Louis van Gaal has made Kevin Strootman a £30m January target for Manchester United, and the midfielder would be open to the move should Roma consider it, though there is yet to be any official contact between the clubs.
The Dutchman is recovering from a serious knee injury that has ruled him of Van Gaal’s Holland squad for theWorld Cup in Brazil, with the 24-year-old not expected to play again until the autumn.
While Strootman is content at Roma and has four years left on the contract he signed last summer, he is aware of Van Gaal’s admiration, with the 62-year-old having selected him regularly for the national squad.
However Strootman’s agent, Chiel Dekker, insisted that only if Roma were minded to sell would the transfer potentially occur.
“He won’t be back playing until autumn – that’s the time schedule at the moment,” Dekker told the Guardian. “He is of interest to Louis van Gaal but not related to Manchester United at this point.”
Dekker admitted Strootman, who has been injured since March, might be of interest to Van Gaal in the future. “Could be. But he’s in Rome and he had a terrific season,” Dekker said. “There has been nothing between the clubs or between Louis and Kevin – they know each other and like each other but at this stage its not related to Man United.
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“Roma do not want to sell. The first thing is it’s all between [the] clubs. And it’s also a very difficult decision because he has to choose between a fantastic club in Rome, a club that bought him and supported him while he was injured and [then] you have his personal coach of the national team at United.
“The clubs have to decide. He’s very happy at Rome, he’s happy to stay because they play Champions League next season, and happy to recover [from] his injury, so at this stage we are not part of any discussion.”
Asked what type of midfielder Strootman is, Dekker said: “He’s all – so he’s creative, he’s box-to-box, he scored nine goals [last season] as a midfielder.”
Strootman, who made 24 Serie A starts and returned five strikes in the league before the injury which he suffered in a match with Napoli, previously played for PSV Eindhoven before the transfer to Roma for around €20m.
Having previously played for Utrecht and Sparta Rotterdam, Strootman has 25 Holland caps and three goals.
Tags: Manchester United, Louis van Gaal, Roma, Transfer window
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It's Jamie Jackson and not Daniel Taylor but still
Wayne Rooney believes he has enough talent to play in any position after producing an impressive midfield performance during United’s 2-0 win over Otelul Galati in the UEFA Champions League.
The Reds striker was something of a surprise choice in Sir Alex Ferguson’s midfield four, operating alongside Anderson in a central role with Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov up front.
Rooney feels he has the tools to succeed in his new role, commenting: “I’ve said it before, I’m a good enough footballer to play anywhere on the pitch. That’s not being big headed. I feel I’m capable of doing that. If the manager wants me to play there, I’ve no problem doing that.
Ferguson dropped Rooney from his team and, to the player's dismay, publicised what had been said during a live television interview, describing it as a verbal transfer request.
Rooney's account is that, after nearly a decade at the club, he felt he had done enough to warrant a place in "my position", namely as centre-forward, and was fed up of being told to help out in midfield. "Everyone at the club knew where I wanted to play and I think that's why I was disappointed. I got told to play in midfield and I didn't want to. I just think there had to come a point when, for my own career, I had to be a bit selfish really."
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This goes back to last spring, not long after he had been left out of United's starting XI to face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. "I actually felt when I played in midfield I did OK, but I didn't want to play there. I've had no problem in the past playing out of position. But I felt I deserved the right to play in my position and that wasn't happening.
"I think, naturally, I was a bit disappointed and maybe that affected some of the games I played. I know myself that last year wasn't my best season but there were times when I was playing in different positions. I didn't feel I got a consistent run of games up front. Sometimes when you're not playing in one position all the time it's difficult to adapt."http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/09/wayne-rooney-reasons-leave-manchester-united
f*ck this guy
Update
June 2014
‘I can play in different positions,’ said Rooney. ‘I’ve proved I can play on the left over the years. The manager didn’t have to tell me what to do. I know how to play that role. I’ve played it many times and I’ve no problem doing that. He didn’t have to explain it to me.
‘It is down to the manager. It’s not about me, it’s about the team. If the manager wants to play me up top, in behind, left, right, I’m happy to do that.
Interview with former AFC Ajax player, André Bergdølmo. Taken from the caf.
Day to day with Louis van Gaal
*4-3-3
*Increased tempo during build up play
*Significant focus on possession
*Extremely detailed analysis of opponents
*Huge emphasis on disiplin
-Louis van Gaal will shock several of the biggest United stars, but I'm mostly interested with how they will react to his authority off the field.
-I think that several of United's players will find that van Gaal's tactics will make it fun to play football yet again. He always has a plan and if the players follow that plan the results will come automatically, says André.
And there lies van Gaal's biggest challenge.
-They have to understand his philosophy, and I really mean that, because he won't compromise on his tactics nor his leadership.
Bergdølmo believes his leadership style will represent an even bigger challenge than his philosophy.
