So Close Yet So Far Away: Closing the Chapter on Angel Di Maria

Take yourself back a moment.  Real Madrid had won La Decima. Neutral fans witnessed a speedy Argentine maraud his way through Atletico Madrid’s defense, whose shot rebounded to an onrushing Gareth Bale giving Real Madrid the lead in extra time in the Champions League final. Not only did it cap off an excellent season for Real Madrid, it was a moment which encapsulated Di Maria’s world class season. 

Going beyond his goals, assists, chances created and other impressive stats, the lanky winger from Rosario was a vital cog in Carlo Ancelotti’s 4-3-3.  Maintaining the balance of the team through his hybrid role (LW/LCM).

So when Manchester United fans got wind the Argentine would be headed to the Theatre of Dreams, who could blame them for being excited? Di Maria displayed high work-rate, flair, tactical versatility, willingness to work for the team and a consistent level of attacking productivity.

For the likes of Ed Woodward and others within the Manchester United hierarchy, this was the perfect opportunity to cash in on a marquee signing.  Namely for Ed Woodward, it was the perfect opportunity to show his words about bringing star players to Old Trafford weren’t hollow.

Manchester United fans reveled in imagination of Di Maria continuing his world class form at United and becoming a mainstay in Louis van Gaal’s lineup as the Red Devils would seek to make up ground to their rivals after missing out on Champions League football.

With most fairytales, there’s the dream-shattering moment when reality breaks through the glass, threatening to disrupt the comfort zone embedded in reveling in the dream.  Like being woken up from the perfect dream by an alarm clock halfway across the room.  It’s in this moment where a choice can be made to grapple with the uncomfortable truths reality brings to the doorstep.  To slam the door shut, never to entertain the possibilities, or instead, do nothing to address the issue.

           

Along with raising the confidence level in United ranks, acquiring a player like Di Maria also raised the expectations on the club as well as the player.  It’s common for fans of the buying club to expect players from the selling club to transfer their excellent form to their new club.  The expectation is part of the hope the player will deliver the goods and “repay” the fee in terms of on-the-field performances. 

It’s this hope which quickly can turn into vitriolic scorn when a player doesn’t live up to fans’ expectations.  Of course, it’s never the fans’ fault for their arguably unrealistic expectations.  The blame will almost always fall to the player if not the club.

As Manchester United seek to move on from Di Maria’s time at Old Trafford, there are several takeaways which can be explored as a club and fanbase going forward.

Key Facts:

Di Maria Transfer:

When Angel Di Maria signed for Manchester United, one area where Manchester United fans got duped was in the public relations department. Below is a quote shortly after Di Maria signed on with the club.

The key aspect here is Di Maria said these words after becoming a Manchester United player. Like Thiago Alcantara when he joined Bayern, once players sign for a club, they make it seem like the club they’re signing for was their first choice.  To do otherwise can de-legitimize the club’s pursuit, which doesn’t reflect well on the club or pander to the fans. Thus, it was in Di Maria’s best interest as a Manchester United player to say these words.

The real question is, what were his intentions before signing for The Red Devils? From what we know, if it wasn’t for PSG already being fined for violating FFP regulations, buying David Luiz for £50m and being unable to sell one of their star players (namely Edinson Cavani) due to FFP restrictions, Di Maria would most likely have gone to PSG last summer instead of Manchester United.  PSG’s inability to find a workaround with Real Madrid gave Ed Woodward and Manchester United the lifeline needed to sign the Argentine.

When we revisit the above quote with this information in mind, it’s fair to assume Di Maria was speaking disingenuously.  Manchester United was the only club he would leave Real Madrid for on account of the fact PSG couldn’t find a way to buy him. 

Thus, it begs the question, was Di Maria more desperate to leave Real Madrid than join Manchester United?  The evidence would certainly suggest this is the case which aligns with Manchester United’s point of view. Angel Di Maria didn’t really want to be at the club.

