Mueez Ajao
– Louis van Gaal was not pleased with Angel di Maria’s remarks about the Dutchman being the worst coach he has ever had.
– The two men coincided at Manchester United after Di Maria’s departure from Real Madrid. They will face each other on Friday, in the Netherlands’ quarter-final duel against Argentina.
– “Angel is a very good player, he played for United and had a lot of personal problems,” Van Gaal told the pre-match press conference.
Also Read: Van Gaal was the worst coach of my career – Di Maria
– “He had been burgled at home. Calling me the worst coach of his career is sad. But he is one of the few players who has said it.
– “I don’t like that he said it. I may have made a bad decision with Di Maria at the time, but we coaches have to make decisions”.
– The Dutchman went on to discuss about his preferred style of play and how his philosophy evolved over the years.
– “My style has evolved because football has,” Van Gaal added.
– “At Ajax it was very attacking. At Barcelona I learned that you can’t always be attacking-minded. I changed my mind, and I developed my new vision at that 2014 World Cup.
– “On a personal level, I have more patience than before. Maybe my personality hasn’t changed so much in terms of how I see football.
– “Football is evolving, it’s very difficult to play attacking [football] now. That’s why I started to develop a defensive system.
– “And we can see it in this World Cup, with results that are not so bad, and it all depends on the tactical approach.”
– The 71-year-old tactician did not rule out staying active after the World Cup in the event a tempting challenge emerges.
– “I did this for my country, in an emergency situation, but you never know about the future,” Van Gaal noted.
– “Like [Dick] Advocaat, who, when he was older, was the coach of Iraq.
– “You never know, he’s older and had a job recently. If I am presented with an interesting challenge, which I find fascinating, I may continue to work.”
