Angel Di Maria | £59.7M fee agreed I Maybe tomorrow...or the day after...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Pogue Mahone said:
Not arguing with the general point but it's misleading reading too much into stats from a team as dominant as Real Madrid, who are top of the table in a two-tier league.

I mean, look at Ozil. > 20 assists/season in Spain. 11 assists after his first season at Arsenal.
Click to expand...

He was also playing central role last season mostly as in most advanced of the 3. Mata/Kagawa/Rooney would be comparison there.
 
iSparky said:
Ed Woodward will be relishing this moment. Probably why we are all being made to wait for an announcement.
Click to expand...

Yeah i was thinking similar, and once this transfer is out of the way he will be feeling all giddy about another possible transfer deadline day purchase! Woody sure is a muppet like the rest of us :devil:
 
JTW95 said:
This was on twitter so could be fake.


Bv-g_6PCEAARgBy.jpg:large
Click to expand...

It's twitter,of course it is.
 
There's been no annoucement from Real's side either till now, right ?

Guess both will announce it same time unlike other deals maybe.
 
Real won't be making a big song and dance about it, that's for sure. Not when 80% of their fans would rather have Di Maria than James.
 
Raul Madrid said:
At the moment I would say we will miss him a lot in big games, but it is still early in the season and Madrid lost a lot of big games last year too. It was only in april that Madrid began to win them. I am hoping ancelotti will come up with a formation and team that will work and offer the balance like he did last year. If somebody told me last year that we would win the CL with di maria being one of our two best players (personally I though modric was better over the season and also vs bayern) playing in CM and playing at the level he was playing at I wouldn't have believed them. Madrid are not going to win the CL again as it takes too much luck to win it once, let alone twice in a row (and that would have also being the case if we still had di maria) but I am hoping we can at least get to the semis and hopefully put in a very strong challenge for the league and win it
Click to expand...

Di Maria provided all the legs in a very cerebral midfield alongside Alonso and Modric. This year it looks like the double pivots will be Kroos and Modric. Both wonderfully technical but neither particularly quick or with great engines. In fairness, Modric gets through way more work than he is given credit for, but I think he benefitted a lot from the work rate of Di Maria last season and his willingness to run around him. Now they have James in that role, who is your quintessential trequarista and has nothing like that work rate of Di Maria. It's got to be a completely different approach to last season. Looking at that Real team of last year, that has to be maybe the most exciting counter attacking team of all time. Close anyway. Their ability to hit teams on the break with pace; Ronaldo, Bale and Di Maria; was just frightening and unrivalled. Watching them destroy Bayern was a thing of footballing beauty. I'm no Madrid fan but you have to appreciate brilliance when you see it. With Di Maria, leaves an important piece of their ability to make those quick transitions. He would so often bring the ball out of a defensive situation and break at speed, releasing one of the wide boys. If I was a Madrid fan, I'd be really saddened to lose him. One thing United have lacked for a while, is someone to break at pace and open teams up in the transition. Mata can pick a pass and has great footwork but he can't get away from people on the break. The only one who comes close is Januzaj but he's still got much developing to do. The other thing we lack, is someone who can run 60 yards with the ball and take the pressure off the team. This can be especially vital when the team is under the kosh and struggling to keep a hold of the ball. Di Maria, ticks all these boxes.

Despite the changes, Real still have a ridiculous embarrassment of riches. First choice midfield is probably Kroos, Modric and James. Second choice Khedira, Alonso and Isco. Still leaves Illaramendi. Absurdly good. Just last year Isco was being touted as the second coming of Iniesta. Another thing they have lost with Di Maria, is someone who is versatile enough to cover for Ronaldo or Bale if they are injured/suspended. And given that having those two free roaming, fast running wingers is a huge part of their strategy, you'd think that an injury to either is a little more worrisome now. Di Maria has many of the attributes that made him such a natural substitute for either. I guess that job falls to Jese now.

If I was running Real, I never would have bought James. I'd have kept the team the way it was and invested the money in a world class keeper and another centre half. Ramos and Pepe is the most half baked pairing in world football. Terrific on it's day but liable to explode at any moment. Ramos may be the luckiest player who ever lived. Should've been sent off about 10 times more than he actually has been. If they'd kept their team the same and signed Cech from Chelsea and Benatia from Roma...my oh my....

