Republik Of Mancunia |
- Louis van Gaal – a managerial heavyweight
- Holland – Replacing Clockwork Orange with Pragmatism
- Prepare for Evra exit…and Vidal arrival?
- PICTURE: What would our shirt look like if Adidas made it?
| Louis van Gaal – a managerial heavyweight Posted: 09 Jul 2014 12:35 PM PDT
Van Gaal started in his career at Ajax in the Netherlands in the early 1990s. His Ajax side achieved world fame in 1995, when the Amsterdam based outfit won the Champions League with a squad comprising mainly of youth academy graduates and other technically gifted players, cleverly bought for relatively low transfer fees. In 1996, Van Gaal's Ajax reached the final of the Champions League again. This time they lost after penalties against Juventus. His achievements at Ajax did not go unnoticed though, and in 1997, Van Gaal joined Spanish side Barcelona after his contract with Ajax had run down. There, he would go on to win two league titles and the Copa del Rey. In 2000, Van Gaal became manager of the Dutch national team, but when the Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2002, he resigned. Luckily, Barcelona took him back. Unluckily, Van Gaal's second stint in Spain was much less successful than his first. He didn't even finish the season. This was a delicate moment in Van Gaal's career. In a way, it was make or break. Yes, he had been successful at Ajax, and miraculously, he had won the Champions League. Yes, he had had some success at Barcelona. But he had failed as an international manager, and he had failed when the Spanish giants had taken him back. All in all, Van Gaal's place on the managerial spectrum wasn't quite clear. Van Gaal's Bayern side won the German title and reached the final of the Champions League in 2010. Later, in 2013, when Bayern Munich won Europe's biggest prize under the leadership of Van Gaal's successor Jupp Heynckes, the Dutch manager would claim that it was him who had laid the foundations of Bayern's future success. While this remark might sound arrogant and pompous, it is also true in many ways. Many aspects of the style of play employed by Bayern were inspired by Van Gaal's trademark 'philosophy' – the attacking tactics inspired by the Dutch 'Total Football' employed by Johan Cruyff and his colleagues in the 1970s. In fact, the same could be said about Barcelona, whose former manager Pep Guardiola was coached by Van Gaal when he was still a player at the Spanish side. Guardiola, who now manages Bayern Munich, would at one point revolutionise football management and football tactics, but he learned the trade from Van Gaal in the late 1990s, when he was already thinking about his future career. And it wasn't just Guardiola who Van Gaal mentored during his time at Barcelona. Current Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho – then just promoted from the position of club translator – was Van Gaal's assistant.By now, Van Gaal has removed all doubts: he is not some pretender who managed to do what he has done merely because luck was on his side. He is one of those rare giants of the game. A quick look at some of Europe's top sides will prove that. Thus, any club able to employ Louis van Gaal should count themselves fortunate to do so. And in the case of Manchester United, this fortune seems to go both ways, as the Dutch legend recently stated in an interview that he regards Manchester United as 'the biggest club in the world'. Not too long ago, Van Gaal announced he had two ambitions left. He wanted to manage a team during a World Cup, and he wanted to manage a team in the Premier League. His first ambition has been fulfilled. United are able to offer Van Gaal chance to fulfil his second ambition. And as we know now, United could do worse. Louis van Gaal is a managerial heavyweight. For more articles on Louis van Gaal but Dutch football experts, as well as an in-depth review of our season, get the RoM Season review. All profit to Trafford Macmillan. ------------ The Republik of Mancunia has brought out a brilliant downloadable World Cup preview. It contains 20 articles written by football experts on the countries our players will be representing in Brazil. There is also exclusive content from this country's top football journalists, such as Sid Lowe, Martin Lipton, Sam Wallace and Dominic Fifield. All profit is going to charity. More info on the RoM World Cup preview can be found here. Minimum price is £4. Enter your e-mail address to receive the download and the price you would like to pay. |
| Holland – Replacing Clockwork Orange with Pragmatism Posted: 09 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT
However, the defence lacks recognised talent and in Kevin Strootman, Van Gaal's proposed midfield general, is absent through injury. The lack of a similar player in the Dutch national squad has forced Van Gaal to drop his princples. Usually a defender of the 'Hollandse School', he has now changed the system from a 4-3-3 into a 5-3-2. Just as four years ago, the Netherlands heavily rely on the trio of Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder to make the difference. But whereas in 2010, the Dutch were mainly making headlines for gritty performances embodied by the duo of Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong, Louis van Gaal has now put the emphasis on playing a more expansive brand of football. With attacking wing backs, a more creative holding midfielder next to the ever industrious Nigel de Jong and more pace in the backline than in South Africa, Oranje is set up to play aesthetically pleasing, counter-attacking football.Usually, (former) Ajax players form the backbone of the Dutch national team, but as things stand it seems that six of the starting eleven will have a Feyenoord background. The