BAYERN MUNICH CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the club owe much of their current success to former coach Louis Van Gaal.
The current Manchester United coach led the Bavarians for two years from 2009, coming within a Champions League final of sealing a famous treble. He was sacked in 2011 following a third-place Bundesliga finish, but Rummenigge believes his impact is still being felt at the Allianz Arena.
“If you see our ball possession today, I would say the first steps were the benefits from Louis van Gaal,” Rummenigge told The Times.
“We hired him to bring a new philosophy and I believe — I still believe — that from the technical and tactical point of view, he’s a very good coach.
“He changed the system here and I’m convinced he will do it as well at Manchester United.”
The reigning German champions sit four points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga ahead of Saturday’s clash with Dortmund, well on course to claim what would be their third straight league title. It would make it two league titles in two season for coach Pep Guardiola, from whom Rummenigge says is still learning.
“Even now, I have learnt a lot from how he interprets football, which is totally different to what I had in my mind before,” Rummenigge continued.
“He has a fantastic philosophy. The main basis is the midfield, ball possession, controlling the ball in midfield. He is doing that, I would say, in a different style to how he did it at Barcelona.
“Here we come a bit quicker to the conclusion, which maybe takes in part of our culture in Germany.”
