Valentijn Driessen has listened with surprise to Louis van Gaal’s statements about Manchester United. The national coach advised Erik ten Hag against going to the English superpower because it would be a ‘commercial club’. Nonsense, says Driessen. The chief of football of The Telegraph believes that all clubs are commercially oriented. “Van Gaal himself bought new players for 350 million euros when he was a trainer there. Then he did not mind that it was a commercial club. What is this about man?”, says Driessen in the podcast kick off†
Van Gaal was manager of United between 2014 and 2016, but the current national coach of the Dutch national team was not very successful and, except for an FA Cup, did not win any prizes with the English top club. On Monday afternoon during the the Dutch press conference, he advised Ten Hag not to respond to the English interest. “I think Erik ten Hag is a great coach. And a great coach is always good for Manchester United. But Manchester United is a commercial club. Those are difficult choices for a coach. It is better to go to a football club,” says Van Gaal in the run-up to the friendly against Germany.
“This is what you get with a trainer who is at the end of his career. Louis answers everything and that is wonderful,” said Mike Verweij. “He is honest, you just notice that there is a lot of frustration at Manchester United. He was fired there and that has not turned out to be what he expected. There is an old sore, he showed. This was not intended for Ten Hag good advice. It was more like a little bit towards United.” Van Gaal was appointed to succeed David Moyes in the summer of 2014, but failed to lead United to the top of the Premier League.
“This of course makes no sense at all what he says,” says Driessen. “Manchester United is the biggest club in the world, with the most fans in the world. So these people would all be crazy? They would all be watching a commercial club? All the clubs are commercial and run commercially. That’s why football is popular and people like him earn huge salaries. That’s why such lump sums are paid when a trainer comes out on the street. I thought it was really subpar, this was full of rancor.”
“Ajax also has a commercial department, where commercial decisions are also made,” Driessen continues. “I think you should keep football as much as possible, but if you want to play at a top level you have to go along with commerce. It’s great to see all those players, isn’t it? It must be great for Ten Hag to play with such a to be allowed to work in a group and to set it up in such a way that you win prizes with it. The possibilities are limitless there. Van Gaal himself bought 350 million new players when he was a trainer there. Then he did not mind that it was a commercial club What is this about man?”