Rafael interview in The Athletic

jem

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Not sure if it’s been mentioned already but there is a cracking interview with Rafael in the Athletic. He does not have good things to say about LVG.
 

Bebestation

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LVG has that Brazilian problem since Rivaldo at Barcelona.
 

jem

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Yeah appointing LVG really set us back. Shit man management, shit transfers, shit football.
 

limerickcitykid

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Tell someone who isn’t good enough that they can leave isn’t shit man management.

Ole was literally praised just last week for saying keeping players happy isn’t his job. Yet it’s shit man management when someone else does it.
 

el3mel

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I didn't have a problem with Rafael leaving back then and still don't have a problem.

LVG was a terrible manager for us though, and up to this point, really can't see how he gathered a cult that still defends his time at United till now.
 

Hoof the ball

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I got the Athletic. Some quotes from it.

On Sanchez:
On that note, Rafael, let’s discuss Sanchez. Last month, Rafael made headlines when he responded to an Instagram video posted by the Chilean. As he recounted his Old Trafford experiences, Sanchez said: “In the first training, I had realised many things. I came home and I told my representative: ‘Can’t the contract be terminated to return to Arsenal?'”

Rafael replied on social media, saying: “Maybe he saw a ghost and get scared that’s explain why he play so bad every time.”

“If he said those things, it is a joke,” Rafael says, before repeating himself. “It is a joke. The guy came after the first training session and said, ‘I want to move.’ Why do you want to move? He said this because he played shit for Manchester United. It is easy to blame other people, man. All the time, you blame others. ‘It’s this shit, it’s that shit.’ What is the point? It is so easy. It was my reaction. I woke up and saw that and thought, ‘It is not possible.’ The guy cannot say that, so I just reacted. Everyone knows I love Manchester United, and I just reacted.”
On LvG:
Rafael recalls: “When they said Van Gaal was the manager, a lot of friends called me. I could not believe it, as a lot of people told me he does not like Brazilians (because of their style of play). They told me, ‘The first thing he is going to do is take you out.’ Actually, it was the second thing because on the first day, he did not speak to me. On the second day, he said, ‘You can leave.’ I had not even trained and he said that. I could not believe it. Ryan (Giggs) tried to defend me a lot. I spoke with him and I could not understand it because I had not even had a chance to show my football to Van Gaal in training. He just came and said, ‘You can leave.’ He did not explain why. He said, ‘You will not play this season, I am not going to use you, if you want to leave, you leave.’ I said, ‘OK.’ I still tried to battle for my place. I stayed one year with him. It was so, so hard. He is one of the worst people I have worked with.”

Did he cut Rafael out of pre-season training? “Maybe he tried but it was hard because I had won titles and had the respect of everybody. He could not just take me out of training.”

Rafael started only seven games under Van Gaal and he did not make the starting XI in any Premier League games after October. Van Gaal disposed of several young talents who Ferguson pinned his hopes on before. The United careers of Jonny Evans, Adnan Januzaj, Danny Welbeck, Wilfried Zaha and Javier Hernandez were swiftly curtailed by the Dutchman. At the same time, he made signings that underwhelmed, including Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

Van Gaal’s abrasive manner rubbed against Rafael like sandpaper. How did it feel, after eight years at United, to be so brutally culled? “Football,” Rafael sighs. “I felt bad but in football, things you do not expect to happen can happen. It was bad. Of course. Ferguson would never say on the second day of training that someone could leave. He would see if the guy is any good. He would let you express yourself. It was very hard. I played 10 games with this guy. It was unbelievable. I don’t know how I played 10 games for him. Maybe because he didn’t have a player or we started to lose or someone spoke to him to put me on the pitch.”

For Rafael, it was Van Gaal’s overbearing dominance that truly bristled, including the manager’s regular speeches at the club’s training ground. “Every day, after breakfast, after lunch, or if we had dinner together, he would speak to everyone for 15 minutes about training, about what has happened, about everything, about life. You know when you start to stop listening to what someone is saying, because they speak so much? He wanted to show he could speak. But it was every day! All the time! You need to wait for everybody to finish their food to leave, which is fine, OK. But then we watched him talk, for 15 minutes, with all due respect, about shit. That is the truth, man. It was shit.

“Ferguson was different as he was a guy who knew football and how players are. That is important. Ferguson knew what players needed to play well. Some players don’t want to hear this or that. Scholesy was like that. If people started to talk to him a lot, he just got tired and said he wanted to play football. Just go and play. He was not a tactical guy. He was just, ‘I play here, you stay there, you go forward.’ But then Giggs was different. If Ferguson spoke to Giggs, he explained in more detail. Ferguson knew this about his players. That was one of his reasons for success. He knew how to maximise every player.

