Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal OON, known as Louis van Gaal (Dutch pronunciation: [luˈwi vɑŋˈɣaːɫ]; born 8 August 1951), is a Dutch footballmanager who is the current manager of the Dutch national team. He was formerly manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich; on 19 May 2014, van Gaal was appointed as the manager of Manchester United on a three-year contract beginning from the 2014-15 season.[1]
Before his career as a coach, Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ. He is also a fully qualified gymnastics teacher and has worked as such at high schools during various stages of his career as a semi-professional footballer.[2] Van Gaal is an avid proponent of attacking football, educated in the tradition of the Total Football playing style of Ajax and the Dutch national team of the 1970s.
After a brief spell as coach at AZ, Van Gaal served as assistant coach under Leo Beenhakker at Ajax and eventually took over as head coach in 1991. Under his lead, the club won three Eredivisie titles, the UEFA Cup, and the Champions League. Van Gaal moved to Barcelona in 1997 and won two Spanish league titles and one Copa del Rey. After some disagreements at Barcelona, he was appointed coach of the Netherlands national team, but failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. Another brief spell at Barcelona followed before he became manager of AZ. After winning the Eredivisie with AZ in 2008–09, he was hired by Bayern Munich on 1 July 2009.[3] In his first season at Bayern, he secured the Bundesliga title, won the DFB-Pokal, and reached the final of the Champions League. In July 2012, he was appointed manager of the Netherlands for the second time
Playing and early coaching career
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Van Gaal was born in Amsterdam. As a youngster, he started playing for the Amsterdam amateur side RKSV 'De Meer'. At the age of 20, he joined the second team of Ajax, but was never chosen to play in the first team, which at the time boasted players such as Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens in the midfield positions. He was loaned to Belgian First Divisionside Royal Antwerp playing under Guy Thys with whom he was runner-up in the Belgian top division in 1974 and 1975. After four years spent in Belgium, Van Gaal returned to his homeland and made his Eredivisie debut for Telstar under the guidance of manager, Mircea Petescu, whom he followed to Sparta Rotterdam. Van Gaal later joined AZ, where he also became assistant coach in 1986. After a short career at AZ, he returned to Ajax to becomeLeo Beenhakker's assistant. When Beenhakker left in 1991, Van Gaal took over as manager.[4]
Management career
Ajax (1991–1997)
Van Gaal was Ajax manager from 1991 until 1997 and had a very successful tenure. Under Van Gaal, Ajax became theEredivisie champions three times, in 1994, 1995 (notably going the entire 1994–95 season unbeaten in both the league and the Champions League) and 1996.[5] He also led Ajax to the KNVB Cup in 1993 and the Johan Cruijff Shield in 1993, 1994, and 1995. On the European scene, Ajax captured the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995 after beating Milan in the final. The latter win was followed by a 5–1 aggregate win over Real Zaragoza in the 1995 UEFA Super Cup. Late in 1995, Ajax beat Brazilian side Grêmio on penalties to win the Toyota Cup (formerly Intercontinental Cup). Ajax were also Champions League runners-up in 1996 after losing to Juventus on penalties.
Ajax was so successful under Van Gaal's leadership that during the 1990s, the Dutch national team was dominated by Ajax players such as Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Winston Bogarde, Michael Reiziger, and Edwin van der Sar.
After serving out his contract at Ajax (1997), Van Gaal received his knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau.[6]
Barcelona (1997–2000)
He moved to Barcelona in 1997, taking over from Bobby Robson, and helped the team win two league championships(1997–98, 1998–99) and the Copa del Rey once.[5] Despite this success, he clashed with the media and came under criticism. Van Gaal expressed that it was difficult to implement his football philosophy at Barcelona due to cultural differences, and that he struggled hard as some players were unwilling to follow his lead.[7] His rows with Rivaldo are an example of this. Van Gaal insisted Rivaldo play as a left winger, whereas Rivaldo argued that he wanted to play in the centre, in effect undermining Van Gaal.[8]
Van Gaal eventually left the Catalan side on 20 May 2000,[7] days after losing the league title to Deportivo de La Coruña, uttering the immortal line: "Amigos de la prensa. Yo me voy. Felicidades." (Friends of the press. I am leaving. Congratulations.)[9] He returned to the Netherlands to manage the Dutch national team in preparation for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Netherlands national team (2000–2002)
Under Van Gaal, the Netherlands started their campaign to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup poorly. Placed in Group 2, they could only manage to secure a late 2–2 draw at home to the Republic of Ireland, having been 2–0 down with 20 minutes to go. A 4–0 win over Cyprus was followed by a 2–0 defeat to Portugal, though the team went on to defeat Spain 2–1 in a friendly at the end of the year.
