Dimi celebrates in fairer times
Niall Brehon
Staff Writer
“The Berba Conundrum” is likely to be a box-office hit among pundits this season. It tells the tale of an ethereal, Alice-band-wielding cult-hero alongside a certain Tallaghtman at Tottenham, creating and taking goals with arrogant ease and setting everyone’s pulses racing but his own.
He then moves to Manchester United amid effusive comparisons to the collared, mercurial Eric Cantona at the conniving, last-minute behest of Sir Alex Ferguson for a jaw-dropping £30.75m, and who scores 20 goals in 32 league appearances in the 2010/11 season, finishing as joint top-scorer (a respectable 0.63 goals per appearance).
Fortune is not his friend for life, however, and he soon finds himself jostling with Michael Owen for the position of fourth-choice striker at Old Trafford following the rapid emergences of the youthful, exuberant pair of Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck. Perhaps a more suitable title would be “The Season after the Season Before: The Curse of the Golden Boot”; just ask Berbatov’s fellow 2010/11 winner and teammate on last season’s PFA Team of the Year, Carlos Tevez.
As Ferguson recently said, it is “only early doors” yet for this season. But the writing has been on the wall for Bulgaria’s all-time top international scorer (48 goals in 77 games) since last season’s Champions League final against one of football’s most overrated teams when Ferguson could not even find a substitute berth for Berbatov in his solution to the Barca Conundrum – thus was the Berba Conundrum birthed. This season saw Welbeck, a raw, leggy 20-year-old, lead the line on his own, keeping Berbatov out of the team in the absence of Wayne Rooney (hamstring) and Chicharito (dead leg) for the Champions League visit of FC Basel; an understandable choice given Berbatov’s three-year CL goal drought, vindicated by the English-capped youngster’s brace of goals.
Not to forget the blank space beside Berbatov’s goals column for the season: Rooney (9 league goals), Chicharito (2 ), Welbeck (3, 2 CL goals), Owen (2 irrelevant-cup goals), and even Predator-lookalike and consistent-goal-scoring-supremo Anderson (Ed: – Sure about that?), who chipped in with a pair of goals this season, are all ahead of broody Berbatov. So why have the goals dried up? And is there a solution to the Berbatov Conundrum?
The emergence of Chicharito
When Manchester United signed the “little pea” in the summer before the start of the 2010/11 season, many eyebrows were raised, despite his goal-scoring exploits for Guadalajara and impressive showing for Mexico at the World Cup.
But Chicharito, embodying the traits Ferguson loves – youth, promise, pulse-raising speed of thought and foot, good work ethic and a predatory eye for goal – soon exhibited his superb adaptability to the English game by impressing, first off the bench, and then as a starter. His game, that of a lightning-fast striker playing off the shoulder of the last defender, provided a different option for United in attack, and created space for those behind by stretching the defence with his runs.
This, in marked contrast to Berbatov’s languorous, laid-back movement, lack of speed to trouble defences and yearning to be involved in the build-up play, meant that Rooney would no longer have to make those runs if played with Hernandez, and could become more involved in the build-up play himself, which is where he operates most effectively.
Ferguson, enthralled with the faster tempo to United’s play, began to opt for Hernandez’s searing pace, varied and plentiful runs and strong work ethic up front over Berbatov’s unorthodox centre-forward style, characterised by an economical view in terms of tracking back, making runs and pressuring the defenders, and a tendency to drop off the front line, cutting down space for the midfield (who, seeing as “short, back and sides” Carrick was often in the first team, had enough to worry about without even more of a premium on space).
Rooney’s return to form
Wayne Rooney cut a forlorn, furrow-foreheaded figure (Ed: – okay, we get it, you’re an English student) up front for United for a large chunk of last season; a combination of a recurring ankle problem, issues over a new contract, not being played in his best position and marital issues with Colleen contrived to stir a maelstrom of comment over his loss of form.
As a result, United largely depended on Berbatov’s goal-scoring exploits in the early half of the season. When Rooney’s form improved following Chicharito’s emergence in a major role, once again he became the first name on the team sheet and United’s orchestrator in attack – a role Berbatov revels in, albeit in a much more languid and less direct style in link-up play.
With Chicharito scoring so freely, Ferguson began to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation with the roadrunner Mexican spearheading the team and creating the space for the No. 10 role. Suddenly there was only room for one of Rooney or Berbatov; given the former’s form and reputation as one of the most iconic footballers in the world, it was little surprise that Berbatov, whose goals had dried up just as Rooney began scoring again, found himself reduced to a bit-part role as Hernandez replaced him as Rooney’s foil.
Dimi isn't the only talented striker not to have made it at United
Unsuitability as a typical Manchester United attacker
As previously mentioned, Chicharito’s fleetness of foot and mind are qualities that Ferguson admires; Berbatov can be seen as out of step in this sense with the style of the majority of Ferguson’s options in attack since the turn of the century. A brief glance at the following names underlines Ferguson’s consistency in this aspect of his teams: Andy Cole, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Dwight Yorke, Diego Forlan, Luis Saha, Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, Welbeck and Hernandez all possess/possessed defence-threatening pace.
Berbatov offers undoubtedly superlative technique, but his game is ill-adapted to, for example, a game plan along the lines of the devastating Blitzkrieg counter-attacking Tevez-Rooney-Ronaldo axis of 2008/09. United currently possess a team with similar width and speed of attack; unfortunately, Berbatov isn’t in it.
Nor does he fulfil the role of a Ruud Van Nistlerooy or a Didier Drogba, as he is disinclined to the role of the centre-forward target man who uses strength to create and score goals and bring others into the game. He looks to others to provide a focal point rather than being that focal point, which is perfectly fine unless your foil is – has to be – Wayne Rooney, who is far less effective when not played behind a lone front man.
At Spurs, Berbatov was up front with Robbie Keane, who, aside from flapping his arms and rolling his eyes, provided the runs and the consistent threat to defenders that gave the Bulgarian the necessary space to do his thing.
Solutions?
There are three options available to Berbatov: namely, he could wait out this storm and hope it passes, make like the proverbial tree and leave Old Trafford, or change his game the way Ryan Giggs transformed from a wide player to a deep-lying midfielder (and the way Frank Lampard perhaps needs to re-evaluate his own game). Against Leeds in the Carling Cup, Ferguson temporarily deployed Berbatov at centre-back alongside Michael Carrick, but this was without doubt an aberration.
It may be difficult for Berbatov to change his game as drastically as Giggs has, especially considering his main attributes are his beautiful first touch and predatory instinct in the box. If he were to change his game, his attitude when his team don’t have the ball would have to be overhauled – a task easier said than done. What Berbatov brings to a team up front is quite unique; however, it doesn’t really fit into Ferguson’s idea of how United should play (and how they could beat Barcelona), so either Ferguson will have to change or his £30m striker will.
Alternatively, he could wait for his opportunity to get back into the side, whether through a lucky break with injuries or using the limited game-time he gets to play his way into contention. The only problem with this is that Ferguson currently rates Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck higher, and age is certainly not on his side; Welbeck is a whole decade younger than Berbatov.
Finally, and most likely, Berbatov could leave in search of time on the pitch in the summer, with a potential return to the Bundesliga on the cards and nouveau-riche PSG sniffing around with olfactory intent. Whatever happens this season, the Berba Conundrum is sure to be a much-debated topic.
