Louis van Gaal has certainly had an impressive career, managing a number of Europe’s top clubs while collecting a number of accolades along the way. I decided to take a look back at his career, concentrating mainly on his first and second seasons at each club in order to try and understand what this coming season holds for Manchester United.
Ajax (1991-1997)
In the six seasons van Gaal spent at Ajax he won almost everything there was to win. He didn’t keep the Ajax faithful waiting long before experiencing success as they won the UEFA Cup in his first season. He continued that success in his second season as he won the KNVB Cup and the Johann Cruijff Shield. He then kept up this success as he won the Eredivisie 3 times consecutively. The Dutchman won the KNVB Cup another 2 times. He continued his dominance on a European scale as well. He followed up his UEFA Cup win with a UEFA Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. van Gaal then wrapped up his honours by winning the UEFA Champions League in 1995.
Barcelona (1997-2000)
A move to Barcelona followed, van Gaal replacing Sir Bobby Robson. Once again he made a very quick start to his career, winning the UEFA Super Cup, La Liga and Copa Del Rey in his first season. He repeated this success in his second season as he won La Liga once again. His tenure ended in 2000 however after he struggled to implement his philosophy to the players, for example he famously alienated Rivaldo after he refused to play out wide. He also had a number of arguments with the Spanish media.
Netherlands National Team (2000-2002)
Arguably his least successful role, van Gaal took over in time for the start of the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign. The campaign didn’t get off to a good start, as an injury-riddled side could only manage a 2-2 draw against the Republic Of Ireland. A win against Cyprus followed and then another disappointing defeat, this time to Portugal ensued. Despite wins in 2001 against Andorra, Cyprus and Estonia, a draw with Portugal and a defeat to Ireland meant that the Netherlands were 7 points adrift of qualification with just 2 games left to play. Die Oranje therefore failed to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 1986.
van Gaal was linked with the Manchester United job as early as 2002 after rumours began to circulate that Sir Alex Ferguson would retire at the end of the 2001/02 season.
Return to Barcelona (2002-2003)
After Sir Alex Ferguson decided against retiring, van Gaal returned to Barcelona for the start of the 2002/03 season. He led Barca to a record 10 wins in a row in the Champions League, however they struggled in La Liga. His results were inconsistent and his transfers failed. The players he had brought in disappointed and when he let Rivaldo leave on a free, it was clear he wasn’t the right man for Barcelona. He left on 28th January 2003 by mutual consent. van Gaal left the club in 12th place just 3 points off the relegation zone and 20 points behind the league leaders.
AZ (2005-2009)
Next, Louis van Gaal took charge of AZ in time for the 2005/06 season. He took the club to second place in the Eredivisie in his first season and then led them to third place the following year. He also saw his side finish as runners-up in the KNVB Cup in his second term. In contrast to his previous roles however it was later in his time at AZ that he was truly successful; he almost resigned due to poor performances in his third season, however his players convinced him to stay, and from then on he never looked back. van Gaal won the Eredivisie in his fourth season after a remarkable run of 28 games unbeaten.
Bayern Munich (2009-2011)
Due to his successes at AZ he was awarded the Bayern Munich job in 2009. He made a number of unpopular decisions such as promoting a number of academy products and converting now United player Schweinsteiger from a winger to a holding midfielder. He also got off to a very poor start as he won just one in four games. After such a poor start rumours that he was extremely close to being sacked were inevitable. However he followed that up with an almost unbelievable turn around as he went on to win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in his first season. He also led Bayern to the Champions League final, winning Germany’s Manager Of The Year in the process. However his second season was the complete opposite. His season started well though as he won the first DFB-Supercup after a 14-year drought from the trophy at the club. Bayern really struggled from then on and on the 7th March it was announced he was not going to be in charge after the 2010/11 season. He didn’t quite make the entire season through though after he fell to third and was sacked in April 2011.
Return To The Netherlands (2012-2014)
On 6th July 2012 he was presented as being reinstated as manager of The Netherlands. The Dutchman enjoyed an extremely successful qualifying campaign. They qualified with two matches to spare as they finished unbeaten, drawing just one game. Expectations for the actual World Cup were still mixed after a poor performance in Euro 2012. They got off to a great start in the World Cup as they demolished the then world champions Spain 5-1. Their second game didn’t go as well and they trailed 2-1 to Australia at half time. They did come from behind to win the game 3-2, as new arrival at United, Memphis Depay scored the winner. They beat Chile 2-0 in their final group game to finish as group winners. They then progressed to beat Mexico in the Round of 16. It was in the quarter final against Costa Rica however that LVG enjoyed his finest moment. He made the famous decision to substitute ‘keeper Jasper Cillessen for the Newcastle stopper Tim Krul in the final minutes of extra time. Krul went on to save two of Costa Rica’s penalties and the Dutch side progressed to the semi finals. When they met Argentina in the semi final they couldn’t repeat their heroics as they lost on penalties. They did though defeat Brazil 3-0 in the Third Place Playoff in Van Gaal’s last game in charge.
Manchester United (2014-Present)
Van Gaal enjoyed an amazing first season in contrast to his predecessor. His signings of Blind, Rojo, Herrera and Shaw meant that despite Di Maria and Falcao’s failures he had improved the squad enough to move United from as low as 7th to a 4th place finish and more importantly a Champions League spot.
The Future
When his past career is evaluated it is clear that Louis van Gaal still has a lot to offer and it looks although his second season promises to be a season where United can make a title push and compete in the domestic cups. The new signings of Depay, Darmian, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger highlight Manchester United and Louis Van Gaal’s intention to be right up there this season. A new solid centre back would turn United from possible contenders to likely trophy winners – whichever piece of silverware that may be.
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