Time is quickly running out for Wayne Rooney to prove to Louis van Gaal that he has a place in the Manchester United squad.
Manchester United’s two most established strikers could hardly have experienced two more contrasting opening games at the World Cup in Brazil.
Robin van Persie scored twice as the Netherlands gained revenge for the 2010 final by humbling the current champions, Spain 5-1.
Rooney, on the other hand, was a peripheral figure for England as they lost 2-1 to Italy despite one of their better tournament performances in recent years.
Rooney did provide the cross – a very good one – for Daniel Sturridge’s goal, but otherwise he lingered on the fringes of having any sort of influence on the game.
And then Rooney failed, unlike Van Persie, to come to his side’s aid when called upon after he missed a glaring chance to put his side level.
In addition, he failed to provide any cover for Leighton Baines, which Italians Matteo Darmian and Antonio Candreva were only too happy to exploit.
Quite simply, he did not do the job he had been tasked with when Roy Hodgson selected him on the left wing.
Not only does that failing put his England place under threat, it makes it hard to envisage him thriving in Louis van Gaal’s regime at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal is a manager for whom the system is everything, with his teams comprising not so much of 11 individual players as 11 cogs in the machine.
Each player is assigned both defensive and offensive tasks – forwards act as the first line of defence by closing down opposition players in possession and limiting their passing options.
The intensive pressing game the Netherlands deployed against Spain was a high risk strategy, but Van Gaal’s players executed it to perfection.
In terms of the quality of individuals, Spain are head and shoulders above the Dutch – but on Friday only one side played with desire, direction and discipline.
Van Gaal will demand the same from Manchester United after the World Cup, and he will have no time for ‘star names’ who refuse to fulfil their tasks within the team.
Reputation counts for nothing in Van Gaal’s mind – hence Daryl Janmaat’s place in the Dutch side ahead of the more established Gregory van der Wiel.
Ultimately Van Gaal is not afraid to drop – or indeed offload – players with big reputations, selling Dennis Bergkamp when at Ajax and Luca Toni at Bayern Munich.
They did not fit the profile for their position in Van Gaal’s system, and there is a very good chance Rooney will not fit into the Dutchman’s Old Trafford vision.
There are, however, two elements of Van Gaal’s current Dutch side which offer some more encouragement for the England forward.
The first is the tactical change from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2 (or 3-5-2), which indicates that Van Gaal can deviate from his favoured formation to whichever best suits the players he has available.
If United were to play 4-3-3, Van Persie would lead the line as Van Gaal’s most trusted player and likely captain. That would leave Rooney stuck on the wing or in midfield, where he would neither excel nor be content.
However, a 5-3-2 would allow Rooney to play alongside Van Persie as Arjen Robben did to such effect for the Dutch against Spain.
Nonetheless, Rooney would need to demonstrate both his ability to combine with Van Persie and also his positional intelligence in pressing the opposition.
If he does not Van Gaal will likely turn to a better team player, be that one of United’s young talents – Danny Welbeck, Adnan Januzaj or James Wilson – or a new signing.
The second sign of hope for Rooney is the way that Wesley Sneijder has forced his way back into his national manager’s plans.
Van Gaal had said Sneijder was not guaranteed a place in his squad for this World Cup due to a lack of form and fitness, despite him excelling in the 2010 tournament.
Yet Sneijder did make it, and he contributed – quietly but effectively – to the side’s dismantling of Spain.
For Rooney, the message is clear: work hard to regain your form and to prove yourself a team player, and you have a future under Van Gaal at Old Trafford.
However, reputation and past glories carry no currency with the Dutchman – and Rooney currently has little else in his account.
Image courtesy of England Football Official with thanks.