most eye-catching of them all is Robin van Persie. The Dutch captain and all-time top goalscorer of Oranje is poised to show that he is one of the best attackers around and not only has he a season at Manchester United to avenge, the left-footed striker has a mediocre World Cup in 2010 to make up for as well. At age 30, this is likely to be Van Persie's last World Cup as a starter and the same goes for football heavyweights Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Nigel de Jong. With 15 players in the squad having played under 20 caps when the tournament starts, it is these four who bring the experience. The Netherlands will be bringing their youngest selection to the World Cup in 76 years and Van Gaal has his hopes set on these youngsters their eagerness and willingness to work for the team. Forty years ago, it was the so-called Clockwork Orange that wowed crowds and won hearts, only to be stopped by German pragmatism. This time around, it is exactly that pragmatism in which Oranje have stored its hope of making the World Cup in Brazil a success. To read other quality articles like this on United’s players who have been at the World Cup, buy the World Cup PDF. All proceeds going to Trafford Macmillan. ------------ The Republik of Mancunia has brought out a brilliant downloadable World Cup preview. It contains 20 articles written by football experts on the countries our players will be representing in Brazil. There is also exclusive content from this country's top football journalists, such as Sid Lowe, Martin Lipton, Sam Wallace and Dominic Fifield. All profit is going to charity. More info on the RoM World Cup preview can be found here. Minimum price is £4. Enter your e-mail address to receive the download and the price you would like to pay. |
| Prepare for Evra exit…and Vidal arrival? Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:49 AM PDT It looked as though Patrice Evra was certain to leave Manchester United this summer after David Moyes had made it quite clear that Leighton Baines would have forced the Frenchman out of the team, if he hadn’t turned us down to stay at Everton. As the season progressed, Luke Shaw’s link with United grew stronger, although his Chelsea-supporting childhood and Ashley Cole’s impending exit meant we weren’t taking anything for granted. Evra, who’s form has been unimpressive for years, was certainly going to be replaced this summer, we just didn’t know who by. However, when he signed a contract extension last month, it was fantastic news. He obviously could presume that he wouldn’t be our first choice left-back, and that was proven true when Shaw eventually did sign, but was happy to stick around regardless. Whilst his influence on the pitch is nothing to write home about, his presence in the dressing room is massive. To have his experience about the place for another year, particularly as Shaw was finding his feet, would have been brilliant. Over the past few days, rumours claiming that Evra is on his way to Juventus have started the gain momentum. This evening, it was reported that Evra has asked can he move to the Italian champions and United have begrudging agreed. However, at the same times that the Evra news started to be reported, so did United’s deal for Arturo Vidal. Whilst Ed Woodward doesn’t have the best reputation amongst United fans, it would be nice to think that he wouldn’t negotiate a deal for United without at least trying to make a move for Vidal. Italian paper Gazzetta dello Sport has reported today that the talks are well underway and that the player’s agent has met with United representatives today. Meanwhile, another Italian paper, Tuttosport, claimed that Vidal would be available €50m, which could include players. Nani is apparently another player they fancy. To add further fuel to the fire, The Mirror this evening has reported that Juve need to sell one of their star players to balance their books. President Andrea Agnelli is apparently open to cashing in on Vidal or Paul Pogba. The former United midfielder, Pogba, has been linked with a big money move to PSG this week. It’s unlikely that Juve would let both players leave though, so our ability to sign Vidal might depend on how quickly we move. ------------ The Republik of Mancunia has brought out a brilliant downloadable World Cup preview. It contains 20 articles written by football experts on the countries our players will be representing in Brazil. There is also exclusive content from this country's top football journalists, such as Sid Lowe, Martin Lipton, Sam Wallace and Dominic Fifield. All profit is going to charity. More info on the RoM World Cup preview can be found here. Minimum price is £4. Enter your e-mail address to receive the download and the price you would like to pay. |
| PICTURE: What would our shirt look like if Adidas made it? Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:14 AM PDT
After it was confirmed that Nike will not be renewing their kit deal with United, fans have been getting excited about the prospect of Adidas designing our kits again. Here’s a picture of one mock-up that has been doing the rounds on the internet. ------------ The Republik of Mancunia has brought out a brilliant downloadable World Cup preview. It contains 20 articles written by football experts on the countries our players will be representing in Brazil. There is also exclusive content from this country's top football journalists, such as Sid Lowe, Martin Lipton, Sam Wallace and Dominic Fifield. All profit is going to charity. More info on the RoM World Cup preview can be found here. Minimum price is £4. Enter your e-mail address to receive the download and the price you would like to pay. |
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