Old Trafford and subsequent departure from the club as evidence that the manager’s, shall we say ‘suffocating’, approach to the team is causing more problems than it is solving. Whilst the reasons for di Maria’s short-lived United career look to be have been personal difficulties off of the pitch, to see a player of such remarkable quality endure a wretched season does cause eyes to be cast upon his managers role in the debacle. di Maria was arguably a victim of the constant tactical shifts under van Gaal and he was played in several different positions, at one point spending a miserable 45 minutes as a striker.
On the other hand the situation can be seen as a managers attempts at fitting in a desperately unhappy, yet gifted, player; but if a player of di Maria’s undoubted ability doesn’t fit van Gaal’s system, then who can?
Louis van Gaal is clearly a manager obsessed with tactics and systems and you have to admire his determination to find the perfect tactical structure.
Perhaps United fans, particularly those of a nostalgic persuasion, are naive in desiring a team combining cavalier attacking football with success and trophies. You can have all the top players you want but if you don’t know how to set them up into a cohesive unit then you’ve got no chance. Not since Brazil in 1970 have you been able to field a team of eleven brilliant players and just sit back and watch them bring home the glory. Even the treble-winning side of 1999, which played cavalier football at its finest, isn’t possible in the modern 21st century game. Football is still the beautiful game but it is now also the tactical one. Sir Alex Ferguson, whose teams played exhilarating attacking football, realised the need to adapt tactically and made solidity and defending more of a priority. He mayhave wanted to play the most aesthetically pleasing football- and who doesn’t – but if you want to beat the best, and be the best, then that approach just isn’t possible anymore.
The gap between structure and style can be bridged and at times last season, in important clashes with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester City, van Gaal’s team clicked into gear. They played a spectacular brand of attacking football whilst retaining the tactical principles held in high regard by the manager.
Those particular results and performances suggest that in van Gaal, Manchester United do have a pioneer at the helm. With such wonderful talent in their ranks combined with an equally special tactical nous in the dugout, the promise of success could be more a likelihood than just mere potential. Sometimes it won’t come off and decisions will confuse but by the end something quite unique and special could come out of it.
Norman Mailer, in his famous book depicting the Rumble in the Jungle, asked what is genius but balance on the edge of the impossible? We should expect a few mistakes and misjudgements but Louis van Gaal could well be considered a genius by the time his tenure at Manchester United comes to an end. It feels like we are waiting for it to come to the fore and fall into place. Patience will be key, for no great team and ethos was instilled and successful overnight. There’s no guessing what his team could achieve when Louis van Gaal gets it right. Whether he is a genius or a madman can be decided when he departs.
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