After blasting Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as ball-blind in an interview with a German magazine earlier, former Manchester United coach Van Gaal pointed the finger at current coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He questioned Manchester United's use of The old player of the team that the fans like is not a wise choice.
Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United made a huge mistake by not appointing an experienced manager and instead giving the inexperienced Solskjaer a long-term contract. Chef Fan believes that going the old-boy network route of appointing a fan favorite to take charge of the team is not always a good option.
The 46-year-old Solskjaer has won eight consecutive games since taking over from Mourinho. In March this year, he received a three-year coaching contract and was promoted to the official head coach of Manchester United. But Van Gaal told the Guardian he was "completely surprised" by the decision. However, he admitted Solskjaer will be given more time because the fans will be on his side.
Van Gaal said: "As a good player, you are not necessarily a good manager, you are not necessarily a good technical director. This is more or less what happened to Solskjaer, Manchester United's Ex-player, old guy connections. That's not always a good choice, maybe, but it's not always a good choice. I'm surprised he was regularized despite his winning streak in the first place. Because Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, they need an experienced coach, not a coach who has only coached one or two teams, and it is also a lower-level team. "
The 67-year-old Fan. Gall once coached Barcelona and Ajax to win the championship, but he was dismissed after two years of coaching at Manchester United. Before being fired by Manchester United in 2016, he won the FA Cup, but it was not enough. Van Gaal said managers from big clubs rarely get too much time and must succeed immediately. Even if Solskjaer can get a little more patience, he will eventually need to let his results speak for himself.
Van Gaal added: "The problem is, you can't ask for such a long time. The fans won't allow that. Likewise, even though Solskjaer was a Manchester United player, they will ask for it. In In the world of football, you have to make a difference, but as a former player, you will always get more recognition."
Van Gaal emphasized that if Manchester United want to close the gap with Premier League champions Manchester City and Champions League winners Liverpool . They have to invest heavily every year: "I think when you are a manager, you have to update every year to keep the team. The construction process keeps moving forward. "
If you only read part of Van Gaal's remarks, you may think that he is purely complaining. But in fact, Van Gaal systematically analyzed Manchester United's problems in this interview. He not only mentioned Solskjaer and Santoku, but also mentioned Mourinho, Rooney, Di Maria and other high-profile former Manchester United players. star.
At the Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin in the Netherlands, Van Gaal explained why he led Manchester United to play boring football: "We lack creative players, that's why we play like this, it seems boring to you "Football."
Reflecting on whether he felt betrayed by Manchester United after winning the FA Cup, Van Gaal said bluntly: " At that moment, I felt betrayed. I felt betrayed because I heard from many people that my dismissal was over in December and January. I was communicating with Woodward every week and was going through it. After three defeats in December, when we were eliminated from the Champions League, I said to him: 'I would understand if you fired me. 'You can't lose three games in a row at a club like Manchester United. :"No, Never. I should never have fired you. Trust yourself and don’t read the newspaper.’ So, you would have felt stabbed in the back later, but now I understand better because he knows. I have to say goodbye next year. The one on the market is Mourinho, who is also a very good coach. Woodward feels that he has secured Mourinho for Manchester United, who has been at the top level for many years."
However, Van Gaal emphasized that he had no conflict with Mourinho. "I can imagine Mourinho wanting the Manchester United manager's job because, in my opinion, it's the highest position in England. Before I signed for Manchester United, the Tottenham man was in my living room - Levy Sir. I could also sign for Tottenham. I told my wife that Tottenham's squad is better than Manchester United, but I chose Manchester United because of it. In order to meet the challenge, because I have always coached the first club in every country! "Van Gaal said, "I have no bad feelings about Mourinho."
mentioned the current problems of Manchester United, Van Gaal bluntly said The Red Devils have always been Not following the changes of the times (Refresh). The "Refresh" in the words of Dutch handsome man is not just a few people who bought it.
