Carrick Could Be Manchester United's Libero

As Manchester United experiment with a number of new systems under Louis van Gaal, the injured Michael Carrick has been the forgotten man of their midfield. With the experienced England international returning to fitness, Pete Hall wonders whether there could be a new role for him...

Michael Carrick has built a career on being the perfect metronomic midfielder amidst a plethora of players of vast ability.

While sitting in front of the back four, silently trying to dictate the tempo throughout much of his eight-years at Manchester United, a host of Carrick’s illustrious team-mates have earned the plaudits and grabbed the goals that have brought much success down at M16.

Today, there is pressure from the Old Trafford supporters to improve every area of the falling giant, and in Daley Blind, new United supremo Louis van Gaal has brought in a new style of midfield anchor yet more simplistic than Carrick, whose abilities are well known to the Dutch boss – a familiarity that could leave a fit-again Carrick feeling a little ostracised.

Yet, there may still be hope for one last hurrah. A stalwart of one of the most successful United sides of all time, Carrick could assume a new role under a manager well known for his innovative systems. In fact, with a wealth of experience and well suited attributes, the autumn years of the 33-year-old’s United tenure could be the most successful yet.

With so many new arrivals, results are expected to improve quickly. As Manchester crooner Morrissey put it, “These things take time”, but time is what Van Gaal may not be afforded after a record-breaking spending spree.

Players such as Blind will be crucial to Van Gaal when implementing his philosophy on the club, and all the signs are there that the 63-year-old intends to build around the reliable former Ajax product.

“Daley is a great reader of the game, he has played under my philosophy over a number of years and he will be a great addition to the team,” Van Gaal said after completing the capture of Blind.

These words will not have been very welcome in the Carrick household, but all is not lost. There are growing calls from a number of quarters that a modern-day incarnation of a role made famous in Italian defensive systems could see Carrick’s career prosper in the latter stages, rather than simply fizzle out.

Meaning ‘free’ in Italian, the ‘Libero’ was the heartbeat of Italian defences in the 1970s and 80s, when the sweeper-style extra defender would carry the ball out of the box, and try to dictate from deep, and ‘sweep up’ around the back four.

In the current century, there has been a decline in the need for such an enforcer, as one-striker systems became popular and the demand for more free-flowing attacking football grew.

The then-Italy coach Cesare Prandelli did give the Libero in its purest form a brief swansong at Euro 2012, deploying Daniele De Rossi as an extra defender to nullify Spain’s ‘False Nine’ system in their group stage draw, but it was deemed very negative by many fans not impressed by De Rossi’s plentiful long balls.

Ironically, it was Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, famed for their tiki-taka football which bamboozled teams in their all-conquering recent dominance, that deployed the modern-day Libero, and in Sergio Busquets, they had the perfect orchestrator pulling the Catalan giants’ proverbial strings.

As Gerard Pique maundered forward from the back as he often liked to do, The Blaugrana couldn’t leave themselves open, so Busquets would simply fill in, and cover the void left by the forward-thinking defender.

Possessing fantastic vision for a pass and incredibly accurate long-range capabilities, Carrick was often subdued, sitting deeper, choosing the negative option backwards or sideways even in his prime.

However, as an extra defender, if Van Gaal deploys his famed 5-3-2 formation, or as a sweeper alongside a recognised centre-back, Carrick would need to use his long-range passing proficiencies and experienced organisation skills to be effective.

The veteran midfielder is especially comfortable with the ball at his feet, and has the stature and presence to drive the ball out of defence, and instigate attacks.

Blind, who loves to quickly release the ball and take the easy option can use Busquets’ example and simply slot into space left by Carrick as he exerts his influence.

As Carrick ages he could easily be phased out. While the 33-year-old made just 61 tackles last season from his 29 appearances, Mikel Arteta (105), Steven Gerrard (98) and Gareth Barry (86) certainly showed that their ageing legs still have plenty of life left.

There will be no easy retirement for Carrick, and contrary to Morrissey’s mantra, time if of the essence at Old Trafford. Van Gaal will want to instil Blind as his midfield pivot and anchor very quickly, and this could be aided by a move backwards for a man Sir Alex Ferguson described as one of his “most important signings.”

But rather than become a more defensive-minded Franco Baresi-style Libero, Carrick can fulfil the ball-playing centre-back role that Van Gaal so craves, and use his knowledge and familiarity to ease a new-look United side out of their slumber and into yet another era of dominance.

Credit: manutd.com