“Our thoughts and prayers go out to our former coach Louis van Gaal,” tweeted FC Barcelona, where Van Gaal coached twice. “Stay strong and get well, Louis.”
“On behalf of the European football community, we send our best wishes for recovery to the Dutch coach (…) We are all with you Louis”, tweeted UEFA.
The Dutch national team and the Dutch football federation shared a photo of the coach on Twitter on Monday morning captioned with an orange heart. Van Gaal is in his third term at the head of the “Oranje” (after 2000-2001 and 2012-2014).
During his long career, the one who is nicknamed “The Iron Tulip”, in reference to his strict methods and attitude, has also been at the head of Ajax Amsterdam, Bayern Munich or Manchester United. The Mancunian club also sent “strength and courage” to its former coach, shortly after the announcement of his illness.
Treatment started in 2021
Van Gaal, 70, said his cancer was diagnosed in 2020 and his treatment started in 2021. He said he had already undergone 25 radiation therapy sessions, including in the evening or at night during the regroupings of the Dutch selection, paid in group A of the World Cup with Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador. His family and friends knew about it, but not his players.
The Netherlands will play their first World Cup match on November 21 against Senegal. Louis van Gaal intends to be in the game. “You don’t die of prostate cancer, in most cases. Most often, these are underlying diseases that can be fatal in this form of cancer,” he told the RTL television channel.