-Van Gaal will impose a gruelling disciplin, and he will make sure the players eat all their meals together, and I pity those who start to eat or leave the table before he has given them permission. It's even worse if you are late for practice.................You really don't want to be late for van Gaal!!
Bergdølmo understands the principles of total football very well, having played for Ajax for three full seasons.
-Van Gaal had left Ajax a couple of years before I came there, but Co Adriaanse who brought me there represented the same philosophy, which is excactly the same philosophy as all the other Ajax coaches use. The reason for this is that the Ajax board have decided how football are to be played. The coach's job is simply to get the final 10 percent out of the team, work on the details and win trophies, explains Bergdølmo.
When Bergdølmo joined Ajax, he soon learned that eight of the club's scouts had seen him play 12 times and the results were compared and analysed.
-At Ajax you leave nothing left to chance. The club has a very well run academy and the players all learn the core values of total football when they're just kids. During one of my first training sessions with them, I asked Adriaanse whether or not we had a certain way of playing. The answer I got was simple. "Look for the unmarked teammate". That was my first meeting with total football, explains Bergdølmo.
The fundamentals of total football are easy for everyone to understand. Most coaches who use this system will prefer a 4-3-3 line up, with the possibility to adjust if the team has a player with extreme abilities, in order to let that player enjoy more freedom. When a player moves out of his position, another one will take his place imediately. That way the team will keep their structure. The system may look rigid at first glance, but it's really quite fluid given that every player knows what he is supposed to do in different situations.
-There's been an emphasis to develop individuals within a collective for years at Ajax. Speed, technique, precision and tactics will all have to be present in order to make it work. In terms of developing youngsters with this in mind, AFC Ajax has been ahead of their time for years. In recent times, you might say that Barcelona and especially Pep Guardiola have taken this concept a step further. How many times have we seen Bastian Schweinsteiger commit himself in attack, only for Phillip Lahm to take up his place in the center of the field, asks Bergdølmo.
Eventually, the most important issue is that the 11 players understand their roles.
-It will be interesting to see which of United's players will understand the concept, and where van Gaal will need to strenghten, says the former international fullback.
He believes Manchester United's biggest chance of improvement is to move the ball quicker, and he thinks it will be something van Gaal will look to improve immediately.
-The last years with Ferguson at the helm and especially last year with Moyes, this was a problem and particularly in the center of the field. Van Gaal will make sure United play in a higher tempo, but he will want to attack with balance as far as possible.
While attacking players like Rooney, Van Persie, Januzaj, Mata and Welbeck have enough strenght and creativity to succeed, Bergdølmo questions the quality of the midfield.
-Michael Carrick was too slow this season, but he might still have a role to play. I'm struggeling however, to understand how Fellaini can find a place in van Gaal's philosophy, Bergdølmo concludes.
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bullshit
its bait
giggs is tywin lannister
moyes was any joeffery
think of the shortlist of players that moyes was going after in july
then all of a sudden shit changed..... giggs come in and stamped his authority
fergie breeds shit managers.....
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Flojo
I thought he made it pretty clear he wasn't leaving the other week when asked about Barca.
"Barca are one of the best clubs in the world and the fact that they are interested in me is always big news", the Atletico Madrid man told Marca.
"But I am away [with the Spain squad] and the only thing that concerns me is continuing to work.
"Moreover, everyone knows I want to stay here. I'm happy and I think only about Atletico Madrid."
Read more at http://www.insidefutbol.com/2014/06/02/koke-flattered-by-barcelona-interest-but-set-on-atletico-madrid-stay/143355/#PFFUPXu5eo3tDsvu.99
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Heero Yuy
Can't take footballers seriously when they talk those rehearsal scripts. Also Atletico pay peanuts and are broke
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JOHN DOE
What do athletico pay
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Heero Yuy
Costa is apparently on around 50k a week, that's what Bendtner was on with us ffs.
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Agony
To put things into perspective...
2012/2013:
Atletico Madrid's annual wage bill = £54m
Stoke's annual wage bill = £67m
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Kompressor
Money will make a perfectly happy player fancy a move and a club determined to keep their player start to see the positives in selling.
Manchester United have and have always had that mind changing Paul McKenna type money, it's just a case of wanting to spend it.
Ignore the achievements Athletico got this season, they are not in the same stratosphere as certain other clubs.
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Guest freestacks
This is gonna be one long summer for us boy
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Kompressor
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The King
It's Jamie Jackson and not Daniel Taylor but still
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Fresh
You know when the headline contradicts the article
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Wavant
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Agony
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Agony
June 2014
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Fresh
Interview with former AFC Ajax player, André Bergdølmo. Taken from the caf.
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Agony
His passing is seriously underrated. Been our best CB during the last few seasons.
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Tee
hes under rated in gen imo
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Guest freestacks
Definitely underrated.
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