DBasia.news – Louis van Gaal, former manager of Manchester United, recently gave his opinion about the game of the Red Devils under the tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. According to him, Solskjaer’s tactics were no better than Jose Mourinho’s.
Solskjaer, who was appointed as Man United’s permanent manager for the next three years, is the manager appointed to replace Mourinho last December. Under his care, Ashley Young et al’s appearance increased.
Man United went through 12 matches without ever losing in the Premier League and currently, competing in the Champions League zone and will play in the 2018-19 Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.
Solskjaer was considered successful in restoring United’s lost play DNA after Sir Alex Ferguson’s death in 2013. Man United played more offensively, energetically, determinedly, and entertained the audience.
However, Van Gaal has a different opinion. The Dutchman, who some time ago announced his retirement from the world of football, considered Solskjaer’s playing style not much different from Mourinho’s alias parking tactics: surviving and relying on counterattacks.
“The coach after me (Mourinho) changed to the bus parking tactic and played with a counterattack. Now, there are other coaches who also park the bus and play with counterattacks. The big difference between Mourinho and Solskjaer is that Solskjaer won,” Van Gaal told BBC.
“The way Manchester United play now is not the way Ferguson plays. It’s defensive, football counterattack. If you like it then you like it. If you think this is more interesting than my boring attack, okay. But, this is not my truth.”
The pros and cons directly accompany Van Gaal’s greetings. The legend of Man United, who is also Solskjaer’s former teammate, Gary Neville, is most vocal in voicing his criticism of Van Gaal’s claims.
“I saw Louis van Gaal said yesterday that football Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was like Jose Mourinho, but he won more. Louis van Gaal’s football at Manchester United was the worst I have ever seen,” said Neville to Sky Sports.
“Jose Mourinho is far better than Louis van Gaal, even though it’s already unacceptable in terms of the game fans want to see.”
“We have made many changes in the club for four or five years with different managers coming in, world-class managers, not working well. Ole returning a level of happiness and passion back to the fans.”
“At least that’s something because, to be honest, it’s been very difficult to watch (Man United’s game) for the past three or four years,” complained Neville.
Liam Rosenior, a former England player and now an observer of English football, tried to dilute the debate and atmosphere by giving an analysis of United’s game while still being coached by Van Gaal and Mourinho.
“Manchester United have always been built as a team with terrible counterattacks and speed. What I see in the differences between Jose Mourinho’s team and Van Gaal’s team, the team is very dependent on possession and builds attacks slowly,” Rosenior explained.
“That style doesn’t work in England and what the Manchester United team has now is more direct. They have a lot of players in the penalty box to score as quickly as possible and direct the ball quickly.”
“The problem with Mourinho is that his wing attackers will be asked to return to guarding the opposing defenders, so they don’t move quickly from area A to B,” Rosenior said.
In short, according to Rosenior: Solskjaer knows the club culture and knows how important it is to play fast for Man United. Playing with counterattacks also won’t be a problem if you balance them with an efficient game and of course … take risks.