"Yes, I also brought in a dozen players and tried to update. But I didn't always get the players I wanted and that's the problem. His (Woodward) right-hand man is (Manchester United Development) Department Director) Matt Judge Judge). I see Judge occasionally, but not often. And the scouting director. That's the structure of Manchester United, but you always have to rely on Woodward and Judge. Accepting his transfer offer, Van Gaal said: "I I always thought that Manchester United could buy any player because they have money and power. However, there are actually only a handful of players that Manchester United can buy. I can't understand it, but this is the reality. "
Manchester United is so rich. But they can't buy good players. Is it because the owners, the Glazer family, are unwilling to pay? Van Gaal replied: "I don't know. The person who talks to the Glazer family is Woodward. I only have the opportunity to talk to the Glazers when they watch games or visit training. They mostly only watch top games and luckily , we won a lot of these battles, anyway, for This is what happened to Liverpool. "
Argentinian Angel Di Maria was Manchester United's most unsuccessful signing during Van Gaal's tenure. The transfer fee when he joined was a team record of 59.7 million pounds, but he refused to return to the team a year later and forced Manchester United to sell him for 44.5 million pounds. Paris Saint-Germain. Di Maria, is Van Gaal's choice? The Dutchman did not answer directly: "Di Maria was my choice as early as when I was coaching Alkmaar , 7 years before that."
So in Manchester United, whether to buy Di Maria is Van Gaal's decision, whether he is an angel Are you happy to join? "I'm satisfied because he is a creative player, but there are other players on my list. Di Maria feels there is a problem with the English football culture and the local weather. When you buy players you can't be sure whether they will succeed, you can't Foreknowledge, because football is a team sport. ml3
Di Maria later criticized Van Gaal for not playing him in his best position. To this, Van Gaal responded: "I always ask the player where he wants to play. For him, it is a winger. , on the wing, mostly on the left for Argentina. He played on the left. I played him in this position from the beginning, and his performance was not that good, not at the level of an 80 million pound player. So, I wanted to see if another position would be more suitable for him. I played him as a left winger, as a number 10, as a second striker and as a right winger. Then critics said: "He had to play too many positions. I gave him every opportunity to strive for a good performance."
mentioned the best player when he coached Manchester United, "I think, De Gea 's performance. Excellent," said Van Gaal.
So, what about besides the goalkeeper? "One of the significant things is that I have to think a lot about this. Luke Shaw started well but he broke his leg against PSV and overall Shaw's performance was higher than Average. Herrera is also above average, he didn't start that well but he is becoming more and more important in the team because of his ability to motivate his teammates and his ability to coach.I think, on an organizational level, Daley Blind is my most consistent player; Mata is also a high-level player, very creative, and I'm very happy with him because we are extremely short of creative players . That's why we play what you might call "dull football": we don't have a lot of creative players who can increase the pace of the ball and pass more overhead balls. But at least it’s better than and , that’s what I think. "
Van Gaal pointed to the opponent's half and said: "We play there. We always play better than the opponent most of the time, but when your opponent sets up a bus, you need creative players. So I allowed Di Maria Join Depay because they are creative players. I think a team needs at least three or four creative players to break through the opponent's defense."
Van Gaal did not mention Manchester United's legendary captain Rooney, he said frankly. Lu Xiaopang was already too old at that time. "I'm sorry, he's past his prime. Still, he's one of my best players," Van Gaal said.
As for Rooney's decision to become Manchester United captain, Van Gaal explained: "You can't say anything about his professionalism, his performance as a player on the training ground. Off the training ground and off the pitch, the environment is different. . I made him captain because I wanted to control his life off the field. "
Does this mean giving him a responsibility to force him to grow? Many people now suggest that Manchester United should do the same for Pogba . "I don't think we were completely successful," Van Gaal concluded.
Manchester United is currently looking to rebuild the club system, and it is rumored that Sandoko hopes to appoint a technical director or football director. Regarding the candidate for a perfect director, Van Gaal explained: "First of all, you need to have knowledge of the football game, understand training methods, have experience in preparing for games, know things like youth training and scouting, and you have to consider the organizational structure. So. You need to be experienced in football and if you are going to take on the role of technical director you have to be well known , and then you have to have a huge network, you always need to use that context."
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand , Fletcher and others are listed as popular candidates for technical director. In this regard, Van Gaal and Treat Solskjaer the same way, thinking it may not work. "As a good player, you are not necessarily a good manager, nor a good technical director. More or less like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the old man's network, may or may not succeed."
was regarded as When reminding Barcelona’s old player Guardiola that after retiring, he only coached the B team and led Barcelona to win six crowns, Van Gaal Er explained: "There are exceptions to everything. He is a high-level midfield organizer. It is a position that requires tactical guidance, and he is also my captain!"
