Counting on ace players has ever been the main striking force for every manager and if this key player is also the captain of the team, his importance gets tripled thanks to the motivational power that works in team favor after showing confidence in the skipper. Manchester United is one such team where although there are several great players yet manager Louis van Gaal wants only to talk about his skipper Wayne Rooney who can win them first silverware of the season. This is not a secret now that Gaal has taken many initiatives since he made a move to league giants including experimenting with the field spread and placing Rooney on rather unconventional position. Reds Devils’ upcoming FA Cup quarterfinal with Arsenal is of course the most talked about showdown and Dutchman wants to capitalize his weapons including strengthening the level of motivation among players by showing a stiff confidence in the skipper. He recently said it is Rooney’s desire to win first career FA cup that will help them ousted Gunners. Knowingly this is the only title that lacks Rooney’s presence and for that reason, 63-year-old former Barcelona manager seems to be using his confidence as an effective tool to triumph the next FA Cup barrier.
Counting on his skipper more than the team, Gaal said, “I don’t know how Rooney will motivate the dressing room but I think he shall do that because he is very motivated as a captain and a player. He wants to win a title, he has not won the FA Cup and that is something that is missing.
“My first championship with Ajax was very important for me. It was also an emotional thing and you have seen how he was motivated in the last minute of the game against Newcastle. You saw him running and pressing for a lost ball and that was fantastic.
“Every human being has his own identity and character and this is Wayne’s character. He has also picked up red cards because of that character, but against Newcastle it was fantastic. We’ve shown a lot of times we have been coming back in the last minute, even when we are behind. At Newcastle we scored out of nothing because the ball was already lost, but because of Wayne’s spirit he made it very difficult for his opponent.”
He was referring to Rooney’s recent statement where he expressed his ambition to win first FA Cup in this season itself.