Wednesday 4th August 2021
“Consider it an honor”
Van Gaal is the new old bond coach
At almost 70 years of age, he is no longer the youngest, but probably one of the most experienced: Louis van Gaal is coaching the Elftal for the third time. With the team, however, the former Bayern coach must first start a charm offensive. Most recently he called the Dutch players a “refined group of stars”.
The comeback was not a surprise, it had long been a foregone conclusion for football fans and the media in the Netherlands: Louis van Gaal will be the new coach of the Dutch national team. This decision has now been confirmed by the Royal Football Association (KNVB). First task for the new Bondscoach: Oranje’s qualification for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
The former Bayern coach spoke of a great honor. “Orange has always been close to my heart”, quoted the KNVB van Gaal, who will be 70 years old on Sunday. “I also consider it an honor to coach the Dutch team.” Van Gaal was the football association’s preferred candidate. The top of the KNVB had already traveled to Portugal, where van Gaal lived, for talks a few weeks ago. It was quickly agreed, as the media reported. However, due to contractual issues, the announcement was delayed.
After the early failure of the Netherlands in the European Championship round of 16 against the Czech Republic, Frank de Boer resigned as national coach. The new trainer does not have much preparation time. “There is little time,” he said: “The focus is therefore immediately 100 percent on the players and the strategy.” The first week of September will be decisive for Oranje’s World Cup qualification. On September 1st, the Norwegians are waiting with Borussia Dortmund’s top scorer Erling Haaland. This is followed by duels against Montenegro (September 4th) and Turkey (September 7th). The Netherlands are currently in second place with six points after three games in qualifying group G, behind Turkey, which has seven points.
Players voted for another coach in the fall
Van Gaal chose former bond coach Danny Blind and Sparta Rotterdam coach Henk Fraser as his assistants. Fraser will combine the position with his role at the Rotterdam professional club. The association also relied on experience with a view to the upcoming games and quickly came up with van Gaal because of the “exceptional qualities”. “With his experience and his performances at the very highest level, we believe that he is the coach for us,” it said.
Last autumn, van Gaal had not ruled out a comeback as a bond coach after Ronald Koeman suddenly switched to FC Barcelona. But then the choice fell on de Boer after a vote by the players. Most recently, in July, after Oranje had left the tournament early on, van Gaal criticized the players and described them as “refined group of stars”.
The former Bayern coach was a bond coach between 2000 and 2001 and between 2012 and 2014. The first term became a debacle as the Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. In 2014 he returned the favor and achieved third place with the Elftal at the World Cup in Brazil. In addition to FC Bayern Munich, Van Gaal also coached FC Barcelona, ​​Manchester United and Ajax Amsterdam.
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