LOUIS VAN GAAL may have won a Bundesliga crown, a German Cup and finished as Champions League runners-up in his first season at Bayern Munich but the club’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has hit out at the way in which ‘The Iron Tulip’ tried to ‘Van Gaal-ise’ the Bavarian giants.
In an interview with Der Spiegel, Rumenigge did refer to the Dutchman as ‘a good and successful coach’ but spared little when it came to criticising the current Manchester United boss.
He wanted to ‘Van Gaal-ise’ the club. As soon as he presented his autobiography in a snobby restaurant, I knew hard times were ahead – ‘Van Gaal-ise,’ that’s what we’ve called it up until today. He’s not always low-maintenance. He’s got a huge ego.”
Though overseeing a successful first campaign, Van Gaal was sacked towards the end of his second with the club sitting in fourth place. His successor, Jupp Heynckes, had to be patient before tasting triumph though he landed a treble in 2013 – an achievement van Gaal narrowly missed out on three years before.
But Rummenigge spoke in glowing terms of Bayern’s current coach Pep Guardiola who won a league title and a German Cup in his first campaign.
“He has many ideas. Some of them might be unusual, but they are never crazy. I consider Pep a genius, and hope that he’ll stay with us for a long time.”