Van Gaal vs Rodgers: Breaking Down the Manchester United-Liverpool Dugout Battle
When Louis van Gaal arrived in England, Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers had some words of advice for the incoming Manchester United boss.
Rodgers said, per the Guardian:
"I think what he’ll find is the competition in this league will be different from any other league that he’s worked in. In a lot of the other leagues there are one or two teams and those are the teams that are expected to win.
This is a league where the top team plays the bottom team and on any given day you can lose. You don’t get that a lot in the other leagues. I think the competition will probably take him by surprise and that’s from foreign managers I have spoken to over the years.
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Rodgers' words seemed apt as Van Gaal started with three games without a win, losing to Swansea and only drawing with Sunderland and Burnley.
However, as the two clash for the first time, it is Rodgers who is finding the going tougher. Van Gaal's United hardly look like the finished article but nonetheless sit third in the league, eight points behind leaders Chelsea.
Liverpool are ninth, a further seven points behind United. They have also struggled in European competition, providing some schadenfreude for United fans missing their club's traditional involvement.
The two managers are at different stages of their careers. The Liverpool job is Rodgers' most high-profile so far. Van Gaal, on the other hand has—among other things— managed Barcelona, Bayern Munich and taken his national side to third place in the World Cup. The glare of the spotlight is not unfamiliar to him.
The difference in their experience levels meant that Rodgers' quotes about the Premier League taking Van Gaal "by surprise" struck an odd note.
Of course, every national league has its own characteristics, but Van Gaal has faced plenty of English opposition in European competition. He has also, simply put, been around the block for long enough to have a good understanding of all the top leagues in Europe.
Rodgers' managerial career began at Watford, where, in spite of a difficult start, he did enough to earn himself the job as manager of Reading, where he had previously been a coach. He stayed at Reading just six months, managing only five league wins and "winning just once at home" per BBC Sport—before leaving by mutual consent.
Just seven months later, Rodgers was giving another chance, this time by then-Championship side Swansea City. Speaking at the time of Rodgers' appointment, Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said, per BBC Sport:
"Brendan not only ticked all our boxes, but he will offer us a lot more in our quest to keep this football club moving forward.
He is young, talented and ambitious. Just by speaking to him you can see he has amazing drive and we are all excited about working with him.
"
Jenkins' faith was repaid, as Rodgers shone in charge of the Welsh side, first earning them promotion through the play-offs and then guiding them to an impressive 11th-place finish in the Premier League.
That success was enough to earn him the Liverpool job. Tasked with reinvigorating the if-not-sleeping-then-at-least-having-40-winks giant, Rodgers' first season was underwhelming.
Liverpool finished seventh in 2012/13, 12 points off the Champions League places and 38 points behind United's title-winning total.
However, Rodgers' next season was very nearly a triumph. Moving away from his possession-football-based approach, Rodgers transformed Liverpool into a side who could blow teams away with incisive, direct football, spearheaded by Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and an emerging Raheem Sterling.
When the sides last met at Old Trafford, Liverpool brushed aside their rivals with barely a second thought. It was an embarrassing defeat for United, not just in terms of the 3-0 scoreline but in just how total Liverpool's dominance was.
The only redeeming feature of the day for those of a United persuasion was the defiance of the fans, who stayed behind in numbers after the game to chant in honour of their club's 20 league titles.
The change in personnel on the pitch and in the dugout at Old Trafford means United fans have plenty more cause for optimism this time around. Suarez's departure has meant another change in approach for Rodgers' Liverpool, who have lost a great deal of cutting edge.
After 15 games last season, Liverpool had scored 34 goals. This time around, it is just 19. The injury to Sturridge has compounded the problem of Suarez leaving, and neither Ricky Lambert nor Mario Balotelli has been able to fill the void.
United's form is currently much better than Liverpool's, having won five games in a row. Liverpool's last five league games saw two losses, two victories and a home draw with Sunderland.
Stylistically, both managers have their teams set up to err towards possession football. Liverpool are averaging 55 percent possession this season, United 57 percent. United are hitting slightly more long passes on average—13 percent of the time, the Red Devils look for a long ball.
There is a noteworthy difference in the two sides' use of direct balls, though. Liverpool's percentage of long balls changes very little between their home and away fixtures—rising from 11 percent at home to 12 percent away from Anfield.
United, on the other hand, have been much more direct on the road, hitting 16 percent of their passes long away from Old Trafford and just 11 percent on home turf.
That, along with the frequent changes in formation, speaks to Van Gaal's continued willingness to experiment with United's style based on their opposition. He has played three central defenders in United's last two away games but reverted to a more familiar back four in the two most recent at home.
The experiments with a back three may have yielded six points from six in those two games, but Van Gaal's side relied on a considerable amount of good fortune in earning those points. Against Southampton, United won in spite of making just three attempts on the Saints' goal.
Van Gaal must surely have seen that his team have been considerably more effective playing with four at the back and have been at their best when they have made careful use of possession.
Given how reactive Van Gaal has been, it will be tempting to read into how United set up in this game. If he persists with a back three, and if United use a lot of long passes, that can be seen as a sign of respect for Liverpool.
Given that this dugout battle takes place with United on the back of five wins and Liverpool dealing with the immediate aftermath of their failure to qualify from their Champions League group, Van Gaal should be bold.
Jack Wilson of the Daily Star reports that Angel Di Maria will be fit to start for United. but even if he and Radamel Falcao can only play a limited role, Van Gaal should seek to attack Liverpool's vulnerabilities.
FC Basel were extremely effective in picking Liverpool off and, with more clinical finishing, could easily have been further ahead by the time Steven Gerrard scored Liverpool's goal.
As well as being in different stages of their careers as a whole, Rodgers and Van Gaal go into this game in very different positions in terms of their current roles. Van Gaal has not yet proven his oft-mentioned philosophy, but five consecutive victories have raised United spirits and their league position.
For Van Gaal, victory will solidify the sense of just how much things have changed since he took over the club; although the fact that it is not difficult for United fans to find cause for optimism ahead of this game is proof enough.
Rodgers is currently tasked with proving that last season's relative success was no fluke. Victory on Sunday would go some way to easing any pressure that might be building on him.
Manchester United versus Liverpool is always a game with raised stakes. This season, that feels particularly true for the teams' managers. The dugout battle will be intriguing.
All stats via whoscored.com unless otherwise indicated