Di Maria’s time at Manchester United:

On-the-pitch:

• 27 Premier League appearances, 20 starts, 1640 minutes played
•  3 goals, 10 assists  
• Highest assist tally for Manchester United. Second closest: Wayne Rooney (5), Ashley Young (5) (2872 mins, 2065 mins played respectively)
•  Highest number of key passes (per 90 metrics): 2.25
• Highest number of chances created (per 90 metrics): 2.80
• Di Maria was involved in 55% of MUFC’s shots last season. Only player who  was more involved was Sigurdsson (@colinttrainor)

•  Key takeaways:
• Despite having an underwhelming season, Di Maria came out on top in terms of assists, key passes and chances created.
• Di Maria was best on the left side positioned as a forward or attacking midfielder.
• Tended to perform poorly as a substitute and contributed much less productivity on the right side versus the left
• Despite poor possession performance scores (drops into the negatives) Di Maria’s defensive, attacking and overall performance scores gradually increased over the course of the season
• Since Louis van Gaal strongly stresses taking care of the ball, it makes sense why he became less favored despite his overall performance scores improving. His careless use of possession caused him to stand out in a negative way which indicated to those watching, his form had dipped.
• In a different tactical setup and environment, di Maria’s possession numbers may not have been such a drawback (i.e. under Mourinho’s counterattacking setup at Madrid). However, due to aspects of van Gaal’s football philosophy (or strategic principles) being careless with possession is not allowed thus the only choice for van Gaal was to drop Di Maria down the pecking order.

Di Maria off-the-pitch:

• Di Maria struggled to learn English
• Family struggled to settle in Manchester
• Attempted burglary in January only worsened the situation
• Di Maria and his wife became more unsettled (Oliver Kay -Times)
• Di Maria also did not get on well with Rooney and Di Maria had made complaints about playing with Rooney. Also had problems with other senior players in the dressing room.(Sourced from United circles)
• Senior players felt Di Maria didn’t show strength of character or seem to try enough for the team.(Sourced from United circles)
• Not happy with being played in various roles in the different systems van Gaal used over the course of the season 

Talking points: 

For those on the outside looking in, selling Di Maria was an indication of Manchester United giving up on the Argentine. From the club’s point of view, it was far from the truth.  United felt they went out of their way to support Di Maria but despite the support, didn’t feel Angel applied the proper application needed to gel with his teammates or align with van Gaal’s demands to ultimately be a success at the club.

With PSG being Di Maria’s primary option, United were never really too confident he wanted to even be at the club.  Whether it was his attitude in training, in the dressing room, or on the pitch, the readings from those in United circles suggested he wouldn’t be a good fit anymore after falling out with van Gaal.

Van Gaal didn’t want Di Maria to leave the club but he also recognized there was little to gain in trying to convince an unhappy player to stay against his will.  When there’s an employee who struggles to get on board, no matter how good they are, a decision needs to be made on whether they stay or go before the negative energy they bring to the table leads to a more drastic turn of events.

Although Manchester United have taken a £15m loss on Di Maria, it’s a fair amount considering he arrived from Madrid at the peak of his powers and left United after having an underwhelming season.  Considering the wages he was on and the fact Manchester United usually don’t sell well, Ed Woodward did a respectable job in selling Di Maria to PSG at a reasonable price.

If Manchester United knew Di Maria wasn’t too keen on joining the club, it begs the question why the club was willing to spend so much money on him? Though to understand United’s point of view better, it’s not enough to look at the Di Maria transfer in isolation.

When van Gaal officially started working with United after the World Cup, there wasn’t much time for planning and rigorously scouting targets to sign for the upcoming season.  For example, Marcos Rojo was signed after the World Cup of which van Gaal was vaguely familiar with the player.

In addition, van Gaal did not have much time to spend with the current squad before the regular season started which meant he had to make rasher decisions than he would have liked on which players could stay or go.

It left the club in a position where any acquisition was more likely to be based on opportunism than thorough planning.  If you’re an agent like Jorge Mendes, it’s a golden opportunity to exploit.  Di Maria and Falcao (more so Falcao) epitomize the opportunistic approach of buying big name players made available to you in hope they can deliver.

It’s fair to ask what plan van Gaal had for either player, especially Di Maria with the many positions van Gaal asked him to play in.  Once van Gaal went pragmatic after the Leicester loss, it seemed Di Maria was the loser in that battle.  Van Gaal is known to put the collective (system) above catering to individuals so when he changed tactics attempting to find more balance, he took Di Maria from a position he was flourishing in and tried him in others which seemed to be the catalyst for the Argentine’s loss in form.

