Marouane Fellaini's Selection over Juan Mata Shows Louis Van Gaal Has Changed

Of all the Manchester United players likely to be anointed teacher’s pet under new manager Louis van Gaal, Marouane Fellaini was probably last on the list.

In fact, had it not been for an ankle injury sustained in the final week of the summer transfer window, Fellaini probably wouldn’t even be a United player any longer, given that Napoli were keen on taking the Belgian on loan for the season.

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But Fellaini stayed at Manchester United and now finds himself as the unlikely apple of Van Gaal’s changing eye, working his way into the starting lineup largely at the expense of Juan Mata. 

Such a decision would have been unthinkable just a matter of weeks ago, with Van Gaal insistent that his United side would pack as many creative players in as possible. Now Mata—the Red Devils’ purest playmaker—can’t get in the team, while Fellaini has a place nailed down.

Van Gaal’s recent favouring of Fellaini over Mata illustrates how the Dutchman has changed as a coach over the course of a few short months in the Premier League.

In the wake of Fellaini’s goalscoring performance in the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion last month, Van Gaal confessed that the need for a physical threat in his side had dawned on him, reinforced by the Belgian midfielder’s display at the Hawthorns.

“We have to also look for a physical balance,” said the United boss after the game, as per John Percy of The Telegraph. “I am always looking for creative players and in England you need physical players as well.”

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Van Gaal is a coach who has always held his footballing principles dearly, but he has had the presence of mind to accept that life in the Premier League might require an alteration to his philosophy. Fellaini is the personification of that.

At his best, Fellaini is a battering ram, unsettling opposition defences and bringing others into the game, primarily with the soft touch of his chest. Van Gaal has recognised how useful he can be in the final third, something David Moyes bizarrely overlooked last season.

Moyes wanted Fellaini to be a physically imposing, box-to-box central midfielder, in the mould of someone like Nemanja Matic or Yaya Toure. But the Belgian doesn’t have the technical ability to perform such a role to any comparable level.

Van Gaal has returned Fellaini to the position he impressed in at Everton, even using the languid midfielder to man-mark Cesc Fabregas in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea earlier this month.

Fellaini has finally found his use at United, in contrast to Mata, who has become his direct rival for a place in the starting lineup under Van Gaal, as unlikely as that seemed before the start of the season.

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Although he hasn’t quite lived up to his billing, Mata is a darling of the United support. He is the most accomplished player the Old Trafford club have had since Dimitar Berbatov last called Manchester home.

But in Van Gaal’s fast and furious system, he doesn’t seem to have a place. He is not quick enough to facilitate United’s rapid counter-attack and doesn’t have anything close to the physical presence needed to fulfil the role Fellaini does. 

Fellaini became a figure of fun at Old Trafford over the course of Moyes’ ill-fated tenure. The Belgian—bought for £27.5 million from Everton on transfer deadline day last summer—became the embodiment of everything that went wrong at United in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson age, with fans quick to use him as a scapegoat for their troubles.

But Fellaini’s rejuvenation under Van Gaal is also reflective of United’s resurgence with the Dutchman in charge, with his shunning of Mata illustrative of the coach’s change of tack in just a few months.