In 2001, the Netherlands beat Andorra, Cyprus and Estonia, but despite leading group leaders Portugal 2–0 with seven minutes left, drew 2–2 and fell three points behind second-place Ireland, who were unbeaten. When the sides met in Dublin, Ireland won 1–0 and the Netherlands fell seven points behind them with two games left to play, meaning that they failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. Van Gaal stepped down as manager on 31 January 2002 to be replaced by Dick Advocaat. After this, speculation began that Van Gaal would succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United once Ferguson claimed he would retire that year. According to Van Gaal, Ferguson decided against retiring and the deal fell through.[10][11]
Return to Barcelona (2002–2003)
Van Gaal returned to Barcelona for the start of the 2002–03 season, but results were inconsistent. After four wins, four draws and three defeats from their opening 11 league matches, Barcelona lost three matches in a row, to Real Sociedad, relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla. Two wins and a draw improved things but after successive defeats toValencia and Celta de Vigo, he was sacked in January 2003 with the club just three points above the relegation zone.[9][12]
Return to Ajax (2004)
In 2004, he returned to Ajax as a technical director, but resigned later that year due to an internal conflict.
AZ (2005–2009)
In January 2005, it was announced that he would replace Co Adriaanse as AZmanager on 1 July 2005.[13][14] Under Van Gaal, AZ finished second in the Eredivisie in 2005–06 and third in 2006–07. Van Gaal also led AZ to a runners-up finish in the 2006–07 KNVB Cup and lost a 2007–08 UEFA Champions Leaguequalification play-off to Ajax 4–2 on aggregate.
Van Gaal initially announced he would leave AZ at the end of the 2007–08 season due to disappointing results, with the club finishing 11th in the Eredivisie.[15]However, when several players of the AZ squad pointed out that they would like Van Gaal to stay with AZ, Van Gaal said he would give the players a chance to prove themselves.
AZ started the 2008–09 season with two losses: 2–1 to NAC Breda and 0–3 to ADO Den Haag, but after that the Alkmaar-based club remained unbeaten until 18 April, topping the table ahead of FC Twente and Ajax for the entire season. AZ had the best defensive record in the Eredivisie and the second-best goalscoring record, behind Ajax, thanks to its offensive duo of league topscorer Mounir El Hamdaoui and Brazilian Ari. They were crowned league champions on 19 April, one day after AZ suffered an unexpected loss at home to Vitesse, which ended a string of 28 unbeaten games. That same day Ajax, the only opponent still in theory able to surpass AZ, lost 6–2 to PSV.[16][17]
Bayern Munich (2009–2011)
On 1 July 2009, Van Gaal took over as coach of Bayern Munich.[18][19] Van Gaal referred to his new employer as a "dream club". On 28 August 2009, Van Gaal strengthened his team by signing compatriot Arjen Robben from Real Madrid; this reunited the two, with Van Gaal selecting Robben for his debut in the Netherlands U20 team.[20][21][22]
Van Gaal got off to a poor start as Bayern coach, winning only one of his first four matches in charge, and by November the club was on the brink of a first-round Champions League exit following two losses to Bordeaux. With Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga, speculation was rampant that Van Gaal was on the brink of a departure from Bayern even earlier than his predecessor Jürgen Klinsmann. Van Gaal, however, kept insisting he is a prozesstrainer meaning that his team needs time to play the way he imagines.[23]
Van Gaal installed many youth players as fixtures in the starting 11, including Thomas Müller and Holger Badstuber, and also converted the winger Bastian Schweinsteiger into a defensive midfielder. A feud with Italian striker Luca Toni, who had played an important role in Bayern's 2007–08 league and cup double, led to Toni's move to Roma. However, Bayern Munich's form improved with two Champions League victories including an impressive 4–1 victory over Juventus in Turin, which allowed them to progress from their group in second position behind Bordeaux. By March, Bayern had moved to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal and were top of the Bundesliga ahead of Leverkusen.
