Louis van Gaal frequently accuses the media of misrepresenting his person, but he gives every reason to do so, Valentijn Driessen emphasizes the day after the presentation of the national coach of the Dutch national team. During the press conference in Zeist, the tension between the trainer and the football chief of ‘newspaper’ The Telegraph already clearly noticeable and the journalist goes deeper into how Van Gaal presented himself in his column. “According to the new technical boss, a hellish job awaits. Nonsense.”
Representing clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Internazionale in the 25-man squad, and World Cup qualifiers against Norway (1 September), Montenegro (4 September) and Turkey (September 7) in prospect, according to Driessen, Van Gaal can hardly maintain that he has a very tough job ahead of him. That led to some discussion between the two during the press conference. “With this company, FC Emmen coach Dick Lukkien would also survive the World Cup qualifying matches against Norway, Montenegro and Turkey, respectively the number 43, 67 and 39 in the FIFA world rankings,” the journalist emphasizes again on Wednesday, in a statement. The Telegraph.
Van Gaal: “I would also have come to myself if I were the KNVB”
“Even without training. Those countries are just as bothered by the short preparation time as the Dutch, the number twelve in the world.” Driessen believes that Van Gaal has damaged the the Dutch internationals by not giving any text and explanation for two months about his remark ‘the bunch of glorified stars’ in front of the the Dutch Lionesses during their goodbye training for the Olympic Games. “The media was blamed. But why then does he protect the internationals only now and abandon them for almost two months despite the unsavory dynamics that developed around them?”
“All the while, Van Gaal let it run its course. Internationals, with whom he will now work, were damaged. That is in fact much worse than the statement itself.” Driessen is curious whether Van Gaal will actually listen to the wish of five the Dutch internationals to play ‘1-4-3-3’. “The national coach always said to listen to his players, but whether he hears them… Van Gaal spoke about experience, habits and the lack of wingers. The latter is a fallacy if you ignore the top fit and in top form wingers Steven Bergwijn and Noa Lang.”
Driessen hopes that the KNVB’s gamble with Van Gaal will turn out well, but at the same time hands out a warning. “Don’t be surprised if Van Gaal as guardian, as national coach, puts the Dutch heritage of the ‘Hollandse School’ in the trash. His predecessor Frank de Boer preceded him in this. How that ended is well known and cannot be repeated.” Van Gaal will announce his final squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers next Friday. His third term as national coach starts on September 1 in Oslo with a game against Norway. This is followed by duels with Montenegro (September 4 in Eindhoven) and Turkey (September 7 in Amsterdam).