Bastian Schweinsteiger Defends Louis Van Gaal, Talks Manchester United Tactics

Bastian Schweinsteiger insists manager Louis van Gaal's tactics are right for Manchester United and has defended the club's approach to games this season.

Speaking to Sport Magazine's Amit Katwala (h/t Mirror's Jack Lang), the German pass-master defended the pace of play under Van Gaal: "I think he has his philosophy. We try to improve in every match, but it’s not easy sometimes when you play against teams who defend with 10 players in their own half, and maybe a little bit deeper. You have to find solutions, and maybe the right moment to accelerate."

The player, dubbed "Mr. Calm" by his United team-mates, also answered the criticism about his leisurely style of play: "I don’t like it when there’s too much rush. So maybe this is where the name comes from."

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What some see as meandering and ponderous in the way he plays the game, the German insists is actually confident control: "But this is the point—I sometimes control the situation and it looks calm, but it’s not. My brain and eyes are working all the time.”

Schweinsteiger is responding to the growing tide of fingers wagging at the way United are approaching games this season. Under Van Gaal, the Red Devils have become far more pragmatic.

While they routinely dominate possession, Van Gaal's men tend to pass not to lose, rather than probing to win. For many, this is the antithesis of the attack-first mentality that defined United for years under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Many of the Scot's ex-players have been the most vocal naysayers of Van Gaal's tactics. Chief among them is BT Sport pundit Paul Scholes. The heavily decorated former United goal-getter has regularly lamented his old club's performances this season.

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Scholes said, "the fans want to see attacking football and goals—that's the Manchester United way," per ESPN FC.

During an interview with BBC Radio Manchester (h/t BBC Sport), Scholes chided the lack of attacking ambition from Van Gaal's team this season: "There's a lack of creativity and risk. It's a team now you wouldn't want to play against because they're tightly organised. But it seems he (Van Gaal) doesn't want players to beat men and it's probably not a team I'd have enjoyed playing in."

Yet, Schweinsteiger insists Van Gaal is all about getting the most from his players. Drawing from his experience working with the Dutchman at Bayern Munich, where he moved him off the wing and into the middle, Schweinsteiger credited Van Gaal's talent as a teacher: “You learn a lot when you speak with him. Of course you have more responsibility on the pitch as well in that position."

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The consistent narrative surrounding United's tactics is becoming rather stale. It's a credit to any club and its fans to demand attractive, attacking football.

Eventually, though, those fans have to accept one era has ended. Rebuilding presents different challenges. This is no longer the United of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Robin van Persie.

Van Gaal's is a more functional team, but it's one perfectly suited to the task of stabilisation. He's solidified a workmanlike squad by bringing defensive resolve back to Old Trafford.

Yet, it's a process with a natural trade-off. United are not dominating teams anymore, but they have turned grinding out results into an art form.

In a Premier League where the other main contenders are all fragile and inconsistent, Van Gaal and Schweinsteiger's plodding United seem best able to create the unbeaten runs every title winner needs.