By Shina Peter
Manchester
United’s record signing, Angel Di Maria isn’t finding life at the Old
Trafford easy. The Argentine has been hugely disappointing despite his
good start which saw him score 3 goals and make a number of assists
before picking up an injury late November. Di Maria’s talent and ability
is not in doubt as he is endowed with pace, dribbling skills, strength
and tactical awareness- qualities that makes his poor showings more
surprising for football fans, even neutrals.
His price tag makes it harder to make excuses for Angel but playing
the devil’s advocate, here are few reasons why his poor performances
shouldn’t surprise most.
All work and no play
2014 was a hectic year for Di Maria. Given his talent and
significant importance to both club and country, it was hard for his
managers to drop him for any game except in the rare case of an
injury. Following a lengthy run of games for Real Madrid in La Liga, the
Champions League and Copa del Rey and also for Argentina at the World
Cup, Di Maria arrived at United with little or no chance of getting a
deserved- and necessary- rest.
Old things passed away and all became new
When you cost £59.7 million and are the most expensive signing by
an English club ever, you are expected to score, assist, tackle and if
possible, help the goalkeeper save goals. Truth is, Di Maria does not
seem all too familiar or comfortable with the pressure and huge
expectation cast on his shoulder at Manchester United. Though a top
player but at Real Madrid, he was ONE of the stars unlike at Manchester
United where is obviously the biggest name. There is no hiding place for
Angel at Manchester United as opposed to Real Madrid where his lapses
could be overlooked in the euphoria of Ronaldo’s goals or Gareth Bale’s
exceptional pace. Di Maria went from being an unsung hero who seemingly
blossomed without a lot of media attention to being the biggest player,
not just his club, but in the league. Only few players have been known
not to cave under such pressure and expectations.
Tactics
When you suddenly move from a club that parades players like
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema with an established
style of play to one that is in the middle of a rebuilding process, you
will definitely have problems. More so, if the manager’s tactics are as
complicated as Chris Brown’s relationship with Karrueche. (Congrats on
the new baby, Chris!)
Di Maria might have cost a lot of money but like they say form is
temporary and class is permanent, as the competition for top four gets
tougher, United will need saving and Angel might yet be decisive.
Credit: ShinaPeter/Soccernation
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