Just as Louis van Gaal retained a young José Mourinho as his assistant when taking over at Barcelona in 1997, the Dutchman has kept a figure from the regime of his predecessor at United, David Moyes. In doing so the 62-year-old illustrates a firm sense of security in his talent and that he is considering the club's future beyond his own tenure.
An hour after Van Gaal's appointment came an announcement fromGiggs that his playing days are over. The stand-out phrase in the open letter penned for the club website was: "It saddens me to know I won't be pulling on a United jersey again as a player."
The sense here is that the Welshman wanted to continue into a 24th season - this was an issue the club preferred not to discuss on Monday – but that Van Gaal decided he wanted Giggs to focus solely on being his No2. How the pair dovetail should be fascinating.
Ins and outs
Tom Cleverley, Marouane Fellaini, Alexander Büttner, Patrice Evra, Anders Lindegaard, Nani, Darren Fletcher, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Javier Hernández and Shinji Kagawa form a clutch of players who now wonder if they will remain at United beyond 31 August. Some of these are sure to be retained as Van Gaal has neither the time nor inclination to orchestrate a sizeable, destabilising "churn".
Those on the list of Van Gaal's identified targets include Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller, Roma's Kevin Strootman (one for January due to his serious knee injury), Mats Hummels and Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona's Cesc Fábregas, and Southampton's Luke Shaw. The club is convinced that a deal to acquire the last is all but sealed.
Captaincy
Van Gaal has already flagged up who is his favoured choice to take the armband from the departed Nemanja Vidic, and it is not Wayne Rooney.
At Holland's training camp in Hoenderloo Van Gaal spoke of his admiration for Robin van Persie, admitting he had discussed changing the team's formation with the man he appointed as Holland's leader last summer.
He said: "Always, you make a player captain when you have more or less the same philosophy, not only about football tactics but also about life. So I think that's very important. I believe that Van Persie and Van Gaal [have] the same philosophy."
How all of this is received by Rooney, who was in line to become the new captain under Moyes, may become evident once he, Van Persie and Van Gaal meet following their World Cup dutiesand subsequent rest.
Pre-season
As Moyes can confirm, this period is vital to ensure the squad is strengthened with the necessary additions - central midfield, central defence and left-back are the priorities – and Van Gaal gets his message across and systems in place before the new campaign.
The Dutchman has to do this while negotiating a crowded schedule. If Holland reached the final of the World Cup on 13 July, Van Gaal would have only a one or two day rest before United start their pre-season tour on 17 July in the US, if he is to join his new squad at the earliest.
Van Gaal is a particularly thorough operator who relies on the optimum level of detail. Don't be surprised if he turns up in California for the week-long training camp before United's opening match against LA Galaxy on 23 July.
From there, United play in Denver, Detroit, and Washington in a three-match International Champions Cup tournament that, if the final is reached, adds a further match to the schedule, in Miami on 4 August.
After this United will have further friendlies – probably in Europe – which are yet to be announced before the new season is finally embarked upon.
Tactics
Van Gaal's preferred formation is 4-3-3, a system he utilised at Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich, his four previous clubs. Yet, in what will be sweet music to the ears of the United supporters, their new manager is flexible. The Van Gaal approach to how his teams should play consists of an assessment of the players at his disposal and what best suits them.
Whatever the shape, the underlying philosophy is to dominate the ball – 60% possession is a benchmark – and always to take the game to his opponents: to be proactive, not reactive.
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