Musings of a Curious Mind

Around 17 years back when he took charge of Barcelona, Louis Van Gaal had a “special” assistant. The assistant who joined Barcelona as a translator under Bobby Robson, made rapid progress and was soon giving match day team talks. Fast forward 17 years, and the assistant is one of the best managers of the modern era. And on Sunday, in a classic master vs apprentice match up, Van Gaal will be up against his most famous pupil, Jose Mourinho. Van Gaal with Mourinho in their Barcelona Days On paper, the result is a foregone conclusion. Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it used to be under Sir Alex. Having had a stuttering start to the season despite being one of the biggest spenders in Europe, United are under immense pressure. The defence looks schoolboyish at its worst. At best, amateurish. Worse still, Chelsea are in the form of their life. Only 8 matches into the season, the premier league title looks like a stroll in the park for Chelsea. But, there is one silver lin

From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho, the premier league has seen quite a few top class managers in the last 20 years. But, if there is one manager who changed the way the game is understood and played, it has to be Arsene Wenger. Be it transforming a misfiring winger to one of the most feared strikers of the world, or creating the “Invincibles”, the professor has done it all. They say that in today’s game, every manager comes with a shelf life. But Wenger has built all conquering sides, seen the stars leave, and rebuilt teams all over again. And all this while, Arsenal have never finished outside the top 4. And by any chance if you think that finishing in the top 4 is an easy task, you need to have a conversation with a guy named Mr David Moyes. The evolution of Wenger’s teams can be illustrated by the fact that during the “invincible” era, Wenger was accused by the British press of not having enough English players. Today, with players like Wilshere, Walcott, Welbeck and the Ox,