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Winning the International Champions Cup, to round off the pre-season tour of the United States of Americawas in many was a statement of intent from Manchester United and their new boss Louis van Gaal could not have wished for a better start.
From the 7-0 opening win over LA Galaxy to the victory over fierce rivals Liverpool in the final in Miami, the Dutchman returns home with two cups and most importantly, an unbeaten record. Here are the six things we have learned from United’s tour of America.
United fans can get excited once again
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It wasn’t just winning the International Champions Cup, but rather the nature in which Manchester United did it, that will have encouraged new boss Van Gaal and the Red Devils supporters. The Dutchman’s journal reads five wins from five games (LA Galaxy, AS Roma, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Liverpool) in America and his side showed glimpses of its former self following a disastrous 2013/14 campaign.
United have adjusted well to the Dutchman’s three-man defence with wingbacks, an unfamiliar system for them. Jonny Evans has emerged as a leader at the back, while the likes of Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Ashley Young have all impressed. With Robin van Persie still to come back into the side, United’s time in the doldrums might last as long as some were expecting. If the Red Devils can get off to a good start to the season, in which they have no European distractions, they might prove to be a genuine contender for the Premier League title and rightly so.
Van Gaal is the man for the job
It might sound a bit premature, but it can’t be denied after the club’s shocking decline under David Moyes. The Dutchman has taken largely the same group of players and transformed them into a team which, even at this early stage, looks like a very different proposition to what they were last season. Whether it was the rout of LA Galaxy in their first match or the faultless penalties in the shootout win over Inter Milan or the perfect victory over Real Madrid or the character shown to come back and beat Liverpool in the final, United are already playing for their new manager and that is half battle won.
At the same time, the Dutchman is not scared to make radical changes. The new 3-4-1-2 (3-5-2) formation is quite a change from United formations under Sir Alex Ferguson and Moyes, but Van Gaal believes that is the best system to get most out of the players at his disposal. Rather than simply splashing the cash on new signings, he is prepared to alter the formation to suit the players he has. And those who don’t fit into his plans will be shipped out sooner than later.
Wayne Rooney is back
Having almost left United in Ferguson’s final season because of favourism showed towards Van Persie and then lured back into line by Moyes, there were concerns that Louis van Gaal’s close relationship with Van Persie would alienate Rooney all over again. Instead, he has looked sharp, scored five goals on tour, won the Most Valuable Player award at the International Champions Cup and played with a smile on his face. He was made captain for the win over Liverpool in Miami and his celebration when leveling the scores in the second half was out of sync for those who criticise these so-called meaningless friendly matches. After a nightmare World Cup campaign with England, he has impressed the manager to such an extent that he is all but set to be named captain ahead of Van Persie. It looks like the England striker is enjoying his football once again.
Juan Mata looks at home
When you buy a natural number 10 and play him on the wings, he can’t perform his best and that’s what happened under Moyes last season. The Spaniard never looked comfortable playing a wider position following his club record £37.1 million move from Chelsea, and there were even questions raised about his future at Old Trafford when Van Gaal came in. But Mata has benefited the most from the manager’s shift to three at the back in order to get two forwards on the pitch and willingness to mold the system around the players he likes, and the Spaniard appears much happier in this new 3-4-1-2 system.
He might be wearing the number 8 jersey, but Mata is Manchester United’s first choice number 10 and his deployment in that role behind two strikers in Van Gaal’s new formation shows he has the manager’s faith in him.
Ashley Young has future at United
When Van Gaal took over at Manchester United earlier this summer, the future looked bleak for Young. There appeared to be no place for the 29-year-old in Van Gaal’s favoured 3-4-1-2 (3-5-2) formation and, after a poor campaign under Moyes last season, the former Aston Villa winger looked almost certain to be offloaded. Five games later, however, and Young looks to have saved his United career by reinventing himself as a wing-back in the mold of Dirk Kuyt, who caught the eye at the World Cup with his industrious performances for the Netherlands.
Four goals and a series of penetrating crosses and dribbles provided a reminder of Young’s attacking qualities, but his defensive limitations were exposed by Raheem Sterling in the final which led to the penalty and Steven Gerrard converting it. An isolated lapse maybe, but is Young really cut out to play that role week in and week out in the Premier League? Only time will tell, but for now he looks certain to stay and has future at United.
United need at least two more signings.
Despite winning the tournament, Van Gaal knows he needs to strengthen if United are going to compete with the big guns of England for the the title. They need atleast one central defender and one combative midfielder, and with just 21 days to go until the close of the transfer window, it needs to be done quickly. The lack of depth at the back was exposed against Real Madrid when Michael Keane started in place of the injured Chris Smalling. The 21-year-old is one for the future, but struggled against the pace and trickery of Gareth Bale, and a more experienced defender is needed following the departures of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra. In midfield, Michael Carrick’s injury has increased the need for Van Gaal to bring in reinforcements. Of the current options, Ander Herrera has been impressive in the pre-season but is still adjusting to life in England, Tom Cleverley hasn’t raised any eyebrows whenever he has played while Darren Fletcher struggled badly in the final against Liverpool.
