LOUIS VAN GAAL said he was attracted by the opportunity to work in the Premier League with Liverpool.
The 61-year-old was linked with both the manager’s job and a role as sporting director at Anfield following the dismissal of Kenny Dalglish, but Brendan Rodgers was eventually appointed. Van Gaal has claimed that he had always set his sights on a job with a national team but said the Reds’ offer was the only one that tempted him to return to club management.
“I’ve only spoken with Liverpool about a job,” the Dutchman told reporters. ”My aim was to be manager at a national team.
“That it turned out to be Holland is the best thing that could happen. I had a lot of chances to sign with other clubs, but I rejected it. Only Liverpool came with a plan that I liked, because I’ve never worked in the Premier League and I always wanted to become champion in England.”
The former Bayern Munich boss refused to play down the expectations around the Netherlands team after their poor performance at Euro 2012. The country crashed out of the tournament at the group stage under Bert van Marwijk but van Gaal insisted that they should still be aiming for the latter stages of major tournaments.
“Our goal in the Netherlands is very high,” he said. ”I want to set the aim high because that’s the only way to achieve those goals. We want to qualify for the World Cup and reach the semi-finals.”
