When the season started, there were a lot of expectations those were strapped on Manchester United, especially after the signing of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane. It felt that the defensive woes were going to be behind the Devils, and the inclusion of Sancho will incorporate some blistering speed on the right-wing that was always missing ever since the departure of Antonio Valencia.
To make matters more delightful for the fans, in a shocking transfer move, the world’s best striker came home as a six-hour-long drama saw Ronaldo signing for United after he parted ways with Juventus 24 hours back. With the team that United managed to assemble, it was evident that we were going to challenge for the title.
Things started on a very smooth note as United outclassed Leeds in the season opener by an emphatic 5-1 showdown and belted out a more or less decent display against the Saints in a 1-1 draw. They were back to winning ways against the Wolves and marked a terrific homecoming of Ronaldo with a canter against Newcastle as the Portuguese sensation fired home an incredible brace.
The affair started taking an ugly turn ever since United’s defeat against an undercooked Young Boys. One may argue that United had to play with ten men but being candid, as soon as AWB was given marching orders, Manchester crumbled like a house of cards. For the fans it was a lot more depressing given the fact that United kept on chasing shadows on the field without even knowing what was happening.
Despite a brief glimmer of hope against West Ham and Villareal, the team never really looked like clicking and there were interdimensional gaps of communication and understanding between the players.
Barring the opener against Leeds, the exploits of Manchester United were based on more of individualistic showdowns instead of a collective outing from such a well-oiled unit.
There has been a massive hue and cry for a while now to take Ole out of the equation as the current Man United manager has clearly shown a poor understanding of the game and has failed to produce any clear strategy. Riding on the wave of counter-attacking football, the team has struggled vehemently and sadly for Ole, this has been the solitary spectrum of charge that United has managed to embark upon.
As the constant shouts for the dropping of Ole continue, we will take a look at three probable choices for the managerial position who can be a good fit for Manchester, especially considering the heavyweights that we have here.
Three likeliest suitors for the position of manager at Manchester United:
#1 Zinedine Zidane
He probably is the best man for the Manchester United job currently, as he shares an extremely fruitful relationship with Varane and Ronaldo. Not only had it been a fruitful relationship, but during his first stint at Madrid he set the world ablaze with his extraordinary brand of tactics. Madrid won the 2016-17 La Liga, three consecutive Champions League titles, three Supercopa de Espana titles, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups. We have all witnessed how Zidane transformed the team’s mentality and despite it stuttering with a star-studded sky, the French manager ingrained the players with the winning mentality. Now if you would ask that what if he hasn’t got quality players at his disposal, the answer is the 2020-21 La Liga that he managed to win with a Covid-stricken squad. Zidane always had a liking for Pogba too as he had other plans for the French midfielder. It will possibly be in everyone’s best interest if Manchester United can land Zizou in the midst of this chaos.
Player:
x2 Serie A 🏆
x1 LaLiga 🏆
x1 Champions League 🏆
x1 Euros 🏆
x1 World Cup 🏆
x1 Ballon d'Or 🥇
x3 FIFA POTY 🥇Manager:
Advertisementx2 LaLiga 🏆
x3 Champions League 🏆
x2 UEFA Super Cup 🏆
x2 Club World Cup 🏆Happy 49th birthday to Zinedine Zidane 🥳 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/YhW1dHKbr9
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) June 23, 2021
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#2 Eric ten Hag
The 51-year-old Hag has been an absolute revelation in the coaching industry and has been a penant-bearer of success for Ajax in recent years. He changed the face of Ajax from a warzone of ruins and wreckage to a dark horse who can stamp their boots on the throat of the champions. He is known for building extraordinary chemistry between his players and that makes his team a lot more successful than others. He still hasn’t managed to lay his hands on the biggest footballing sensations of the world, and yet the results that he has produced have been absolutely mind-boggling. During his stint at Utrecht, he played an instrumental role in bringing them to the fifth position of the league in the first year and then improved it to the fourth in his second year. In fact, he helped them qualify for the Europa League qualifiers that looked like a black swan in the antiquity of the club’s exploits. That is when Ajax came knocking and ever since the team that was once revolutionised by the iconic Johan Cryuff, has reinstated their majesty on the map of Europe thanks to the ingenious Erik ten Hag. He has already bagged two Eredivisie titles with Ajax, two KNVB Cups and the Rinus Michels Award as individual honour in 2019. Who better to mix this team full of young sensations with seniors like Ronaldo and Cavani, if not Hag?
𝗚𝗡! 😴🌙#heeaja pic.twitter.com/jthBVPN63f
Advertisement— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) October 16, 2021
#3 Gian Piero Gasperini
The fact that he is currently with the Italian side, Atalanta makes it a very difficult move to secure his services. However, if Manchester United can bend their back to land him in their ranks, nothing would be a more devastating fit than Gasperini and the Devils. A team that used to languish in the bottom half of the Serie A table went through a paradigm shift after Gasperini took over the reins and with an instant leap, the team jumped up to the fourth spot. The following year saw a slip-up for the attacking outfit, but they came back even stronger. For the next three seasons, they finished consecutively in the third spot and started challenging the big names of Europe significantly. He managed to bag the Coppa Italia runner-up position for two years, while he was awarded the Serie A coach of the year in 2019 and 2020. He was awarded the Gazzetta Sports Awards Coach of the Year in 2017. He also won the Panchina d’Oro in 2019 and 2020, an award given to the best coaches in Serie A. He has a particular proclivity for the offence and with the firing squad that United is blessed with in the form of Pogba, Ronaldo, Greenwood, Rashford, Sancho and Cavani, Gasperini can work out wonders.
🎙 Gian Piero #Gasperini: "Abbiamo creato molto, potevamo chiuderla un po' prima"
💬 "We created a lot of chances and could've put the game to bed earlier"Post-match interview 👉 https://t.co/Y0VavWoKcu#EmpoliAtalanta #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/Onx4y5oesa
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) October 17, 2021
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