Last summer Angel Di Maria walked off the pitch in Sao Paulo with his head held high. The winger had just scored the only goal in an extra time thriller, sending Argentina into the World Cup quarter-finals. This came barely a month after his man of the match performance in Real Madrid’s astonishing come from behind Champions League final win the in Lisbon. He looked like the real deal, one of the world’s best at the top of his game.
Fast forward 12 months and Di Maria is once again a key player for Argentina in the Copa America. But his steady performances in the national strip belie the terrible drop-off in his play at club level. A poor first season in England leaves his career at somewhat of a cross-roads, which both club and player desperately need to resolve.
It must be said that Di Maria endured a tough first year in Manchester. His record £59.7 million transfer fee came with significant expectation attached. While a return of three goals and 10 assists from 27 Premier League games may not seem dreadful, the stats blur the reality of what was a frustrating campaign for all.
Things started well. His first few displays appeared to herald the arrival of a new United superstar. His energy, creativity and enterprise with the ball gave fans a timely reminder of all the qualities their team appeared to be lacking.
His goal against Leicester, an outrageous chip from the edge of the area, put the rest of the league on notice. But beneath the surface problems were brewing, and he never again reached that same fever pitch. His sensational Champions League and World Cup campaigns had glossed over the very real questions as to how the skinny Di Maria would react to the English game. In the end the pace and power of the game seemed to overwhelm him, and with greater introspection, perhaps the expectations would have been set a bit lower.
Astute observers would have honed-in on a fault that was obvious to all who watched him maraud up and down the right-flank in Sao Paulo. Di Maria’s sheer aggressiveness with the ball at his feet was counteracted by his tendency to needlessly give it away. In other words, by trying to make things happen all the time, Di Maria’s play can at times be as disruptive as it is creative.
This neatly presents the paradoxical riddle of the 27-year-old. Fans will always see what they want in him. Some will love his manic dribbling, creativity and ability to craft goals out of nothing. Some will lament his selfishness and careless giveaways. Your views on football will probably reflect your views on Di Maria. Do you prefer careful methodical build up play or helter-skelter, end-to-end counter attacking?
What can be said for sure is that his arrival sparked an immediate revival from a United side that looked sluggish in its opening fixtures. But five months later when van Gaal’s philosophy finally seemed to click with the group, Di Maria’s influence was negligible. His pointless red card against Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals was costly as United were denied their most reasonable shot at a trophy. He was immediately relegated to the bench and never recovered his starting position, Juan Mata barely looking back as his replacement.
The problem going forward for United is that Di Maria is simply too talented and too expensive to languish on the bench. He was signed by Van Gaal as a versatile piece to be used as an out-and-out winger or drifting in as a second striker, in the same position in which Arjen Robben excelled for Holland. The second striker experiment failed and the Argentine was too easily outmuscled with his back to goal. His confidence took a hit and shifting back outside he was often caught in possession and his crosses kept missing their mark.
His form slump was compounded by two equally unlikely events. An unsettling burglary of his Manchester home off the field, and the totally unexpected but quite brilliant renaissance from Ashley Young on it.
United’s transfer activity this summer has hardly acted as a ringing endorsement of their record signing. The recent arrival of another van Gaal prodigy Memphis Depay, from PSV, indicates that there will be more and not less competition for starting places at Old Trafford next season.
So the question beckons, where does all this leave Di Maria?
One mooted option is for him to leave and try and restart his career at another club. United would be rightly hesitant to offload him to any Premier League rival and if he were to leave his most likely suitors would be overseas. Rumours linking him to PSG, his preferred destination last summer according to many sources, have refused to die down. With Financial Fair Play regulations set to relax, the French capital may be an enticing destination. A possible move back to Madrid could also be on the cards, but with the list of names looking to swap Old Trafford for the Bernabeu and vice versa seemingly growing by the day, it is hard to separate fact from fiction.
For the time being it is safe to say he will stay and fight for his place in Manchester United’s starting XI. At 29, Ashley Young is unlikely to seamlessly slip into his 2014/15 level of performance following his summer break. It is far from assured that the inconsistent Englishman will once again hit his heights from the last campaign. Depay is viewed by most as a long-term project unlikely to make waves in his first season. Flexible talents like Adnan Januzaj and Juan Mata can be accommodated in a number of different ways, which may give Di Maria the opening he needs.
[interaction id=”55878e309903ebaf492642c7″]
Both the starting positions on the flanks of van Gaal’s 4-3-3 should be open come August. The Argentine certainly has the talent and resume to make one of those spots his own. The enigmatic winger can still have a bright future at Old Trafford. But it will not be as the reckless attacking machine that fans saw in Sao Paulo. To be a long-term success in Van Gaal’s possession-based system, Di Maria will have to reign in some of his more cavalier elements whilst still keeping that daring and incisive edge that made him into one of the world’s premier attacking playmakers. Some coaches can tolerate rogue playmakers, Van Gaal it appears, will not.
It will not be an easy balance to strike but could be crucial in shaping not only Di Maria’s success in Manchester, but also the Red Devil’s success next season as they look to build and once again challenge for domestic and European success.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