Anyway, we are very grateful for Di Maria. But after Beckham, Van Nistelrooy, Quieroz and Ronaldo, you owed us.
 
Last edited:
Wednesday at Stoke said:
Can someone help a brother and post this article here? The gambling site is blocked at work.
Click to expand...

When David Beckham was in his absolute pomp I remember Sir Alex Ferguson saying that he’d never sell him unless he could find and buy a better right-footed crosser from anywhere around Europe. The man Fergie was referring to at the time was at Real Madrid – Luis Figo. Figo often said it was a dream to play at Old Trafford but never realized that ‘sueño’.

Now I believe United have bought a left-footed version of the two men. I don’t believe Angel di Maria is inferior to Figo in any way, nor will I accept that the Argentinian’s crossing can’t compare to Beckham.

And talking of that Class of ’92, I’d argue that Di Maria echoes some things which will still have United fans crying into their pints of lager. Or their prawn sandwiches.

Hungry like the wolf …
One of the things, beyond their talent and football intelligence, which linked Scholes, Giggs, Nicky Butt, Beckham and the Neville brothers was that this was ‘their’ club. They fought like hungry wolves for every ball, every goal, every win. For their places, for the fans, for the trophies. They fought.

Setting aside the Keanes and Schmeichels (and their ilk) of this world it’s hard to go out and purchase someone whose attitude to daily intensity, defeat and victory matches that level because, by definition, its not ‘their’ club.

Now, growing up in Rosario, Argentina, age contemporary and not many kilometres away from his fellow Rosarian Lionel Messi, it’s not the case that di Maria dreamed of the Stretford End or subscribed to United We Stand.

Yet one thing which links him to that Class of ’92 is that how hard he works, how much winning means to him, what he’s willing to sacrifice and how much he’s willing to invest in making others around him better players – winners.

Gradually, the Old Trafford faithful (and United’s world-wide audience) will come to recognize that, in spirit and talent on the ball, he’s not just class – he’s ‘Class of ’92′ calibre.

Had this kid been born in Preston, Knutsford or Manchester Deansgate, instead of Rosario – over the last 30 years he’d have been incorporated into the United scouting and youth development system and Sir Alex would have cherished him.

-
recious moments …
Di Maria and his cost has been something which has over-exercised many minds and mouths over the last few days. United have the money. United have a quality deficit. United need to catch up. Di Maria is a catch. End of.

Had he played for Fergie he’d have been adored by the demanding Scot. Of working class stock (his dad worked in a coal-yard), never a problem in training, blessed with a ‘every minute of every game is precious’ spirit, immensely gifted in how he uses the ball and prepared to work hard to get the thing back when it’s lost – these are all Fergie box-tickers.

After dragging Madrid back into a Champions League final they were about to lose in May di Maria admitted:

I sank to my knees in gratitude, emotion and tiredness. I got through the 120 minutes via sheer will-power and adrenaline. Every time I put on a jersey I give it everything I’ve got. No matter what people say, I never give 95 or 99 per cent. It’s always 100 per cent If you consistently do that then in the end you’ll reap the rewards.

Who actually handed him his MOTM trophy? Yes, Fergie. It’s fate.

Moreover what IS United about? Cash reserves, billion-pound sponsorship deals, American owners, executive boxes, debt schedules?

Or passion: sonic booms of excited, orgasmic roars when a goal soars in or a chance zips past; committment; pride; noise; flair; energy and the ‘he who dares, wins’ spirit?

Tell me? Which of the two sentences do you want to apply to your club?

aby, please don’t go …
Di Maria pertains to the spirit of the modern Manchester United from Busby to Van Gaal via you know who.

It’s di Maria you’ll want to return to watch. It’s he who’ll persuade you to stick with the transition patiently. He who’ll tip the balance over whether a match ticket or your season book is worth the outlay. Whether the trip to MK Dons in the Capital One Cup on a grimy Tuesday night is one to miss or unmissable.

