kagawa's open letter by his admirer

OPEN LETTER TO SHINJI KAGAWA

“Destiny is a good thing to accept
when it's going your way. When it's
not; just don't call it destiny. Call it
injustice, treachery or simply bad luck"

Hello Shinji,
I called it destiny when you arrived at
Manchester United. I call it injustice when
you have left just two years later.

Every United fan was genuinely excited
when you arrived. Having watched you tear
it up for Dortmund, we were sure we had
signed a world class player who would
transform the club.
You were going to be our number 10.
United had been famous for wing play,
crosses and mainly the 4-4-2. We believed
that you will bring about the modernization
of the club, change the way we played. We
were licking our lips at the thought of you
and Rooney linking up.

I still vividly remember watching the first
game of the 2012-13 season against
Everton. On a night when everyone else
struggled, you caught the eye by
nonchalantly putting Javier Hernandez
through on goal twice. But you were
overshadowed by the (non) contributions
of one Mr Robin van Persie, a trend which
had continued till date and had finally
resulted in your departure.

Over the course of the next two years, the
number of games you started in your
favoured position are just a handful. Gross
injustice. The left wing was where you got
stuck and that shackled your creativity.
In hindsight, the second season would
perhaps have been better. Wayne Rooney
may have left and you may well have made
the number 10 your own, but all that went
down the drain when David Moyes arrived.

It was silly to expect a manager who likes a
Tim Cahill/Fellaini type of number 10 to
understand and even think of playing you.
He played you there for a game and half
and was rewarded with the best football
under his tenure – against Bayer
Leverkusen and Swansea.

Come the January transfer window, the club
needed a 'statement signing' and on came
Juan Mata to push you further down the
pecking order. There were a few games
where you both combined well, but that
was just a flash in the pan.
You are a classic example of how things are
not so straightforward at big clubs like
United. Having talent isn't enough. Fate.
Destiny. Luck. Lot of factors kick in and
agonisingly for you and the fans, you did
not have those factors going for you.
Or perhaps it was just tactical. Maybe
managers did not see your fast one touch
pass & move based style fit in with the
slower playing style of United. It was
disheartening to see mediocre players get
chance after chance while you were
relegated to the bench. But for two years,
no matter how much you were mistreated,
there were neither any complaint nor any
whining. You have always given your best
and fans will always remember that with
gratitude.

Some dreams are never fulfilled. Some goals
are never fulfilled. Some journeys do not
reach their destination. All we are left with
is thoughts about how well it could have
gone and regrets about how badly it has
gone.

You have gone back to a place where
everyone adores you. Where the coach
knows how to get the best of you. We are
all happy for you as your talents will be on
show again.

On behalf of Manchester United and its fans,
I wish you all the very best for your second
innings at Borussia Dortmund. I will
continue to follow your career closely. I
hope that you make us regret selling you.

Regards,
A Manchester United fan and Shinji

Kagawa admirer.