Louis Van Gaal is a Dutch football manager and presently the head coach of Dutch national team. Looking at his illustrious managerial career , he has managed teams like Ajax, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Unlike Moyes whose career had been devoid of trophies, Louis Van Gaal doesn’t have any shortage of them. He has won Eredivisie , La Liga , Bundesliga as well as UEFA Champions League.

Louis Van Gaal is known for his attacking style of play, but it generally regarded as a slow stater because of the players seeking an ample amount of time to embed his vision of play. But once the players adapt , his team begins to show results. Moving on to his philosophy , discipline on and off the pitch is his main requirement i.e. being punctual during every training session, being punctual to team bus , communicating with his teammates and coaches . Communication, according to him one of the foremost tool for the success of any team. Every player must know everything about his teammates , things his teammates can or cannot do. Louis Van Gaal is very demanding in nature , in short words a perfectionist, every pass has to be pin-point accurate, every tackle clean,even media has often described him as being authoritarian.

His style of play is more attacking and at same time maintaining possession of the ball. Unlike Moyes who’s main priority was to defend the goal at any expense . Van Gaal demands his team to have more possession, fluid movement among each other , pressing and an ideological commitment to attack forward, which in my opinion is more similar to the United style of play i.e. to get higher up the pitch and score goals. His main priority is possession as it helps to control the flow and dictate the game better , so players like Kagawa , Carrick , Mata will play an important role under him.

The biggest drawback of him is that if the players are unable to adapt to his play , the results could be worse . Due to his arrogant nature,there could also be disputes with the players , fans , media . For eg: during his tenure at FC Barcelona his dispute with Rivaldo cost him his job and how could one forget Dutch team failure to qualify for the FIFA world cup 2002.

Whether or not it’s the right decision to appoint him as manager of Manchester United , only time would tell us . But surely expect big outcomes during his tenure.

Louis Van Gaal Achievements in Europe

HollandAjax (1991-97): Win% 68.35Trophies: 3 Eredivisie,1 Champions League (1995), 1 Uefa Cup (1992)

AZ Alkmaar (2005-09): Win% 61.46Trophies: 1 Eredivisie (2008-09)

SpainBarcelona (1997-2000 & 02-03): Win% 55.61Trophies: 2 La Liga , 1 Copa del rey

GermanyBayern Munich (2009-11): Win% 61.46Trophies: 1 Bundesliga , 1 DFB Pokal

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