On 8 May 2010, FC Bayern were crowned Bundesliga champions following a 3–1 win at Hertha BSC,[24] making Van Gaal the first ever Dutch coach to win the Bundesliga.[25] 15 May 2010, Bayern won the DFB-Pokal with a 4–0 defeat of SV Werder Bremen, thus securing the domestic double.[26]
In the Champions League, Bayern won 4–4 on the away goals rule in the quarter-final against Manchester United[27] and 4–0 on aggregate against Olympique Lyonnais in the semi-final,[28] securing them a spot in the final, where Van Gaal was to meet his former pupil and assistant at Barcelona José Mourinho,[29] who was coaching Internazionale. Bayern lost theChampions League final 2–0, handing Inter a first Italian treble and thus failing to secure the treble themselves.[30] On 25 May 2010, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge expressed his desire to extend Van Gaal's contract as the club was very happy with his performance, even though Van Gaal still had one year of his contract to fulfill.[31] At the end of the season, Van Gaal was voted Manager of the Year by the German professional footballers in the yearly poll organized by VDV (professional players' union in Germany) and kicker.[32][33][34]
Van Gaal's Bayern started the 2010–11 season by winning the DFL-Supercup, which had been reinstalled after a 14-year absence.[35]
On 7 March 2011, Bayern Munich declared that Van Gaal's contract was to be cancelled after the end of the 2010–11 season.[36] However, he was instead sacked on 10 April 2011 after losing the third place in the Bundesliga.[37]
Return to Netherlands national team (2012–present)
On 6 July 2012, Van Gaal was presented as the new Netherlands coach.[38] "I am happy that the KNVB approached me," said Van Gaal, who will be assisted by former Dutch internationals Danny Blind andPatrick Kluivert, both part of his successful Ajax squad from 1995. "This is the challenge which I have been waiting for."[39]
He led the Netherlands through its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification group as the team won nine and drew one of their ten matches with a goal difference of 34-5 to secure their place at the finals in Brazil.
Manchester United (2014–present)
It was always a wish for me to work in the Premier League. To work as a manager for Manchester United, the biggest club in the world, makes me very proud. I have managed in games at Old Trafford before and know what an incredible arena Old Trafford is and how passionate and knowledgeable the fans are. This club has big ambitions; I too have big ambitions. Together I'm sure we will make history.
Van Gaal was confirmed as the new manager for Manchester United on On 19 May 2014.[40] He signed a three-year contract starting after the World Cup.[40] He replaced David Moyes[40] who had been sacked on 22 April 2014 after 10 months on the job.[41] van Gaal appointed his interim predecessor[41]Ryan Giggs as his assistant manager, Marcel Bout as assistant coach, specialising in oppositional scouting, and Frans Hoek as goalkeeping coach.[40]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 1971–72 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
| 1972–73 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Royal Antwerp | 1973–74 | 10 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 10 | 2 |
| 1974–75 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | |
| 1975–76 | 19 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 19 | 4 | |
| 1976–77 | 10 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 7 | |
| Telstar | 1977–78 | 25 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 25 | 1 |
| Total | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |
| Sparta Rotterdam | 1978–79 | 31 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 31 | 5 |
| 1979–80 | 33 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 33 | 1 | |
| 1980–81 | 33 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 33 | 5 | |
| 1981–82 | 24 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 24 | 1 | |
| 1982–83 | 33 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 33 | 5 | |
| 1983–84 | 34 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 34 | 2 | |
| 1984–85 | 30 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 30 | 4 | |
| 1985–86 | 31 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 31 | 3 | |
| Total | 248 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 248 | 26 | |
| AZ | 1986–87 | 17 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 17 | 0 |
| Total | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 333 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 333 | 34 | |
Managerial statistics
- As of 19 May 2014
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | Ref. | |||
| Ajax | 28 September 1991 | 30 June 1997 | 278 | 190 | 50 | 38 | 68.35 | |
| Barcelona | 1 July 1997 | 20 May 2000[42] | 166 | 93 | 30 | 43 | 56.02 | |
| Netherlands | 3 July 2000[43] | 1 February 2002[44] | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 53.33 | |
| Barcelona | 1 July 2002[45] | 28 January 2003[46] | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 53.33 | |
| AZ Alkmaar | 1 July 2005 | 30 June 2009 | 176 | 102 | 38 | 36 | 57.95 | |
| Bayern Munich | 1 July 2009[19] | 10 April 2011[37] | 96 | 59 | 18 | 19 | 61.46 | [47] |
| Netherlands | 6 July 2012[38] | Present* | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 55.00 | |
| Manchester United | 14 July 2014[40] | Present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| Total | 781 | 479 | 152 | 150 | 61.33 | — | ||
Honours
Managerial honours
- Ajax
- Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95,1995–96
- KNVB Cup: 1992–93
- Johan Cruijff Shield: 1993, 1994,1995
- UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
- UEFA Cup: 1991–92
- UEFA Super Cup: 1995
- Intercontinental Cup: 1995
- Barcelona
- AZ
- Bayern Munich
Awards and achievements
- World Soccer Manager of the Year: 1995[48]
- Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 1995[49]
- Rinus Michels Award: 2007, 2009[50]
- Dutch Sports Coach of the Year: 2009[51]
- Die Sprachwahrer des Jahres (3rd place): 2009[52]
- German Football Manager of the Year: 2010[53]
Orders
- Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau: 1997[54]
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