Angel Di Maria, the British record signing, joined Manchester United for a £59.7m fee back in the summer from Real Madrid. The transfer was the fifth most expensive of all time. The Argentine’s arrival was crowned with the iconic number seven jersey, stepping into the shoes of clubs legends such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. His arrival, coupled with other signings, lifted morale and hope at Old Trafford.
27-year-old Di Maria had an astonishing campaign last season with Real Madrid, playing a pivotal role in what saw the club rule Europe for the tenth (La Decima) time in their history. He was also instrumental in the Spanish Copa del Rey final, scoring the first goal and helping Real Madrid beat Barcelona to the trophy. The winger won the silver medal with Argentina in the summer at the World Cup in Brazil; what a year it was for him.
Many a football fan expected Di Maria to take the Premier League by storm and, yes, we saw glimpses of what he was capable of earlier this season. However, it has not been a great 2015 for the Argentine; he looks short of his usual self, lacking confidence and ideas on the ball, and wasteful with possession most of the time. It has become very difficult to pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong for such a talented player. His poor form has affected the entire team; he is a player his teammates automatically will seek out on the pitch to produce some spark, but that has not been the case thus far.
Di Maria joined the club when the season had already started and did not have any pre-season preparation whatsoever with the club. This is one crucial element of transfers – it is always better for a player to move early and get to know his team well before the season begins. Possibly if the former Real star had joined United on pre-season tour at some point, the story could have been different. When Luka Modrić made a late switch to Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspurs, the midfielder struggled to hit the ground running. It took him some time to finally settle in and, when he did, he became the team’s best man in the middle of the field.
When a team hits its lowest point in the past two decades, something almost no one in and around the club is used to, it always difficult for all the players and that would include record-signing Di Maria. When he joined from Real Madrid, United were not going to play in the Champions League, and their season had not started well. When a team is in such a situation and so much money has been exchanged for you, it is natural that there is a bit of pressure to justify your price tag. ‘Angel to redeem Manchester United’ was all over. Maybe Di Maria joined the club at the wrong time? He joined when all the players were far from their best; Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata were all struggling themselves. Imagine Di Maria in the Manchester United team between 2007-11; within that period, the team were playing at a top level and all the players were in fine form and it would have been a better environment for the player to bed in.
Louis van Gaal has played the naturally-gifted winger in several positions since he joined the club. It is difficult to always blame van Gaal for that one, when you have a player of that quality; you are tempted do whatever it takes to get the best out of him. The number seven has played along both wings, behind the strikers, through the middle and, at some point, the furthest man up for the club. None of these positions have brought the best out of him in recent months, which is likely due to lack of confidence.
There have been reports indicating that, even though the player is enjoying his place at United, he is not so happy with life in Manchester. Once a player is not content with an aspect of his life, it sometimes goes a long way to affect his game and might also be good to look into. Clearly Di Maria has not arrived and it might also be for a simple reason: the English game is far different to the Spanish game. He will have to understand the English way and find his own path to have an opportunity on top of the English style.
If Di Maria stays in Manchester United for next season, he would now have had a year’s worth of experience in the Premier League, will know his teammates better and will have pre-season preparations with the whole squad. He is still a player with so much aptitude and experience, and it would be silly for anyone to easily give up on him so soon. Time is all Angel Di Maria needs to turn the corner; just another season and hopefully the best of him will grace the English game.
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