Manchester United Missing Champions League May Be For The Best
By Adam Clifton
@adamdclifton
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The UEFA Champions League is a tournament designed to determine which team is the best in Europe. Teams that perform well in their domestic leagues are given the opportunity to compete in this illustrious tournament. For teams in the English Premier League, this requires a top four finish. However, arguably the best team in England will not be taking part in the Champions League this season.
Manchester United struggled to a seventh place finish last year in the Premier League. United were able to win the league the previous season, but following the retirement of their legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson, the team plummeted to a seventh place finish under the guidance of David Moyes. Following last season, Moyes was fired and the team moved quickly to find his replacement. Louis van Gaal, former manager of the Netherlands National Soccer Team, was brought in to bring Manchester United back to the promised land.
Early on, signs were bleak for the new manager. The season started with a home loss to Swansea City Football Club. The team continued to struggle, managing to win one of their first five league games. It appeared the the van Gaal experiment was as much of a failure as the Moyes experiment. However, the team was able to make two key acquisitions prior to the transfer deadline that may have changed their fate.
First, they signed one of the most skilled players in the world, Angel di Maria. Di Maria was the second best player for Real Madrid, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, last season as he helped guide them to a Champions League title. Surprisingly, Madrid decided to sell di Maria and United were more than happy to sign him.
The other major signing was Radamel Falcao. Falcao has been a prolific striker everywhere he has been. He signed a big money move to AS Monaco, but had appeared to be unhappy at the club since he arrived. The deal for Falcao is officially a loan, but it appears that United and the player will look to make the move permanent.
Following the transfer window, Manchester United have started to hit their stride. It is obvious to soccer fans that Manchester United have created one of the most attacking squads in all of Europe. However, questions remain about the defense of the team. The team is likely to look to the January Transfer Window in order to fill the gaps in their defense. Many names have been discussed, but van Gaal is obviously unhappy with the players he has at his disposal defensively.
Unfortunately for United fans, they will not be able to watch their team compete in the best tournament in the world this season. However, this may be the best thing for the squad. The new players will have an entire season to learn how to play together without the distraction of European soccer. Competing in Europe requires a manager to tinker with their lineup and make a great deal of changes in order to keep players fresh. United will not have this problem and they will have an entire season to develop chemistry.
If this squad can play up to the potential of their individual talents, they can beat any team in the world. This makes Manchester United one of the favorites to win the Barclays Premier League and could very likely be one of the favorites to win the Champions League next season.
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