Competition for midfield places is intense at United but
Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves and Ji-sung Park wouldn't have it
any other way...
What do you think are the
most important elements of being a good
midfielder?
JSP: It’s difficult to say, because for me as a
winger, I need different qualities compared to these two. But we
all play an important part in the game. Everything comes through
the midfield and we can control the match. From picking up the ball
from the defence, to passing it to the forwards, we play an
important role in pulling the play together.
OH: I think it changes depending on what
formation we’re using and who we’re playing alongside. The job can
be different and sometimes you have to focus on varying elements.
Because we attack a lot you need to be wary of counteroffensives -
quite a few teams come to Old Trafford and put players behind the
ball. I think we would all like to go forward, get in the box and
score goals, but some of us are given jobs for a reason because we
do other things well - it’s all about the team.
MC: Your role depends on the formation and who
you’re up against. If we’re playing at home and facing a lesser
team you’re going to be doing a lot of attacking, so defending
isn’t a priority. Sometimes, against a side like Arsenal, with the
way they play in terms of closing your space down, your function
varies greatly.
Is there a player who you’ve
seen play and thought, ‘I’d love to try and incorporate that in a
game’?
MC: I wouldn’t say there are specific players
you watch. For me personally, I know where I would like to improve
my game and I don’t look at specific footballers - I pick up things
here and there, whether it’s in a game, watching something on
television or in training. To be honest, that’s probably where you
learn the most, playing with the other lads here. I feel I’m
constantly being educated right on my doorstep every day from our
very own players.
What’s the best midfield
display that you’ve seen from a team?
OH: I think it’s very rare where you get every
member of the midfield playing well at the same time. I can’t
remember a game when everyone’s been on song. From a midfield four
you’re likely to get one not playing as well as they can do, but
it’s important to control the battle in the centre of the park as a
unit - doing that can win you a game. The way we play here, we’re
always stacked up against five players - teams don’t want to lose
and they leave one man up front, so we’re always a man down in that
respect.
MC: [laughs] You get used to playing that way,
though…
OH: Every team who has come to Old Trafford has
done that this season.
MC: You have to get used to it and you expect
the opposition to pack the midfield. You know what certain teams
are going to do and how they’re going to try and stop you. It’s
just something we have to deal with and I think we do really well
at that.
Attackers are judged on how
many goals they score, defenders by keeping clean sheets – what
constitutes a good game for a midfield player?
MC: Winning the game.
OH: It’s not always about playing well - a lot
of times we can put in a good performance and the team loses,
so I guess if we win then we’re all judged more positively.
MC: That’s true. Take the game against
Manchester City [at Eastlands] earlier on in the season. The
performance from the whole team was very good; we just couldn’t
score. The result is what counts, but look at the match itself and
you’ll find we all played well. We controlled the game - as
midfielders we dominated them - we just couldn’t quite create that
opportunity to score. So despite thinking that you’ve played well,
it doesn’t really matter if the team has lost the match.