Dutchman Louis Van Gaal had decided to call it quits from his managerial career. This comes after news that he had a lucrative managerial offer from Asia.
Van Gaal has cited family issues behind his decision to retire. Van Gaal told a Dutch newspaper that “events in his family” has convinced him to take the decision.
Van Gaal has not managed any club since leaving the Manchester United job in May. He did not have a very happy stint during his time in England with the Red Devils. He was brought in to replace David Moyes at the club. But somehow things didn’t work out at it was supposed to and eventually, Van Gaal left United, only two days after delivering The FA Cup.
Ajax:
Louis has been at the help helm of some of the greatest clubs in the world. He started his senior managerial career with Ajax where he had a very successful tenure. His time there was trophy-laden, as he managed to win three Eredivisie titles, one UEFA Cup, and a famous Champions League. His time there was so successful, that during the 1990’s the Netherlands National Team had mostly Ajax players in the Squad.
Barcelona:
After leaving Ajax, Van Gaal went on to coach Barcelona in 1997. But his time there was short-lived as he opted out after only three seasons after having various rows with the media and the high profile players. He went to coach Barcelona again in 2002 for a solitary season.
Bayern:
He also managed Bayern for 2 seasons from 2009 to 2011. His stay there was also marred with controversies. Famously with Luca Toni, which promoted the player to move to Roma. During his Bayern days, he signed Arjen Robben (http://wordpress-177711-516565.cloudwaysapps.com/robben-commits-bayern/ )from Real Madrid. He also promoted a lot of youth teams players like Thomas Muller and Holger Badstuber. Eventually, Van Gaal was sacked from his job during April of 2011.
Netherlands National Team:
After leaving Bayern, Van Gaal went on to coach the Dutch National Team for a second time(earlier he had managed them from 2000 to 2002). His team famously defeated the Spanish team 5-1 in the 2014 World Cup after he effectively used counter-attacking football to negate the famous tiki-taka. But the highlight of the tournament for the Dutchman was when he famously substituted first choice goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen for Tim Krul during the dying minutes of extra time against Costa Rica. The move turned out to be a masterstroke as Krul went on to save two penalties, taking Netherlands to the semi-finals, which they lost to Argentina.
Van Gaal Coaching Tree:
Apart from having managerial experiences all across Europe, Van Gaal’s biggest contribution to the footballing world would undoubtedly be his managerial mentorship. Many players and assistant coaches under him have went on to become successful managers. And most of them are currently at the helm of some of the best teams all over the world.
Some notable current managers from the Van Gaal coaching tree:
- Jose Mourinho: Currently managing Manchester United.
- Pep Guardiola: Currently managing Manchester City.
- Ronald Koeman: Currently managing Everton F.C.
- Luis Enrique: Currently managing Barcelona
We at Football Fan thank Louis Van Gaal for being a great servant to the world of football, and we wish him all the best for his future endeavours.
Al het beste Louis.
