Louis van Gaal gave an extensive interview to L’Equipe. In the French newspaper, the 69-year-old coach, who is currently the most important candidate for the KNVB for the succession of Frank de Boer as national coach of the Dutch, speaks about the failed European Championship for the Dutch national team and the fact that his name is now being changed. mentioned. Van Gaal shows himself extremely benevolent to start working for the third time in his career as national coach of the Dutch.
“History repeats itself”, replies Van Gaal when he is asked about the fact that his name is mentioned as the possible successor of the resigned De Boer. “It was the same when Ronald Koeman left for Barcelona. Then I got 30 to 35 percent of the vote in the polls. Now that’s about eighty percent, the others get less than twenty percent. I will certainly think about it. Because the position of national coach is very important with a view to the development and innovation of football in a country.”
“When I was approached for the second time to become national coach in 2014, it was a huge honour. It would be great if I was approached for the third time,” continues Van Gaal. The interview was conducted before Nico-Jan Hoogma and Eric Gudde traveled to Portugal on behalf of the KNVB on Thursday to talk to Van Gaal. L’Equipe asks him about an analysis of the failed European Championship for the Dutch, which ended after a defeat against the Czech Republic in the eighth final. “I saw a team that didn’t fight for the win. The Czech national coach has done his job well, but you can’t lose that as an the Dutch. There were too many differences, both technically and tactically. Look at Croatia or Switzerland, they trailed Spain and France 3-1 and fought to the end. I love that!”
“The best team should win, not the best individuals. I’ve been saying this for forty years. the Dutch has a lot of fantastic players, but you didn’t see them in this game. You have to ask yourself why that is. That also applies to Portugal and France: they are not teams, but a collection of individuals,” Van Gaal said. He stands up for De Boer. “He’s a great boy. In addition, he has a tactical brain. You just need something different to be a trainer. It is also about the interaction between the coach and the players.”
Van Gaal is not an opponent of the 5-3-2 system that De Boer used during the European Championship. “It is considered a defensive system. I think we can also play offensively with that formation. I proved that in 2014. You just have to push harder. Few trainers dare to do that. The Champions League winner (Thomas Tuchel with Chelsea, ed.) was defensive and gambled on the counter. That’s nice to look at too, but isn’t that offensive. I am one of the trainers who likes to play attacking. I have come to love the 5-3-2 system more than ever before. It offers the chance to attack, defend and keep the balance.”