Louis van Gaal agreed during his press conference on Monday that having a ‘penalty killer’ is essential for the upcoming World Cup. That is why the national coach of the Dutch national team introduced a special penalty kick project, in which, in addition to the elected goalkeepers for upcoming international matches, some goalies who are on the nomination were also invited. At the press conference the day before the Nations League match with Poland, Van Gaal was asked whether he was also capable of taking penalties in the past. However, the memories of the 71-year-old elector did not quite match the facts.
Van Gaal already announced on Monday that he wanted to pay special attention to penalties this international period. “In all those tournaments it has been shown that penalties are often decisive. In 2014 (when Van Gaal experimented with Tim Krul as a penalty killer at the World Cup in Brazil, ed.), the eye of the master was only a blessing. Now we are also going to do that scientifically. substantiate. That is innovation. I apply that very often,” was the explanation of the trainer.
Either there are no images or the memory fails Louis van Gaal for a while… pic.twitter.com/OMOopRLsFl
— NOS Sports (@NOSsport) September 21, 2022
In that extension, Van Gaal was asked on Wednesday whether he was actually a penalty specialist in his playing career. “Yes”, the national coach replied resolutely, referring to a penalty he took in 1983 against top keeper Rinat Dasayev. “High in the intersection, you can still see it,” Van Gaal claimed.
The NOS however, delved into the archive and proved otherwise. First of all, Van Gaal (on behalf of Sparta Rotterdam) did face Dasayev, but played against Spartak Moscow instead of Dynamo Kyiv, as he claimed. In addition, the Russian goalkeeper saved Van Gaal’s penalty.
Justin Bijlow and Kjell Scherpen were also allowed to show up for the special penalty kick clinic, which was led by former volleyball coach Peter Murphy. The duo was not selected for the Nations League duels with Poland and Belgium, but Van Gaal wanted to put them to the test. Tim Krul also received an invitation, but the Norwich City goalkeeper declined. He also sidelined himself for a possible World Cup selection.