Bastian
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On de Gea:
On de Gea:
On the GK role being more acknowledged today - and Schmeichel:He was in a terrible position from the first game. He didn’t have anything in the bank except for a big price tag. He was young and un-adapted to physical football. The pressure on him was enormous.
I just had to stay focused and wait for my chance. I got it and I took it.
It all sounds extremely cynical. But football is cynical. So from my point of view I have to think of my own life and my own career. If I don’t think about myself no one will.
I was never hoping for David to fail. Or anyone else for that matter. But I’ve always hoped for my own fortune.
David and I had a great relationship both on and off the pitch. I’d go for dinner with him and his family. And we’d help each other the best we could on the pitch. But if I was asked to choose between him being successful and me being successful I’d choose myself.
That first season ended for me when I got my ankle stuck in a plastic mannequin in training. I cried like a child when it happened. An injury that will haunt me in my grave.
I was side-lined for six months and David flourished.
David has been a world class goalkeeper since he arrived in England. My first impression of him was he was young, but a huge talent. Much bigger talent than I ever was.
He didn’t really have any obvious weaknesses. Except for his size. He was skinny. Like a straw waving in the wind. But it didn’t take him long to grow big.
His kicking was good. He was a natural, great shot-stopper. And his timing on crosses was brilliant.
He got way too much grief in the beginning on the crosses part of his game. He wasn’t as dodgy as people made him out to be. He just had to adjust his decision making to English football and grow a few kilos.
I think the biggest hurdle he had to overcome was to win respect from team mates, media and fans. He struggled in the beginning. But his mental strength to overcome the difficult periods is what has impressed me the most.
From where he was at the worst in his first season to where he took it and is today - that shows huge character and mental strength.
I clearly remember a turning point. The first game he played after my ankle injury was against Chelsea away. Last minute free kick just outside the box.
Juan Mata took it and shaped the ball perfectly over the wall towards the near top corner. David saved it and the match ended 3-3.
Breaking the save down it wasn’t as good as it looked. David gambled on that corner and won. If he had lost, the media and fans would have been ready to lynch him. Instead he became a sensation after that moment.
On SAF:I’ve always seen the goalkeeper as one of the most important positions on the pitch. But it’s not until recently that people have realised this.
Ederson holds a good part of that credit because his style and presence changed Manchester City radically.
Ederson is an absolute cornerstone in City’s offence. Without a doubt one of the most important players in the team. And I can’t see the argument for paying him less than the other star players. He deserves it.
Peter was a big inspiration to me when I was a kid. One of the reasons why I wanted to be a goalkeeper. I have huge respect for what he has achieved. Playing football.
He never owed me anything and wasn’t any support to me once I came to England. It’s true what they say - never meet your idols.
He was a rather old fashioned goalkeeper. His biggest strengths were making world class saves and his presence. He also had a modern twist with his long throw.
In his time, he was rightly chosen the best goalkeeper in the world.
The best goalkeepers today are more known for not making errors than big saves. That’s the opposite of how I remember Peter.
Pep is for me the first manager who really acknowledges the goalkeeper as a key player in offence. He did it in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and he’s doing it now in City.
To me it’s completely obvious. The goalkeeper is the biggest difference between Pep’s first year in England and now.
The solution was Ederson. Sure - he’s solid and makes good saves. But it’s his feet that makes him sensational.
But Ederson and Allisson will keep being the exception.
For a league like the Premier League you’ll have two to four clubs being good at playing extreme possession involving the goalkeeper. The rest of the clubs will have to try to destroy that possession.
And in that calculation a goalkeeper’s ability to save and pick crosses is always going to be more valuable than being good at playing with his feet.
I always asked myself - could Victor Valdes at his best in Barcelona be one of the best goalkeepers in the world if he played for let’s say Burnley? I very much doubt that.
On Moyes' claim the squad he inherited was an ageing squad:I’m not sure how much the boss knows about goalkeepers from a technical point of view.
But he had a clear football philosophy which incorporated the goalkeeper offensively. He wanted his goalkeeper to be good with his feet. Someone who could keep the energy alive so everything didn’t die every time the goalie got it.
Everyone in the club was affected by it (SAF retiring). I think for most players working for Sir Alex almost ended up a blessing and a curse.
Being a part of his team is a dream for every football player. The way things worked under Alex Ferguson will always be the ideal for me.
And it’s my feeling many of his former players feel the same.
That’s the blessing.
The curse is when you’ve experienced what we did you’ll often end up comparing a new scenario to that. And new scenarios will more often than not fall short.
On van Gaal:I didn’t feel it ageing. It felt more like we just couldn’t adjust to a new way of life.
It seemed like trying to charge an iPhone with a Nokia charger. It just slowly went flat.
Who was ever going to lift the club after the boss?
Moyes and everyone with big influence on United have all been easy targets. And I refuse to be another one pointing at individuals.
Every time the team has had a single bad result I’ve heard suggestions for new managers, getting rid of half the team and signing new players. I imagine it isn’t easy to work under those circumstances.
I’ll point at myself and everyone else involved with United. Both on a professional and an emotional level. We were all to blame.
None of us could accept changes to our beloved United. All of us thought everything should just stay the same and we’d carry on succeeding.
It was an illusion.
Who should have followed SAF:I liked Van Gaal as a human being. I had a great relationship with him and wish I still had contact with him.
We had our differences and I haven’t had a manager I had more discussions with than him. But for me he always listened and respected opinions. Even if he rarely changed his own opinions.
Many people have said he loved being the centre of attention, but I don’t think that’s true. He was just flamboyant and at times a bit lost in translation.
And when you’re flamboyant, lost in translation and have one of the most powerful positions in the entertainment industry, you’ll end up as centre of attention whether you want it or not.
One can disagree with Van Gaal’s methods. They were extreme for United from what we had been used to. But I always thought he was a good human being and I respect that. I think that’s important.
On Ole:I think everyone is still to this day realising what Sir Alex was and did.
I don’t think anyone could have taken over and carried the club on with the same success.
It seems to me like the club needed change and modernisation. And I can imagine it’s been hard for the club to realise that.
United is tradition and history. Tradition and history is hard to change. Especially when it’s as long and successful as United.
A modern football club needs a philosophy that’s defined by the club - not the manager. In terms of football you need to have a clear idea what a United player and a United team is. That responsibility should be on the club - not the manager.
Otherwise you end up buying a new team every time you change the manager.
It’s not a one-man job. Only for Sir Alex because he defined the club.
Maybe the club did have a clear strategy and philosophy on football. But looking at it from the outside it hasn’t been clear.
The business side of the club seems to have been taken well care of. But at the end of the day it’s the football side that’s the foundation. If you don’t make sure the foundation is solid the business will slowly crumble.
I think he is (the right man for the job). I deeply hope so. United’s history is so rich and successful. And I think the club and the fans need someone who speaks to the history.
Someone who understands it and complies with it. I don’t doubt Ole has come in to carry on the United heritage and stay true to the United DNA. And he can do that because he knows it and is a part of it himself.
But there’s a crucial ingredient I’m afraid will be difficult to accept. And that’s time.
Realistically it will take years to rebuild United for greatness. Look at how long it took Liverpool.
For Ole to be successful in the long term I think everyone will have to embrace themselves with patience and accept the current state.
There’s a massive job ahead of him and no matter how you twist and turn it I think his success depends on how well the club helps him. Especially on recruitment.
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