Let’s address the camel in the room.
If the defeat to Wolfsburg was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”, the subsequent losses to Bournemouth and Norwich made fans, journalists and experts alike, wanting to put the much-trodden manager out of his misery . There had been murmurs of discontent for many weeks now, but fans were consoled by clean sheets David De Gea earned for the side. “At least LVG sorted things out at the back”, was the common refrain. But the competent defensive work counted for nothing, as United failed miserably in completing the “European away job” – a thrilling defeat at Wolfsburg. All the more ironic was that in every game until that point, including those against championship opposition at home (in the league cup), United played a cautious brand of football, unsuccessfully. But in the one must-win match at the Volkswagen arena, where United were better served in playing vigilantly, the team went out all guns blazing, midfield as open as a meadow in Switzerland. The champions league exit comes as no surprise to anyone.
And that is Aloysius Van Gaal in a nutshell. Just as one discovers a method to his madness (more on this later), the Dutchman thwarts him/her with even more bizarre tactics and substitutions. In the crucial Wolfsburg game, Nick Powell, who featured thrice all of last season on loan at Leicester, and zero times this season, bafflingly came on for Juan Mata, who had grabbed an assist earlier in the game. Last season, Angel Di Maria, who was more expensive than India’s mission to Mars (an example for perspective’s sake, and a testament to how football insults intelligence), was benched to the point of frustration, in favour of Ashley Young, who was rewarded for his performances with a 3 year contract. But this season, the bench at Old Trafford probably has a permanent impression of Young’s ample bottom, even though he has been one of our better performers when called upon. Plan A seems to be “pass the ball until the opposition gets bored”, while Plan B seems to be “lump the ball towards Fellaini’s afro, until it sticks”. There is no middle ground. United signed Victor Valdes from the footballing wilderness, only to banish him from the training ground a few months later. The sheer contradictions in LVG’s much vaunted philosophy are difficult to explain (we attempt an explanation later).
But this article was in defence of Van Gaal, and I shall perform my duties as the defence counsel shortly. Van Gaal has a staggering record in football management. He is one of the great coaches of world football – a World Cup bronze, one Champions League triumph (plus two finals and two semi-finals), one UEFA cup, four Dutch league titles, two La Liga titles, one Bundesliga title, in addition to the KNVB Cup and the DFB-pokal. I do not count those trophies decided by one-off games. The great Ajax team of 1995 won the treble, and several of its constituents like Van Der Saar, Davids, Seedorf, Overmars, Kluivert, Litmanen, etc, are regarded as legends of the game today. Further, Van Gaal was one Mourinho away from completing a second treble in 2010. He has a stellar reputation of giving young players an opportunity. Muller, Valdes, Iniesta, Xavi and Alaba were noteworthy players handed a chance at Barca and FC Bayern, in addition to the previously mentioned Van Gaal’s Gooslings at Ajax. At Manchester United, academy graduates like Januzaj, Wilson, Borthwick-Jackson, McNair, Varela, Andreas Pereira, Blackett, Lingard have all received significant game-time. It must also be mentioned that several reputed managers in today’s game, including Mourinho, Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Frank De Boer, Ronald Koeman, etc have all been under his tutelage at some point in their careers.
Now, with regards to the philosophy at Old Trafford, like every manager, Van Gaal has brought in his own ideas to the club, from changes to the fences at the AON training complex, to the arrangement of benches at the dining hall, to the way United play the game itself. An emphasis was placed on keeping possession, because the opposition cannot score if they do not have the ball. The players were coached on four scenarios : a) When United attack. b) When the opposition attacks. c) When United transitions from defense to attack. d) When the opposition transitions from defense to attack. The players were drilled rigorously for each scenario. In terms of footballing philosophy, this made sense. Under Van Gaal, Ajax had scored 289 league goals in its three title winning seasons, which is a staggering return. This came at a price however – for Van Gaal, the system was paramount, and all players were equal. Rivaldo, Bergkamp, et. al. would have to sacrifice their ego and flair if necessary, to serve the system. At Old Trafford, this resulted in a slow-paced game, with the exception of a one month period in March-April 2015, where United played vintage football defeating Spurs and Man City, and also included a rare – collector’s item – dominant performance against the Old Enemy at Anfield, scoring 12 goals and conceding four in four games. It was this display of football, that raised the expectations of the fans through the roof – this level of football was simply unheard of under David Moyes. But the run came to a grinding halt when Van Gaal’s protege, Jose Mourinho parked the bus and grabbed a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. Since then, United haven’t played entertaining football in the league.
The defeat by Chelsea had an additional effect – teams realized that United were particularly vulnerable to the “park the bus and counter-attack” strategy, and United have been ineffective at breaking teams down. So much so, that many teams setup defensively at Old Trafford from the kick-off. This has led to first half goals drying up (only four so far this season in all competitions, and none inside 20 minutes), thus quietening the crowd and somewhat nullifying the home advantage. When teams open up against United, they are put to the sword. When they shut down shop, they usually get a point or three.
Another intriguing aspect of Van Gaal’s methods is his virtual absence on the touch line. He regularly prowled the touchline during his Ajax days, if nothing else, than to complain to the referee or celebrate a goal. He was also seen on the touchline during his most recent tenure with the Netherlands national team. But not at United. Many fans interpret this as apathy, or arrogance. Van Gaal himself has a different view – he claims that the players are given all their instructions in the dressing room, and it is up to them to implement the tactics on the pitch. All things considered, for a long time, I thought of “the philosophy” as bewildering. None of his methods worked, so why persist with them? After all, Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. And this was my viewpoint until I chanced upon a book published in the 1940s by a German professor who lived in Japan, titled “Zen in the Art of Archery”. Briefly, the book written in first-person, describes the struggle of a German philosophy professor who seeks Zen enlightenment. He is advised to learn an ancient form of Japanese archery called Kyudo, which would “bring out the Zen” in him, under a master Kyudo instructor. The teacher gives the German bizarre feedback – on some occasions, when he has missed the target by a considerable margin, the master gives him high praise. On another occasion, when the German hits a particularly good shot, the master refused to speak to him again, because he had “cheated” by learning a “trick” to shoot the arrow accurately. According the master, hitting the target didn’t matter at all – any charlatan could shoot accurately at a target. What was important was to be “one with the bow” – in other words, the philosophy was more important than the results. Sound familiar ? In this manner, the German makes little to no progress for five long years, until one day, upon releasing the arrow, the master bows to his pupil and tells him that he is ready. The now expert pupil further writes that his book isn’t really about archery – Kyudo is merely a metaphor, one could substitute a bow and arrow with literally anything else. Including a football, perhaps, as long as it is played spiritually.
It is known from his biography that Van Gaal used to quote the Lotus Sutra (a revered but esoteric text – among the Westerners, only those especially interested in Buddhism would have even heard of it) during his days at Ajax. A report emerged earlier this year in several newspapers, that Van Gaal had invited a Zen master to help train United players mentally, which further thickens the plot.
The key aspect of Zen is that not everyone understands it due to its paradoxical nature. The more one tries to grasp at the goal of enlightenment, the more it slips away. The only reason the German professor eventually learned Kyudo is because he persisted for five years. Would the Man United board or players suffer willingly for that long?
Louis Van Gaal and Manchester United’s journey wading through the metaphorical desert might be treacherous and filled with its share of disillusioning mirages, and circling vultures – but is a course previously navigated by the wily-wizened voyager. In the unforgiving footballing vista as ever-changing as the dunes, a change too often, could lead Manchester United unknowingly away from the oasis, without bearing, or a sense of direction, eroding into irrelevancy.
Just ask them Liverpool fans.
