Football’s paradox: the game is ever more team-oriented on a tactical level while many fans are now obsessed by individualsThe journalist in the seat next to mine at Portugal’s 6-1 win over Switzerland at the World Cup – French, late 20s – had been shooting some video content outside and arrived just after half-time. Portugal were already 3-0 up and, with Gonçalo Ramos replacing Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup, playing by far their best football of the tournament. The reporter was devastated. He wanted to see Ronaldo.That Portugal had improved without their star player was of no concern to him. When Ronaldo came on after 74 minutes, he couldn’t have been more excited if he had been a teenager...
Manchester United player lost a child and is struggling as his athletic gifts erode away. Does he not deserve compassion?Cristiano Ronaldo trained alone on Friday. In a way it was the perfect image: a footballer who perhaps more than any other embodies the trope of the individual superstar, the idea that one man can do it on his own, doing it on his own. The television cameras were there to film his arrival and they were there a few hours later to film Erik ten Hag as he weathered a squall of Cristiano-related questions. The soap opera continues. But for now the football career is on hold.Ronaldo will not feature for Manchester United against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon. He has...
A fresh start will be difficult if the forward lingers, with his lack of movement causing problems on and off the pitchIt wouldn’t quite be true to say that everything was rosy at Manchester United a year ago, but they had finished second in the Premier League the previous season and had added Jadon Sancho and Raphäel Varane to the squad. The doubts around Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s management meant a serious title challenge still seemed unlikely but nobody really expected them to fall to sixth, with 16 points fewer than they had gathered the previous season.The campaign began well enough, with a 5-1 demolition of Leeds and then four points from admittedly less-than-inspiring performances in away games at Southampton and...
Manager facing headaches over the form of Harry Maguire and David de Gea, Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence and the De Jong transfer sagaA fortnight watching United’s new manager, Erik ten Hag, leading training has revealed an intelligent man whose priority is to coach. The Dutchman’s emerging side play in free-flowing style and he has a sharp manner with the media. These are the absolute base materials for any manager to succeed at a club that remain the country’s record title holders but became a laughing stock last season. United’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in Perth on Saturday night was the first failure to win in four tour matches in Thailand and Australia, fixtures in which United plundered 13 goals while...
Forward’s future is a key early test for Manchester United’s new manager, who must not repeat the 2013 Wayne Rooney sagaCristiano Ronaldo in July 2022. Wayne Rooney in July 2013. Two star forwards whose discontent at Manchester United before pre-season tours starting in Thailand must prove bookends to a miserable nine years for the club.This is Erik ten Hag’s mission as he prepares to send out a first XI – against Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday – as United’s manager: end a near-decade of mediocrity that began when Sir Alex Ferguson retired after winning the club’s most recent title. Continue reading...