“Van Gaal was the opposite. He didn’t care how people are, he just wanted to think about himself — ‘I am like this, you respect me, you do like I want.’ That’s how he speaks. Players get tired of this. You don’t need to speak all the time. If we talk (about culture), he changed everything. I understand the coach needs to change as he has his qualities and own way of thinking. But you know when the coach does something just to say, ‘NO’? He agrees with this thing (deep down) but he is going to change it just to say, ‘I am the boss.’ So he did that. A lot of things.”

To supporters, Van Gaal’s prosaic and bland football was the more visible source of frustration. In Van Gaal’s second season, Opta statistics showed United recorded fewer Premier League shots than every club except for Watford, Aston Villa and West Brom.

Rafael is more measured on Van Gaal’s tactical approach and his lengthy post-match analysis sessions. “Van Gaal’s style was not the worst,” the Brazilian concedes. “I must say that. He liked to pass. When you start to pass, you create. I was never concerned about criticism or analysis, either. You have to take that. As a player, if you did something wrong, OK. If you don’t think you did something wrong, talk back and say it. Sometimes it was too much information. But I respect that. I don’t mind that. If we want to discuss what I did wrong on the pitch for one hour, no problem. But he cannot speak for 15 minutes about shit. Every day. This was mad to me.”

Rafael is laughing again. Ultimately, Van Gaal’s patient and considered approach was at odds with his own hustle and bustle style. He explains: “Van Gaal is a guy who does not like players who play with their heart. This is my thinking. He liked calm players, composed players. But you cannot have only composed players. You need some heart and instinct. He did not want his players to rush but sometimes you need to go and try something. If you tell me one team who plays only with ‘composure’ players, tell me. It is not normal. When a player does a crazy thing, the coach is there to say calm down, you don’t need to do that. But sometimes, it is instinct and you need that. Van Gaal hated players like that. You talk about United culture: this is Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, Nemanja Vidic. Look at these players. Look at the character. Van Gaal did not like character because he was a (big) character. He didn’t want anyone to say some shit (to him). ”
 

OL29

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Tell someone who isn’t good enough that they can leave isn’t shit man management.

Ole was literally praised just last week for saying keeping players happy isn’t his job. Yet it’s shit man management when someone else does it.
It is if you don’t give them an opportunity to prove otherwise.
 

El Zoido

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Tell someone who isn’t good enough that they can leave isn’t shit man management.

Ole was literally praised just last week for saying keeping players happy isn’t his job. Yet it’s shit man management when someone else does it.
If there’s even 5% truth to what Rafael said in this interview about LVG, it’s shit man management.
 

Mainoldo

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It is if you don’t give them an opportunity to prove otherwise.
He had a style he didn’t fit in it. There was no opportunity needed. Raph clearly gives a reason to why it wouldn’t have worked.
 

Snow

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I'm not sure there's been a single player that has good things to say about LvG.
 

OL29

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He had a style he didn’t fit in it. There was no opportunity needed. Raph clearly gives a reason to why it wouldn’t have worked.
Rafael was still pretty young at that time so his style could have changed with the right coaching, but telling someone that he can leave when you’ve just joined a club just seems demotivating. Having such a narrow minded view was probably what lost Van Gaal his job in the end. And if the stuff about not liking Brazilian players is true, that’s even worse.
 

Mainoldo

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Rafael was still pretty young at that time so his style could have changed with the right coaching, but telling someone that he can leave when you’ve just joined a club just seems demotivating. Having such a narrow minded view was probably what lost Van Gaal his job in the end. And if the stuff about not liking Brazilian players is true, that’s even worse.
He’s a very experienced manager. It’s not personal. This is a guy who told Riquelme he can leave who also was very young. As we know he loves to coach but you have to have his main fundamentals or he probably just believes he’s wasting his time.

The Brazilian thing very much seems true by that. I remember it at the time. Shocking stuff.
 

limerickcitykid

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It is if you don’t give them an opportunity to prove otherwise.
No it isn’t. He’s seen them all play before. He doesn’t need to give everyone an opportunity. Giving everyone is opportunity is why we still have so much shit at the club. Rafael wasn’t good enough. He’s gone on to still be not good enough and has achieved absolutely feck all since leaving. Why? Because he isn’t good enough. And beyond that spend the majority of his time injured. And he asks why, well his inability to even listen to his manager talk is why.


If there’s even 5% truth to what Rafael said in this interview about LVG, it’s shit man management.
It isn’t. He’s not good enough and told to leave. Ole telling Rojo or Sanchez to leave isn’t shit man management, they aren’t good enough.

What’s shit is Rafael being such a whiny little shit that he can’t listen to his manager for 10 minutes. It’s nothing more than being bitchy because he wasn’t good enough. He should lay off the interviews and Instagram comments and learn how to actually hold down a spot at his new average clubs which remarkably he still isn’t good enough for. Maybe if he listened for 10 minutes, he’d “know about football” and be able to hold down a spot.
 