Shifting Di Maria around isn’t van Gaal’s fault per se, however, it’s important to acknowledge how it played into the situation we’ve seen unfold.  Contrast the signings from last summer with the current one and you can see a difference in the level of planning and thorough decision-making in the players United have signed.  All offer a level of improvement to the squad and it’s much easier to see how they can fit into van Gaal’s plan.

With Di Maria, there were still many questions mark about where van Gaal thought he could be utilized best.  The Falcao signing raised question marks as he came to United still recovering from his knee issues which never seemed to be resolved. Furthermore, van Gaal tried to use him in an unorthodox striker pair which the Colombian seemed unaccustomed to.  Is it any surprise on some level, neither Di Maria or Falcao had much success under van Gaal then?      

Di Maria’s time at the club suggests a potential clash of cultures between manager, player and teammates as well.  As mentioned earlier, United were aware he did not get on well with senior players like Wayne Rooney.  He did not see eye to eye with van Gaal.  He didn’t have the respect of some of his teammates who thought he didn’t visibly try hard enough.

It paints a bleak picture which seems to put the player at fault.  First consider the fact the above information comes from circles within United so one shouldn’t expect it to paint United in a bad light.  Secondly, the information seems to shed some light on why Di Maria perhaps struggled to establish any good partnerships with his teammates on the pitch.  He looked more like an individual actor than someone who fit into a collective scheme.

Why Di Maria’s spell at Manchester United suggests a potential clash of cultures is due to the different elements of vested parties’ (players, manager, staff) backgrounds.  Squads are becoming more multi-cultural, thus not only are managers encountering players with different playing styles, but also a range of personalities partially affected by the environment and culture they come from.  Such a dynamic can create tensions and preventable conflicts because there exists a level of disconnect or miscommunication between one or more parties, leading the situation to snowball.

We know van Gaal has a specific way of working and comes across as “cold” to the South American contingent at the club.  Whereas with the Dutch and English players for example, they don’t see much of an issue with his demanding, forthright coaching style.  Furthermore, it suggests how one’s culture, background and upbringing shapes their perception in a way where you get disparate views of the same man (in this case, van Gaal) along cultural lines.

It is not to say van Gaal can’t or doesn’t want to work with South American players.  He’s brought in a few!  What it does suggest, however, is managers with more authoritative, autocratic coaching styles (van Gaal & Sir Alex Ferguson share similarities here) seem to be skeptical of or tend not to work well with South American players.

While parallels between any culture can be found, the football culture in England exhibits a high level of jingoism which is not accommodating to players who do not fit into the cultural paradigms.  Hence, it should be of little surprise to anyone why there exists an underlying skepticism of foreign players and their level of application.

It doesn’t matter if English players themselves show a lack of application.  Because English is the default and foreigners are the “other”, it’s easy to find fault and over-generalize foreigners rather than noticing the same issues within the default culture. Thus, when English players fail to meet the standard of “grit”, “determination”, “desire”, “passion”, “hard work”, it is treated differently than if a player like Mesut Ozil fails to rise to the same arbitrary standard.

Perhaps it explains why Manchester United fans turned on Di Maria so quickly.  For a lot of fans, he failed to live up to expectations and more importantly didn’t appear to “fight for the shirt”.  A vacuous notion which doesn’t seem to take into account the quality a player offers but captures the endearing value of seeing a player run his heart out for your club.

United fans have gone as far as saying Di Maria is a coward who doesn’t try.  What’s more interesting is when presented with the evidence of how he’s been a fighter more or less his whole footballing career, the evidence is cast aside as irrelevant as if the only aspect which is relevant is how he played for Manchester United.

While there’s some credence to the argument, to cast the contrary evidence as irrelevant comes across as cognitive dissonance and an oversimplification of the situation at hand.  Rather than seeking to understand why Di Maria would act in a certain way (arguably uncharacteristic), fans have found it easier to project, assume and jump to conclusions. Conclusions and opinions they hold dearer than a player’s well being. 

