Rooney jadi Gelandang Padahal RVP dan Falcao Mandul di Depan
Rooney is Wasted in Midfield... How Van Gaal Got It Wrong Up Front with United
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
WAYNE ROONEY berperan sebagai gelandang atau penyerang? Di mana sebenarnya posisi terbaik kapten timnas Inggris ini di Manchester United?
"Saya melihat Wayne Rooney hari ini dan posisinya tidak tepat," kata Jamie Carragher, setelah kapten Manchester United dan timnya berjuang untuk imbangi West Ham 1-1, (8/2).
Louis van Gaal menggeser Rooney dari posisi biasanya dari penyerang menjadi gelandang beberapa minggu terakhir, dan membuat Robin van Persie dan Radamel Falcao di depan.
Berdasarkan statistik, bermain di kanan sebagai gelandang pada Minggu, Rooney belum berhasil melepasakan tendangan ke arah gawang pada 2015, tidak menyentuh bola di kotak penalti West Ham, seperti dikutip di skysports.com.
Meskipun demikian, pelatih Belanda van Gaal yakin bahwa kapten timnas Inggris pilihan tepat dalam formasi 4-3-1-2 dan mengatakan Rooney senang beradaptasi dalam pertandingan untuk tim.
"Saya tidak akan katakan, dia akan selalu menjadi gelandang dari sekarang karena itu tergantung dari formasi yang kami gunakan dan bentuk dari penyerang. Tetapi kini saya perlu gelandang kaki-kanan," kata van Gaal.
"Saya pikir dia suka bermain sebagai gelandang karena dia lebih banyak menguasai bola. Dia pastinya bisa bermain lebih dari satu posisi."
Rooney memang mendapat lebih banyak distribusi bola di tengah, dengan rata-rata 83 sentuhan di lini tengah sedangkan 65 sebagai penyerang musim ini.
Dalam 11 penampilan di lini tengah di Liga Inggris musim ini, Rooney mencetak tiga kali dan membuat satu asis. Di depan, dalam sembilan pertandingan sebagai penyerang, dia mencetak lima kali dan membuat tiga asis.
Demikian pula, Rooney melepaskan lebih banyak tendangan (26-17) dan membentur mistar gawang lebih sering (8-5) di depan, meski dia menciptakan 18 kesempatan dari tengah, sementara 11 kesempatan di depan.
Rooney sudah lama dipuji atas kemampuan beradaptasi dan penampilannya untuk negaranya dalam berbagai posisi, termasuk sebagai gelandang kiri.
Meskipun demikian, kecemasaan Jamie Carragher dengan peran Rooney saat ini adalah ada dua penyerang di depan yang tidak berkombinasi dengan efektif. "Tidak ada pergerakan yang cukup dari dua pemain depan, tidak ada sprint, atau energi," kata Carragher setelah pertandingan melawan West Ham. Dan Carragher percaya Rooney setidaknya ditempatkan di posisi nomer 10.
"Dua penyerang saat ini memiliki lebih sedikit sentuhan dibandingkan David de Gea," kata Carragher. "Rooney harus kembali ke depan, itu posisi terbaiknya atau di sistem ini, kamu menginginkannya di belakang dua penyerang."
"Saya telah menemukan pemain luar biasa," kata pelatih MU.
"Edgar Davids berperan sebagai pemain sayap kiri dan saya membuatnya menjadi gelandang. Michael Reiziger adalah seorang nomer 10 yang menjadi bek tengah dan Frank Rijkaard adalah pemain nomer 6 yang bermain sebagai centre-half di formasi kemenangan saya di Ajax."
"Saya selalu melihat kualitas pemain dan memutuskan dia bisa tampil lebih baik untuk dirinya sendiri," katanya lagi.
MIDFIELDER or centre forward? We look at the stats to work out Wayne Rooney's best role for Manchester United...
“I was watching Wayne Rooney today and the position he’s in is not right,” said Jamie Carragher, after the Manchester United captain and his team-mates struggled to a 1-1 draw at West Ham.
Louis van Gaal has moved Rooney from his regular centre forward role to midfield in recent weeks, to accommodate Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao up front.
Playing on the right of a midfield diamond on Sunday, Rooney, who hasn’t managed a shot on target in 2015, didn’t touch the ball once in West Ham’s penalty area - some departure for a player who had 10 goals in his previous nine games at Upton Park.
However, Dutch boss Van Gaal believes the England skipper provides him with a viable option in his 4-3-1-2 formation and insists Rooney is happy to adapt his game for the team.
“I would not say he will always be a midfielder from now on because it depends on the formation we use and the form of the strikers but in the present system I need a right-footed midfield player,” Van Gaal said.
“I think he likes playing in midfield because he is more on the ball. He can definitely play in more than one position.”
Rooney does indeed get more of the ball in midfield, averaging 83 touches in the centre of the park to 65 as a forward this season, but is Van Gaal detracting from the 29-year-old’s goal-scoring threat?
In 11 Premier League appearances in midfield this season, Rooney has scored three times and made one assist. Up front, in nine games as a striker, he has scored five times and made three assists.
Similarly, Rooney has unleashed more shots (26 to 17) and hit the target more often (eight to five) in a more advanced role, although he has created 18 chances from midfield to 11 as a forward.
Rooney has long been praised for his adaptability and has represented his country in a range of positions, including left midfield.
However, it seems Jamie Carragher’s major frustration with Rooney’s current position, is that the two strikers ahead of him are not combining effectively - "there is not enough movement from the front two, there’s no sprint, spark or energy," he said after the West Ham game - and he believes Rooney should at least be deployed in a No 10 role.
“The two strikers today had fewer touches than David de Gea,” said Carragher. “Rooney has got to get back up front, that’s his best position, or, in this system, you’d want him behind the front two.”
Whether Van Gaal will be change his mind on the matter remains to be seen.
“I have come across such exceptional players before,” the United boss said this week. “Edgar Davids was an extreme left-winger and I made him a midfielder. Michael Reiziger was a No 10 who became a full-back and Frank Rijkaard was a No 6 who played as a centre-half in my winning team at Ajax.
"I always look at the qualities of the player and decide where he can perform better for himself.”
