Marcos Rojo Continues to Impress in His Debut Season at Manchester United

With a list of previous clubs that included Estudiantes, Spartak Moscow and Sporting Clube de Portugal, Marcos Rojo seemed to lack the experience and quality Manchester United needed in the wake of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand’s departures last summer.

Yet the 24-year-old has settled well and arguably established himself as United’s best central defender at a time when Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and particularly Jonny Evans have all struggled to stay fit and convince that they have a long-term future at the club.

Rojo, who dislocated his shoulder in November and suffered a thigh strain in December, has also been injured for long spells but can boast a much better record than the aforementioned trio.

This season, United have won 70 percent of the games he has started at centre-back, which is higher than Evans (50 percent), Smalling (33 percent) and Jones (33 percent).

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After playing his first two games of the season at left-back, Rojo moved into centre-back against West Ham United in late September. In a match where United’s defence included two 19-year-old debutants, the Argentine marshaled the back line well and kept academy graduate Paddy McNair within close proximity at all times.

The same defence, aided by the outstanding David de Gea in goal, lined up a week later against Everton and again remained solid despite coming under pressure late in the game.

It was in those two fixtures that Rojo, who has flitted between centre-back and left-back throughout his career, cemented his place in the centre of defence under Louis van Gaal. The return to fitness of Luke Shaw only fast-tracked that decision.

And while it’s clear United still need to buy the commanding centre-back Van Gaal failed to land last summer and this January, there have been signs that Rojo could develop into something of a leader himself. 

He visibly cajoled McNair on the youngster’s debut, relished the challenge against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup against Cambridge United and slotted right back into defence upon returning from two serious injuries in his first six months at a new club in a new country.

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It was evident after Rojo’s first few games that he had something else United needed in defence aside from leadership qualities: technical ability. The composure he has shown in possession stems from a good first touch, excellent close control and assured passing.

Comfortable on the ball and unflustered by the demands of possession-based football, the Argentine has looked a natural fit in terms of the way Van Gaal wants his United side to play.

Yet Rojo has also impressed in a defensive sense. He has averaged 5.9 tackles and interceptions per game this season, which once again is better than Jones (5.8), Evans (4.5) and Smalling (3.3). As an extremely athletic player, he covers ground quickly and is mobile enough to see out danger whenever it presents itself.   

Based on his first few months in the Premier League, it’s abundantly clear Rojo is a technically accomplished and physically capable defender who brings a great deal of versatility to United’s back line.

Although his strengths are easily identifiable, so are his weaknesses. Sometimes his positioning and reading of the game has left a lot to be desired. At other times, he’s looked like a left-back playing at centre-back, even if that is a somewhat lazy argument to aim at him.

He also has a tendency to make rash decisions. In the Manchester derby, for example, he needlessly dived into a challenge outside the penalty area and ended up dislocating his shoulder in what was a completely avoidable incident.

Still only 24 years old, it’s likely he will become a better defender once he develops maturity in his decision-making. At the moment, it’s important he has all of the physical and technical attributes to be able to do that.

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This week, Rojo was one of three United players to be nominated for the club’s Player of the Month award, which highlights his growing importance to the team.

And now that it appears Van Gaal has decided to scrap a 3-5-2 formation in favour of a four-man defence, the Argentine is the only centre-back in the squad guaranteed a starting role. Jones, Smalling and Evans will seemingly fight it out for the right to partner him.

To suggest Rojo has been outstanding would be knee-jerk, but he has been quietly impressive and looks like he could develop into a top-class defender under Van Gaal’s tutelage once he fine-tunes his game.


All statistics via WhoScored.com.

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