Angel Di Maria’s development into a uniquely world class midfielder was foreshadowed years ago. In a 2010 article debating the merits of Benfica as the most entertaining team in Europe, Michael Cox pinpointed the 22-year-old Di Maria’s ability to send crosses from wide areas and provide an outlet in central midfield which allowed Benfica to attack through Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola while maintaining balance in defensive transitions. World class players usually stand out for their individual skill on the ball; Di Maria is defined by his movement off the ball as much as what he does with it.

His ability to find space, especially in counter attacks, highlights the distinctness of Di Maria’s game (and he has the origin story to match - sold to Rosario Central for 35 soccer balls as a four-year-old). He’s neither an initiator at the base of midfield like teammate Marco Verratti, or playmaker splitting defenses a la Javier Pastore. Yes, he ranks highly on tangible stats like chances created, but even those numbers only scratch the surface of Di Maria’s overarching contribution to his teams. His value is measured in how he allows a team to function.

Real Madrid bought Di Maria from Benfica the following summer for $31 million (he was sold to United three years later for $60 million, and to PSG a year after for $80 million). Jose Mourinho predictably turned Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, and Ronaldo into the fastest counter attack in the world. But it was under another counter attacking architect in Carlo Ancelotti that Di Maria achieved his finest moment with the club as they chased an unprecedented 10th European title in 2014 against Atletico Madrid. A Sergio Ramos header in the 93rd minute sent the final against their rivals into extra time. Then, in the 110th minute, Di Maria received the ball on the left wing and broke off a run that displayed the best of his characteristics: the incisive, close dribbling beating defenders with quick feet, acceleration, and a direct ball. Gareth Bale scored what turned out to be the winning goal; Di Maria was recognized as man of the match. He also led Real Madrid with 90 chances created that season, 20 more than second place Isco.

Just two months later, in the round of 16 World Cup match against Switzerland, Di Maria was on the receiving end of a brilliant run this time and scored the winning goal in the 118th minute. Again, his energy and incisiveness late into a match were on full display. His final contribution before pulling his hamstring in the following match against Belgium was this misplaced assist for Gonzalo Higuain, and Argentina didn’t score another goal the rest of the tournament. 

His momentum came to a halt last season. Instead of revitalizing Manchester United’s midfield under Louis Van Gaal, his one season was a revealing failure. He is at his best attacking defenses with pace, for better or worse. Carlo Ancelotti noted that he could lose control at times and Van Gaal recognized his propensity of taking defenders on in lieu of making the simple pass. But playing the obvious choice is not what made Di Maria so thrilling in the first place, and Van Gaal’s complimenting him as a top class winger may have shut off the space he needs to be his most dynamic (if there’s such thing as a sideline to sideline midfielder, Di Maria would be it). Regardless, he left for PSG last summer. 

Under Laurent Blanc, Di Maria found a middle ground of maintaining intelligent possession balanced with his instinctual movement and passing. He plays further up the field as one of the front three in attack, but has the freedom to create overloads in the center of midfield. He has created almost twice as many chances as the second place Lucas Moura with this assist to Edinson Cavani in the 78th minute against Chelsea as his most recent contribution. The pass came from the center of midfield, but the result remained the same: it was Di Maria with the final ball to win a match. Whether on counter attacks or in build up, he creates.   

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In picking up the pieces of the 2010 World Cup, Jonathan Wilson wrote of whether Argentine soccer would be more influenced by the European route of pragmatism over honoring their own tradition of beautiful soccer at the international level. Of course, every country must balance this equation in some form, but few have produced the likes of Riquelme. And with a high press becoming more nuanced with each season, transitions are where matches are won and lost.

Manager Alejandro Sabella seemed to have sided with results over beauty four years later at the World Cup in Brazil. Playing with a deep backline featuring Martin Demichelis and Ezequiel Garay at center back, they scored just two goals (both with Di Maria involved before getting hurt) and allowed one in their four knockout round matches. The approach allowed Sabella’s side to overachieve after injuries to both Di Maria and Sergio Aguero. Yet even after missing two matches, Di Maria was still second in the side in chances created and recorded the ninth fastest top speed in the tournament. If adopting an European approach means building around transitions, they have already produced a player who can split the equation of pragmatism and playmaking down the middle. The answer, and perhaps the country’s future midfield archetype, was there all along.