Manchester United are ruing their luck after the club’s rhythm was disrupted with the players being drafted away for the annoying mid-season international break.
After finally hitting their stride with wins over Tottenham and Liverpool, the players will be recalled to their national squads for international friendlies to play two fixtures over the next week before the game against Aston Villa during the first weekend of April.
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At first glance, the break is disappointing for fans and the squad alike. For fans, we must sit and wait for our beloved Man Utd to return to Premier League play. For the squad, the break represents a possible stoppage to the momentum gained in the last two matches. However, the break will greatly benefit a couple of the players.
First and foremost is Angel Di Maria. Argentina will play El Salvador on Saturday, March 28th and Ecuador on Tuesday the 31st. The first match against a lower level opponent will provide Di Maria with the chance to regain the confidence he’s lost whilst playing with United in the recent portion of the season. Then, against Ecuador, he’ll have the chance to build on that confidence and regain his world class form. There’s even the possibility that he’ll match up one-on-one against fellow teammate Antonio Valencia.
There’s no arguing that Di Maria has struggled for United since bursting onto the scene in his first season in the Premier League. At the beginning of the season, specifically the period before the November 29th match against Hull, Di Maria scored three times and created 31 chances in 11 appearances according to Squawka.
Credit: Stretford End
In the matches since the January 11th loss to Southampton, Di Maria has produced no goals and only 15 chances in nine appearances. His shot accuracy, passing accuracy, and average pass length have all decreased, causing the chances created to be roughly half that of the earlier run of games.
It’s hard to discern exactly why his play has fallen off so drastically. The most glaring problem is his lack of toughness; when challenging EPL defenders, Di Maria is often shrugged off or forced to dive by the slightest of contact. While the international break won’t offer enough time for the winger to hit the weight room and bulk up, it will provide him with a chance to regain match fitness as well as his attacking mentality that was so devastating in his time with Real Madrid.
Should he fail to capitalize on the two international friendlies, it’ll make for an interesting summer transfer window for the record signing. With Juan Mata making full use of the playing time in Di Maria’s absence, he will need to regain van Gaal’s trust in order to force himself back into discussion for the starting squad. The international break is his best chance to do so.
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The other player who has the most to gain from the international break is Radamel Falcao, the once great striker who has fallen down to Earth.
Since the turn of the New Year Falcao has featured eight times for United, scoring twice and creating four chances in his limited action. More recently though, in his last five appearances, he hasn’t had a shot on goal and has only created three chances. Time is running out for the Colombian with reports surfacing more frequently that United will not sign him permanently after his loan expires.
Possibly the last chance for Falcao to resurrect his United career is the spell of games immediately after the international break. However, van Gaal will need to see a significant showing from Falcao in his international friendlies to even consider playing him over Wayne Rooney at striker. The Reds have been attacking on all cylinders without Falcao, though how much of the blame that can be put on Falcao is unclear.
Colombia will have two extremely favorable friendlies against the likes of Bahrain on the 26th and Kuwait on the 30th. As reported by the Guardian, Jose Pekerman, Colombia’s coach, will look to restore Falcao’s confidence:
"“It’s a huge problem that we need to resolve; this problem is as large as the sadness that Falcao is going through right now,” Pékerman said. “I feel I need to support him because I understand how hard it is for him and the difficult moment he is experiencing. I want to work with him again and help him restore his confidence.”“I know Falcao’s strengths, his mentality and his fighting spirit, and I’ve never doubted that he’ll come out the other side. He’s in a bad moment, but he’s looking after himself and this week is going to be very important for him.”"
Falcao will hope his coach’s words ring true, not just for his Manchester United future but for the remainder of his playing career.
While the international break offers a chance for Falcao to regain van Gaal’s confidence, it also poses the opportunity for Falcao to save his career in top level football. Should he fail to regain his form this season, he’ll return to Monaco with a cloud of doubt surrounding him.
Will Falcao ever get back to his best? Is he worth signing for a steep asking price? It could spell the end of Falcao’s tenure with Europe’s best clubs.