1. Van Gaal is obsessed with ‘the team’
(Van Gaal drinks a cup of tea at a press conference)
Throughout his career, Louis van Gaal has had little time for players who show signs of self-indulgence. This impatience for showmen was evident even in his early years at Ajax, as one passage illustrates: “Team building was of course nothing new but the priority van Gaal gave to it was. He wanted input but he waned it within a framework of discipline. He eliminated freelances, players who pursued their opponents all over the pitch. In his thinking, it was particularly important that everyone kept their position so that there would be no defensive gaps.
“In van Gaal’s philosophy, the team comes before everything. His definition of ‘the team’ did not just mean the 11 or 14 players who had been involved in the game of the day, but also the reserves, the technical staff and other personnel, from the kit man to the cook. When Ajax won the Champions League in 1995, van Gaal went into the Ajax laundry room, put the cup on a washing machine and told the perplexed laundry women, ‘So, this one is also for you!’ Van Gaal was the pivot who created a ‘we-feeling’ among the people he worked with. There was one man absolutely in charge of ‘the team,’ and that was van Gaal.”
2. Van Gaal had three idols growing up
(Van Gaal once idolised John F Kennedy)
“My first idol was Henk Groot, then came JF Kennedy, and next Rinus Michels. I got very disappointed by Kennedy. When I was still young I didn’t see it, but he did a lot of things in his own personal interest, and not in the interest of the US and the world. Besides, he had all kinds of extramarital affairs. I am not a proponent of that either.”
3. He has an interesting theory on why so many of the Ajax generation failed to fulfil their potential
(Michael Reiziger was one of the players who struggled after leaving Ajax)
Under Louis van Gaal, a conspicuously young Ajax team became the best side in Europe, winning the Champions League and going an entire year unbeaten in the league during the mid 90s. However, after securing big-money moves thereafter, many of their young players arguably failed to ever fulfill their potential — Patrick Kluivert, Winston Bogarde, Michael Reiziger and Finidi George being prime examples.
Van Gaal has an interesting take on why this is: “I think it is logical that players who leave Ajax do not reach their former level elsewhere. Nobody trains like the way we do, and nowhere are the qualities of the player put in harmony with one another as at Ajax. Abroad, a player has to once again fend for himself. He is evaluated according to his own qualities, and not, as with us, for his value for the team. At Ajax, individual weaknesses were covered by the team. That is the essence of team building. He can excel because of the team. Other countries are way behind us in that respect: what matters there is character.”
4. His reputation for arrogance didn’t arrive by accident
(To mark the arrival of Louis Van Gaal to the Premier League, William Hill commissioned a large-scale portrait of the Dutch football manager made out of tulips)
“In the Netherlands, when he was asked if he had ever read the book, ‘I Am Always Right,’ by the well-known Dutch author Willem Frederik Hermans, van Gaal responded in the negative. ‘No. I know Hermans, but not that particular book. A catchy title. But I would never say that about myself. I would add the nuance: I am usually right…’ If Louis van Gaal were asked to sum up his merits as a coach, he might reissue his classic statement, ‘I am the best.’”
5. Players who don’t like him really don’t like him
(Brazilian Giovanni had a poor relationship with Van Gaal at Barcelona)
He alienated the highly-rated Brazilian midfielder Giovanni after arriving at Barcelona, relegating him to the bench and ultimately causing his departure to Olympiakos. In 2010, the player had the following to say: “Van Gaal is arrogant, proud and has a problem. My life with him was horrible. The Brazilians did not want him; he put me down and also fought with Rivaldo and Sonny Anderson. He always gave us the excuse that we were not training well. I know that he must have some trauma. He has no idea of football, does not know anything. In the time I was with him, he always did the same training. He’s crazy.” And of the 2010 Champions League final between Inter and Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich, Giovanni said: “If it were up to me, I would have liked it if Inter won 15-0 with five goals from Lucio.”
6. Anders Iniesta is the ultimate Louis van Gaal player
(Van Gaal greatly admires Spain and Barca star Iniesta)
“He sees the game so well, he can play in different positions… Xavi has that too, but Xavi is more static. Iniesta has that sparkle in his game. Xavi is more like I was. Technically perfect. Tactically strong, but too slow… Like myself. Iniesta is the player I wanted to be, but wasn’t.”
7. He is the anti-David Beckham in almost every sense
(Van Gaal does not go out of his way to seek publicity)
“Van Gaal has received, according to his own tally, tens of thousands of requests to appear on talk shows, game shows and so forth, but has always declined: ‘I am a football coach. I only want to talk about my profession; I don’t participate in the rest… I have been asked but I don’t have time for it. Do I have to fake some smiles on TV? I don’t think I should change myself. I am not dissatisfied with myself.”
8. His control-freak reputation is deserved
(An animated Van Gaal watches the 1995 Champions League final)
“Football education at Ajax… manifested this predilection for control, and was based on scientific, or at least verifiable, data. Player development was carefully stored in a computer and analysed. Deviance from the pattern would be immediately registered. Likewise, van Gaal would never grant an interview without the firm assurance that he would be allowed to read and edit the article prior to publication. He would never consider leaving the details of a contract at a new club to financial advisers.
‘Louis van Gaal: The Biography’ by Maarten Meijer is out now. More details here.
Keep an eye on the site during the week as we’ll be giving readers a chance to win a copy of the book.