Van Gaal also pointed out a cruel fact: Barcelona, Ajax and even Bayern have their own philosophical system, but Manchester United... does not! "When I took the job, we never talked about the system, or the philosophy, of Manchester United's football." Van Gaal admitted that he was surprised. "Yes, I was surprised. It was different from other clubs. I always have been." So."
In 1995, Louis van Gaal led the young Ajax to an upset victory over AC Milan in the Champions League final. It was a team that only thought about football. At Manchester United, Chef Fan pointed out the sore point - Manchester United is too inclined to commercialization.
"All my teams are real teams, I think even my Manchester United play well. Even if you lose your head, you can motivate the players to continue playing the kind of football you want, or kick you The style we want...we always use the same system, but decide on different emphasis depending on the opponent." Van Gaal said, "I'm glad you remember what I said in the first press conference: 'This club is too commercial!' I think you have to change the organizational structure of Manchester United, because now I think the football department and the commercial There is an imbalance between departments, and the balance is even tilted in favor of business.
Van Gaal explained from his personal experience: "What I experienced is that I had to go to the United States for training before the season, and we had to play a lot of games in a short period of time. It was a good business trip, but Not the best for me as a football coach. In the end everyone was happy except me because in America we won. He played all the games, but lost the first game of the league to Swansea. That’s because every player is exhausted. When you have to start like this, it’s certainly not good.”
Chef Fan believes, There was a time when Manchester United's first team was very strong, but they failed to seize the opportunity to integrate the style they hoped for long-term development into the entire club system. "In terms of scouting players, in my opinion, Manchester United does not have a mature organization to find the best players. Then there is the training of players. You can't say that Manchester United's youth training is very good. How many young players have emerged? In Manchester United, you have a great performance department, run under the guidance of a PhD, but the performance department needs it too. The guidance of an experienced technical director, you have to use this department not only in the first team, but also in the youth training. Then the young players will be more educated in Manchester United's philosophy before entering the first team. The key step will be much easier. These are important aspects that must be developed as a technical director. 3
"When I was the coach of Manchester United, I also thought that the quality of players in Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal was better. So what can I do? We are attacked, we are not defending, but looking for players who suit us Horizontal tactical solutions, for example, we're in induced space, that's in. England is something new. I think Klopp also saw the light 6 months ago, because in the past he would only press high. "
In fact, what Van Gaal calls "induced space" is simply to retreat. Advance, let the opponent attack, defend the opponent, and then kill the opponent through counterattack. Or to use the example of Liverpool, Klopp has become more focused on defense. He introduced Van Dijk to consolidate the defense.
Regarding this, Van Gaal explained: "At Manchester United, because I have the speed of Martial and Rashford , after losing possession of the ball, I asked the team not to press immediately and retreat a little. , instead of setting up a bus, it is to set up defenses on the center line and the rear defense The line is in the middle of our half. I have only used this tactic at Alkmaar before, also because of the lower level of the players. Of course, I had to adapt to the players' abilities. You have to see the reality, because I didn't. The best players, they cannot execute a systematic attack. For example, if Liverpool has to attack constantly, he will. "We will have a problem, and their problem is bigger than Manchester City."
The former Manchester United coach analyzed in detail: "Because Salah, Firmino and Mane need more space than Aguero and Salah. ne and sterling are much bigger, and debrau With , David Silva, Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva, Manchester City's midfielder is more creative and they can play in a small space. This is why Manchester City is still. Premier League champion."
However, in the end, Van Gaal had no more regrets about his time at Manchester United. "No. The way they sacked me was terrible, but I enjoyed my time in England because of the culture, because of the people. They had a great sense of humour, they always supported the manager and I respected everyone I worked with. 》
In addition, Van Gaal revealed that his favorite players in his coaching career are the two Louis : "Luis Figo is a winner, he is always consistent in training, on the pitch and in games; and Luis Enrique, this type of player I like the most because they are open to you and always They are the winners, they speak on the pitch."
As for the most beautiful moment of the coach's career, it was the celebration after Ajax won the Champions League in 1995. "My most exciting moments in football were not in the coaching box.But on the canal of Amsterdam , the Champions League parade was incredible. More than 1 million people were on the canal, and old people were looking out of the windows. Indescribably wonderful. 》
