COMMENTA move to Manchester United is generally considered a boon to a budding international career. Even this season, Anthony Martial has received France recognition since arriving at Old Trafford, while Marcus Rashford's emergence in the spring has led to an England call-up.
For a matter of decades, players with international caps under their belt have found the Theatre of Dreams to be the perfect place to perform. Weekly opportunities to play at the very top level in front of a world audience of supporters and national team coaching staff alike have proved invaluable for generations of Manchester United players.
But Juan Mata and Ander Herrera’s exclusions from the Spain selection announced by Vicente del Bosque on Tuesday continues a worrying new trend which has seen United regulars overlooked in favour of players from elsewhere across the globe. With Morgan Schneiderlin having already been left out of France’s squad and Michael Carrick missing England’s Euro trip, there is a clear pattern emerging.
It appears that spending an entire season struggling to express yourself as part of Louis van Gaal’s sterile philosophy of play which has seen United almost certainly miss out on the Champions League does little for your international aspirations.
Mata, perhaps United’s most technically gifted player, has spent too little of his time under Van Gaal in important, influential positions on the field. Often starting from the right-hand side of the attacking midfield line, the former Chelsea man has struggled in a way similar to his latter days at Stamford Bridge.
Just as his spell on the periphery under Jose Mourinho in the capital saw his reputation decimated, Mata has struggled to live up to expectations since the Dutchman has moved him away from the danger zone in favour of first Memphis Depay, Herrera, Adnan Januzaj, Wayne Rooney and Jesse Lingard at various stages this term.
The 28-year-old’s response has not been fantastic, in fairness to Van Gaal, with his demeanour often being that of a man cursing his misfortune rather than willing to prove his manager wrong. Yet it cannot be denied that it is the ex-Bayern Munich and Barcelona chief's decision-making which has brought about a dip in Mata’s United career.
Herrera is another who has been used sparingly in key areas, and indeed has started only 17 times in the league this season. While he has become a Stretford End favourite and spoke a very good game when facing the press ahead of the Europa League second-leg clash with Liverpool in March, the Spaniard has rarely had a great say in the red shirt. Too often, he has displayed clever touches and arrived at good times around the edge of the box but ultimately had too little effect on a match during the course of the campaign.
Schneiderlin might well be the most glaring case of all. Having played for Southampton as a third-tier side, the French midfielder helped them leap two divisions in successive seasons and became an international off the back of his consistently dynamic performances.
Yet since he was snapped up by Van Gaal in a £25 million deal last summer much of that dynamism has gone missing. Too many of his performances as a United player have been of a static, anchored nature with little sign that he is thriving on any responsibility to make things happen. His displays have become largely characterless, and as such it can be no real surprise that Didier Deschamps looked elsewhere.
Carrick’s case is perhaps a more complex one, but remains a reflection of sorts on the football played by Van Gaal’s sides at Manchester United.
READ MORE | Mou: There's no Man Utd dealThe England midfielder has appeared only 34 times for his country since his debut 15 years ago, with Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson successively deciding against making the West Ham product a regular feature for the Three Lions.
While Carrick’s passing game has few equals in the English game, his lack of all-round midfield grit and mobility often results in shortcomings either side of him. The need to supplement his presence with another more tenacious midfield player is a luxury few have been able to afford. Yet still Van Gaal should arguably have given the 34-year-old greater licence this term as United have failed to show any kind of consistency, and his lack of games in the large part has helped to confirm his demise as an international hopeful.
Not only are Manchester United no longer supplying a hefty portion of England squads, with just three included in Hodgson’s preliminary panel for this summer, but there are also international talents of some repute being cast asunder in the shadow of the Red Devils’ glaring failures.
The shortcomings of Van Gaal, it turns out, stretch well beyond the results and the underwhelming placing in the league table. The lack of United stars heading to the Euros will provide further ammunition for those wanting to see the back of the Dutchman sooner rather than later.