Assuming it’s true he wasn’t keen on coming to Manchester United, expecting him to meet an arbitrary standard which players who are keen on coming to the club tend to meet, is unrealistic.  Of course, Di Maria could have tried harder, “fought for the shirt”, and shown more determination.  But if we’re truly being honest with ourselves, is that, as a fanbase, what we really wanted to see? Or were we more interested in seeing the Di Maria from Real Madrid reproduce similar kind of form at Manchester United?

If that’s the case, then it would be more about a display of quality and consistency than simply applying himself more or trying harder.  We like to see players exerting the amount of effort we imagine we would if we were in their shoes.  The trick is, we are not, thus what we get worked up over is more abstract than concrete.  What we think we would do, rather than knowing for a fact how it would actually play out.

There is no stipulation for Di Maria to care about Manchester United like we do, or to exert a level of effort which appeases us as fans.  He’s not a Manchester United fan.  Football is probably not the only aspect of his life which occupies his mind.  He also has a family to take care of among other things and when those aspects of life are not in good standing, they can bleed over into your professional life.

It’s interesting to see Manchester United fans who could acknowledge how Rooney’s off the field issues would affect his on the field performances, yet when it comes to Di Maria, it’s seen as an excuse.  It suggests how a level of patriotism and favoritism can blur the lines with how certain players are viewed and through what lens. 

Rooney being given more grace than Di Maria makes sense considering what each has contributed to the club.  Nonetheless, it is an opportunity to become more aware of our blind spots.  When Rooney had an underwhelming season in 12/13, fans still made claims he gave 100% for the team, when clearly it was not the case.  When fans believe in the idea of how a player plays more than the reality, any excuse or rationalization can be found. To adhere to a belief about a player more than encountering the reality staring them in the face. 

The kind of behavior which dominates a lot of football discourse which intrinsically there is nothing wrong with.  Fundamentally, it is a choice.  Where it becomes problematic is when there’s an attempt to honestly discuss a football-related topic and the conversation deviates because one or more persons would rather cling to an idea more than honestly discuss the realities surrounding the topic.

Discussing the realities surrounding the Di Maria situation can be difficult for some fans because it’s easier to jump to conclusions and snap judgments than to explore it deeper.

Throughout Di Maria’s career, he’s more or less struggled his first season at a club before improving in the subsequent seasons. From a goal-scoring perspective, we can see such a trend pictured below:

If Di Maria had decided to stay another season with United, there would be encouragement he would show some signs of improvement based on his trajectory at previous clubs. To do what he did at Real Madrid is remarkable considering the amount of pressure players are under.  It can be very easy to let the pressure get to you.  Di Maria was jeered and booed off the pitch in one of Madrid’s games a couple seasons ago. However, he demonstrated through his on-the-pitch performances he wouldn’t be deterred and went on to have a stellar season for the club.

If Di Maria was truly a coward who didn’t try, he wouldn’t have made the strides he did at Madrid.  Why he hasn’t made those same strides with Manchester United is something which may never be fully answered.  Nonetheless, using the relevant information available to us, Di Maria and his family not feeling settled is certainly one key aspect.  It’s difficult to perform at your best or to make significant strides when certain off-the-field issues are not resolved.

A lot of fans referenced the amount of money Di Maria was making thus conveying the argument he doesn’t deserve any sympathy.  A type of view which shows the disconnect between those who have a lot of money and those who don’t.  At some point, the novelty of being paid well wears off and when you’re a footballer, it’s expected you obtain as much as money as possible during your career.  It’s customary for a player of Di Maria’s caliber to be paid a lot of money.  It doesn’t automatically mean he will have a peace of mind.

How do you put a price tag on your family being unsettled?  A paranoid conspiracy theorist can be given a lot of money to achieve some peace of mind but if the paranoia is never dealt with, will money ever be enough to assuage those fears? In a country where Di Maria and his family don’t really speak the native language, their sense of safety and security was taken away from them, only exacerbating the conditions in Di Maria’s situation.

Now you have a player who hasn’t integrated well with the coach’s methods or his teammates, struggling to provide a peace of mind for his own family in a new country in a culture unfamiliar to them.  Sounds like a perfect storm for a player to deal with and makes sense why for all parties, the move fundamentally did not work out.

