It shows how much the narrative around Jadon Sancho has shifted on his first start in seven months the Manchester United loanee was being criticized for wanting to take a penalty....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Rather than highlighting the fact Borussia Dortmund had been awarded a spot kick thanks to some trademark skill by the England wide player, the media focus was on his asking Niclas Fullkrug for the opportunity to score.
“Jadon Sancho blanked by Dortmund teammate in awkward exchange on full debut” raged English tabloid The Mirror’s headline, “Jadon Sancho blocked from taking penalty despite ‘begging team-mate” screamed The Sun.
In happier times such exchanges are lauded and the desire to get on the scoresheet commended.
But when you’ve undergone half a season of being depicted as irretrievably unprofessional by your manager that reputation doesn’t change fast.
For those who have forgotten, and it was some time ago now, Sancho drew the ire of Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag for allegedly not hitting a high enough standard on the training pitch to warrant squad selection for the game against Arsenal.
The reason the world knew this was because when Ten Hag was asked why Sancho wasn’t chosen he told the world’s media: “Because of his performance in training, we didn’t select him. You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United.”
But Sancho’s unrecognizable differences came not from the actions to which Ten Hag referred.
No, the pair fell out because the Londoner defended himself on social media.
“I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue,” he wrote in a now-deleted post. “I have conducted myself very well in training this week.
“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into. I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair.”
Erik Ten Hag is renowned for being a disciplinarian and was never likely to let such a statement against him stand.
In response, he froze Sancho out of first-team training a status which could only be reversed by public apology.
Manchester United didn’t explicitly say it was for the social media post, stating he was doing a “personal training program away from the first team […] pending resolution of a squad discipline issue”, but all reports indicated this was the reason.
And, as days rolled into weeks which became months, it became clear there was little chance of resolution.
Both sides dug in their heels so it became clear, whilst Ten Hag remained Manchester United manager, which given the club’s form wasn’t exactly a given, Sancho would remain ostracised.
The Dortmund Solution
Watchers of German soccer have been perplexed at Sancho’s time at Manchester United even before this fallout.
It was around five years ago he arrived as an untested 17-year-old and lit up the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund.
In the years which followed he quickly became one of the leading lights in an exciting young team with the statistics to rival the best around.
His Bundesliga record stands at 104 appearances, 38 goals and 45 assists, or put more simply Sancho either set up or scored a goal every 90 minutes.
Former Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann captured the sense of how exciting he was to watch at the time, stating: ”In one-against-ones, there’s nobody better than him right now. He’s two-footed and can play on either side, shifts his weight fantastically and is technically perfect.
“He’s absolutely world-class,” he added.
Given that past when the opportunity to reboot his career in Dortmund arose it’s understandable Sancho leapt at the chance.
It was telling that the pictures of him wearing the yellow of the North German club were also accompanied by something we’ve seen far less of at Manchester United; a smile.
“When I came into the dressing room today, it felt like ‘coming home’,” the England star explained.
“I know the club inside and out, I’ve always been very close with the fans here, and I’ve never lost contact with those in charge.
“I can’t wait to see my teammates again, go out on the pitch, play football with a smile on my face, prepare goals, score goals and help qualify for the Champions League.”
But the most damming indictment of Erik Ten Hag has not been the immediate impact Sancho had by assisting a goal in his first game or winning a penalty in the second, it’s what the Dortmund coach had to say about the new signing.
Edin Terzić’s admiration of Sancho is well established, but it was pointed out that he almost immediately praised the Londoner’s performances in training.
“It’s true that Jadon arrived with good stats. Nevertheless, we know how the last few weeks and months have gone for him. If you see that with him, then we’re happy about every training session. He’s doing well this week,” he told the media.
Every time Sancho excels while Manchester United struggles it makes Erik Ten Hag look worse.
He chose to make a bold and definitive choice exiling the attacker from first-team soccer and it may be one comes to bitterly regret…CONTINUE READING>>