Let’s be clear. None of the Madrid players wanted him to leave. Carlo Ancelotti didn’t want him to leave. The Argentinian was Man of the Match in that Champions League final, he was a key figure in Argentina reaching the World Cup final and he tends to ‘turn up’ when the pressure is high.

Go and watch his cross for Cristiano Ronaldo to head the winner in the 2011 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona (above). It’s poetry. It’s utterly beautiful. His goal in the Copa del Rey final win (2-1 against Barcelona again] last season (above); his glorious, nonchalant winner lofted over the Nigerian keeper in the Beijing Olympic Final. Then there’s his 49 assists and 36 goals since joining Madrid in 2010.

Big skills, big game temperament.

Obviously, the world of football isn’t all ambrosia, there are thwarted ambitions too.

So You Are A Star …
Di Maria is an Argentinian footballer, used to life in Iberia who doesn’t have great English playing for a Dutch coach whose Spanish can be rusty. He’s joining an ailing UK giant in a league which no foreigner fails to be surprised at when they encounter it’s fury and it’s fireworks. It’s a test.

More, di Maria is a star, superbly remunerated now and will draw massive attention wherever he goes. These are usually concepts which are anathema to van Gaal. It’s imperative that the two men hit it off. Promptly.

What will help is what one of Van Gaal’s former assistants taught the player known as the ‘noodle’ because of his pipe-cleaner frame.

During his time at Madrid, Mourinho taught me that I wasn’t a ‘pure’ forward. That I couldn’t rest every time the strikers lost the ball. He taught me to give more to the team throughout the game and the di Maria of today compared to how I began playing bears no resemblance tactically or technically.

Street fighting man …
To give the Dutch manager a clue how to handle this guy here’s di Maria on Ancelotti: “When things got tough he didn’t say very much and just made sure that I was in the starting line-ups, even when it felt like everyone else was criticising me.

That trust gave me the confidence to play my part for the team. He wanted me to attack, defend, to run and keep on running. He wanted me to make sacrifices.

Di Maria adds: “A footballer’s career is so short. I treat every match as if I was playing my mates in the street. I adore winning. I feel inferior to nobody and my attitude now is that whenever we don’t have the ball I want to contribute to winning it back as quickly as possible, to press the life out of our opponents. I want the ball.”

And when he begins to be given it by his United team mates everyone who’s still to learn about this youth World Champion, Olympic Gold medallist and Champions League winner will see exactly why.

United may need more quality before the market ends. But in this position they could barely have done better.

- See more at: http://blog.paddypower.com/2014/08/...l-di-maria/?AFF_ID=16562#sthash.M7TE7waj.dpuf
Click to expand...

Here you go
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Not arguing with the general point but it's misleading reading too much into stats from a team as dominant as Real Madrid, who are top of the table in a two-tier league.

I mean, look at Ozil. > 20 assists/season in Spain. 11 assists after his first season at Arsenal.
Click to expand...
Nonsense.
 
Dayum! He is all over that attacking mid part. Cant wait for him to exchange positions in game with the likes of Roony, Mata and Januzaj. We also have the opportunity to properly play a left footed play on the right wing. Always loved that idea.
 
712 said:
My apologies in advance, but this thread's so bleeding big:

Why do Real want to get rid of Di Maria? Or is it he who doesn't like them? Or both?
Click to expand...

Mainly because they're idiots.
 
712 said:
My apologies in advance, but this thread's so bleeding big:

Why do Real want to get rid of Di Maria? Or is it he who doesn't like them? Or both?
Click to expand...

From what I read, the fans want him to say, the coaches want to keep, so do the players but Perez wants him gone.
 
712 said:
My apologies in advance, but this thread's so bleeding big:

Why do Real want to get rid of Di Maria? Or is it he who doesn't like them? Or both?
Click to expand...
There's been many alleged reasons:
  • Real Madrid refuse to meet his contract demands
  • Real Madrid believe he doesn't sell enough jerseys
  • Due to financial fair play and Real Madrid's desire for further shiny new toys, they must sell di Maria
 
1.4 Dribbles per game is extremely low, similar to what Valencia has, worth pointing out in otherwise excellent statistics and the heat map really defines him.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.