Some United fans have not taken Di Maria leaving to Paris lightly and found out crime is worse there than in Manchester without taking any look as to why that is the case.  Furthermore, Paris and Manchester are not comparable in the way Manchester and Liverpool are.  Thus making comparisons between the two without accounting for the differences paints a more apples-to-oranges than apples-to-apples type comparison.

What would be more interesting is investigating if the Cheshire area Di Maria moved from is safer than the specific area he will be moving to.  Otherwise, the discussion becomes less focused on crime in specific areas and more focused on crime in general within both cities.

Another factor to consider for Di Maria’s PSG move is his native language (Spanish) falls under the same language family as French.  Therefore, the chances of Angel and his family feeling more settled are increased.  Additionally, the weather in Paris is known to be fair whereas Manchester is more well-known for how often it rains.  A common complaint amongst players who come from areas with much more favorable climates. 

To further drive home the point how judgmental football fans can be, we can look at a Roy Keane quote James Ducker from the Times used in one of his articles regarding Di Maria.  In case you haven’t seen the quote, here it is below:

"It is not a football move, it is a lifestyle move and those are the type of people you don't want at your club. It is not a problem for me but it is a fact. To me, that player is weak because his wife runs his life."

It blew up quickly on Twitter which led to tweets like the following (note: tweet is now deleted):

“@EWHK70: Also from Ducker's article - top quote from Roy Keane on ADM's lack of cojones”

The kicker? The quote Ducker pulled from Keane was actually from 2007. You can read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/6947333.stm

What’s interesting is how many Manchester United fans assumed Keane was correct in purportedly saying Di Maria’s move to PSG is not a football move.  The argument can be made Manchester United is a much bigger club than PSG.  However, knowing Laurent Blanc is less strict with his players attacking-wise than van Gaal, it would make sense to assume the move to PSG is partially football-related.  Let’s also remember before FFP regulations came into the picture, Di Maria was set to join PSG last summer over Manchester United.

On another note, it’s interesting Manchester United fans assumed Di Maria’s wife ‘runs his life’.  Is he not allowed to show concern for his family’s well-being let alone his wife’s concerns?  Is Di Maria somehow less manly or weak because of this show of concern? Is Di Maria expected to put football over family? What instances point to his wife running his life? The commentary on twitter from those quotes carried misogynistic and sexist overtones, an alpha male element of being manly as an assertion of dominance rather than a focus on partnership and companionship.

The overarching reactions to Di Maria’s situation operate within a spectrum. Nonetheless, they exemplify how football is a microcosm of life and more succinctly, society. Di Maria is not the first Manchester United player of world class ability to not work out, nor will he be the last.  Juan Sebastian Veron serves as another example of a technically gifted footballer who for a multitude of reasons didn’t gel as expected.

It’s disingenuous to point the finger of blame in one direction.  Multiple parties (club, manager, player in question, agent etc.) will have their own perspectives on what occurred and it’s hard to say whose story is more valid than the other.  In Di Maria’s case, all sides could have done something different to make the situation more fruitful.  Alas, for multiple reasons it did not work out and therefore decisions have to be made as each party seeks to move on in their respective way.

Overall, there are several lessons to be learned from Di Maria’s situation.  The important piece for Manchester United is recognizing some of the mistakes made and ensuring those mistakes are not readily repeated.

Manchester United fans or football fans in general have a choice to make in whether they wish to be introspective also and see how they could have reacted better to the situation.  Though since fans seem to take the view the game is catered to them, it’s a difficult conversation to start or let alone complete.  The football world is catered to fans in such a way, where fans’ selfishness and narcissism are appeased.

No one can make you be more understanding or empathetic toward players or want to. How one lives out their fandom is up to them.  What fans need to keep in mind is while opinions are allowed, no one has to listen to them or respect them.  Situations like Di Maria’s are essentially potential learning opportunities as fans for how we can do better, if we wish to learn.  There are consequences either way.  The question becomes what’s more important to us and how do we choose to move forward.

I hope Di Maria and his family can find peace of mind as they transition to a new life in Paris.  I also hope he can rediscover some of his form and show what a wonderful player he is.  I enjoyed him while he was here.  It’s not often you get to witness world class players like Di Maria display their talent at your club.  Thus, you try to enjoy it for what it is because you never know how long it’s going to last.