PitTon

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I think Rooney did like LVG, maybe not a human side but the tactical or pre and post game preparation.
 

OL29

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He’s a very experienced manager. It’s not personal. This is a guy who told Riquelme he can leave who also was very young. As we know he loves to coach but you have to have his main fundamentals or he probably just believes he’s wasting his time.

The Brazilian thing very much seems true by that. I remember it at the time. Shocking stuff.
Yeah it probably wouldn’t have worked long term but it’s annoying as Van Gaal was only here for 2 seasons and Rafael was potentially a very good long term right back for us.
 

Mainoldo

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Pep is another manager who has shocking man management so that’s a poor example.,
I wasn’t questioning if he was a good man manager. I said was that not good man management?

Telling a player that he knew wouldn’t fit into his style that he can leave?
 

El Zoido

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No it isn’t. He’s seen them all play before. He doesn’t need to give everyone an opportunity. Giving everyone is opportunity is why we still have so much shit at the club. Rafael wasn’t good enough. He’s gone on to still be not good enough and has achieved absolutely feck all since leaving. Why? Because he isn’t good enough. And beyond that spend the majority of his time injured. And he asks why, well his inability to even listen to his manager talk is why.



It isn’t. He’s not good enough and told to leave. Ole telling Rojo or Sanchez to leave isn’t shit man management, they aren’t good enough.

What’s shit is Rafael being such a whiny little shit that he can’t listen to his manager for 10 minutes. It’s nothing more than being bitchy because he wasn’t good enough. He should lay off the interviews and Instagram comments and learn how to actually hold down a spot at his new average clubs which remarkably he still isn’t good enough for. Maybe if he listened for 10 minutes, he’d “know about football” and be able to hold down a spot.
Ole gave everyone a chance to prove themselves, it’s just good, basic management. Lingard, Peiriera, Fred, all of them got a chance to turn it around. In Fred’s case, he did. Sanchez didn’t because he wanted to leave and made that clear from the beginning. It’s damaging to the entire team morale to immediately start treating players like shit from the off. This is why all the players hated LVG, garbage manager and a cnut to boot.
 

limerickcitykid

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I think Rooney did like LVG, maybe not a human side but the tactical or pre and post game preparation.
Called him the best coach he’s ever had by far. His tactical knowledge and attention to detail were stuff he’d never seen before. Says he wants to be like that as a manager.
 

2cents

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Yeah


Ole gave everyone a chance to prove themselves, it’s just good, basic management. Lingard, Peiriera, Fred, all of them got a chance to turn it around. In Fred’s case, he did. Sanchez didn’t because he wanted to leave and made that clear from the beginning. It’s damaging to the entire team morale to immediately start treating players like shit from the off. This is why all the players hated LVG, garbage manager and a cnut to boot.
He got rid of Fellaini quick enough. And Lukaku as soon as he could.
 

limerickcitykid

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Yeah


Ole gave everyone a chance to prove themselves, it’s just good, basic management. Lingard, Peiriera, Fred, all of them got a chance to turn it around. In Fred’s case, he did. Sanchez didn’t because he wanted to leave and made that clear from the beginning. It’s damaging to the entire team morale to immediately start treating players like shit from the off. This is why all the players hated LVG, garbage manager and a cnut to boot.
Good basic management that has Andreas, Lingard, and Jones sitting on long term contracts on high wages. Sounds more like stupid terrible management. He also sold Fellaini within a month and clearly looked to get rid as soon as he came in. So, no he didn’t give him a chance. Telling someone they aren’t in the plans isn’t treating anyone like shit.

All the players didn’t hate van Gaal.

This is probably why van Gaal has won countless trophies while Ole has won feck all and Rafael has done absolutely nothing since leaving.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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I wasn’t questioning if he was a good man manager. I said was that not good man management?

Telling a player that he knew wouldn’t fit into his style that he can leave?
Oh I thought you were saying that wasn’t bad management (it was tho!)
 

Shark

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Good basic management that has Andreas, Lingard, and Jones sitting on long term contracts on high wages. Sounds more like stupid terrible management. He also sold Fellaini within a month and clearly looked to get rid as soon as he came in. So, no he didn’t give him a chance. Telling someone they aren’t in the plans isn’t treating anyone like shit.

All the players didn’t hate van Gaal.

This is probably why van Gaal has won countless trophies while Ole has won feck all and Rafael has done absolutely nothing since leaving.
Yeah the double standards on here is mad. LVG wasn't anywhere near good enough but he brought Martial here and Rashford got his chance under him. Also won a trophy, something which Ole may never do here.