One thing Louis van Gaal would be able to guarantee, should he indeed now become Manchester United’s next manager, is a good relationship with the finest footballer at Old Trafford.
David Moyes would insist that he too has enjoyed a healthy rapport with Robin van Persie. He could even point to that recent interview Van Persie gave in which he declared his support for Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor.
But the rumours have persisted, the fact of the matter being that Van Persie felt let down by Ferguson for retiring only a year after convincing him to move from Arsenal to Old Trafford. Moyes just wasn’t Fergie and so the problems apparently began.
Support act: Louis van Gaal (left) would have the backing of Robin van Persie with the duo pictured at Vitesse Arnhem earlier this month
Close: Van Persie and Dutch head coach Van Gaal watch a game in Eindhoven together
Watching on: Van Gaal and Van Persie sit next to each other during PSV Eindhoven's game with Feyenoord
Cups over runneth: Van Gaal is a proven winner who has collected silverware at every club he's managed
High five! Van Gaal and the Manchester United striker have built a special relationship together
Dutch courage: Van Gaal recently made Van Persie captain of the Holland international team
Whatever the truth about that particular situation, the relationship between Van Gaal and Van Persie seems to be built on more solid foundations.
It
has developed from Van Gaal’s decision to appoint the United striker as
captain of the Dutch national team and has grown into something fairly
rare in the sphere of modern football.
Imagine Roy Hodgson inviting Steven Gerrard to join him on a scouting mission. Well, that is what Van Gaal has asked Van Persie to do in recent weeks, having him attend matches between Vitesse Arnhem and Ajax, and PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.
Van Gaal has taken advantage of the fact that Van Persie has been using the medical services of the Dutch FA in Zeist to recover from injury. But even so, it points to a special bond between the two men.
Scot to trot: David Moyes failed to live up to expectations as Manchester United manager
In the past Van Gaal has not always enjoyed such a relationship with his senior players. For instance, during his first spell at Barcelona he clashed with both Rivaldo and Luis Figo.
Even with Van Persie there was a shaky start. Before his first game as Holland manager, Van Gaal asked the players to explain their roles in the debacle that was their Euro 2012 campaign. When Van Persie chose to remain comparatively silent on the issue, Van Gaal opted to leave him out of that opening encounter with Belgium, preferring Klaas-Jan Huntelaar up front.
VAN GAAL'S TROPHY HAUL
Clubs Managed
Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich
Countries Managed
Holland
Club Honours
League Titles 7
Champions League 1
UEFA Cup 1
Domestic Cups 7
Other European Cups 3
But over time he grew to like and admire Van Persie and within a year had made him his skipper ahead of Wesley Sneijder.
As things stand today, United have nothing signed with Van Gaal. Yesterday the Dutchman was said to be off to Portugal for a holiday, having already asked Tottenham for more time to consider an offer he is understood to have received. It is, say sources in Holland, one of three offers on the table, with the other believed to be United and the third a club in mainland Europe.
United, say those same sources, would be his preference. He has long had an ambition to work in England and was quite at home with the idea of becoming United manager when he was named among the favourites to succeed Ferguson back in 2002. Then, of course, Ferguson changed his mind about retiring.
Man hug: Van Persie decided to leave Arsenal for Old Trafford for the chance to work with Sir Alex Ferguson
Grudge match? Rumours have persisted all season that Van Persie and Moyes don't see eye to eye
Second season syndrome? Van Persie has been a shadow of his former self for United this term
Van Gaal delivered a speech at The Savoy in January at the Football Writers’ Association tribute dinner for Jose Mourinho. He was said to have seen this as a chance to impress the English media.
And he was impressive, in both his eloquence — when English, of course, is not his first language — and his success in striking the right balance for the audience.
BORN WINNER
Van Gaal has won 19 trophies in 23 years of management.
He has won the league at every club he has managed.
While he displayed enough humility to suggest that Mourinho has surpassed his own achievements to become the outstanding manager in Europe, we were left in little doubt here was the Dutch master to Mourinho’s apprentice.
He told the story of how Mourinho became his assistant at Barcelona. At their first meeting in a restaurant in the Catalan capital, he was struck by this young, relatively diminutive Portuguese who dared remonstrate with the club president for his treatment of the outgoing Sir Bobby Robson, despite the presence of the new manager.
Impressed by Mourinho’s loyalty, not to mention his courage, he concluded immediately this guy would be perfect alongside him.
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The story he told at The Savoy was followed by an acknowledgement of the manager Mourinho has now become. ‘I am always the “arrogant Louis van Gaal” but now I am humble,’ he said. ‘Now, he is better than me.’
But United are sure to draw confidence from the confidence Van Gaal clearly has in himself. He is arrogant, and such arrogance will be required to occupy a role that has proved so uncomfortable for Moyes.
He would have the benefit of being the man who follows the man who followed Ferguson. But after almost 30 years in coaching, the 62-year-old Van Gaal has his own way of doing things, and United could find him a little too uncompromising. He likes to run a club from top to bottom. ‘From the first team to the laundry,’ said one Dutch observer yesterday. ‘Even the board.’
Star pupil: The Dutchman helped school Jose Mourinho (L) in the art of management
Forward thinking: The Dutchman started the revolution that led to Bayern becoming the world's best
Van Gaal lifts the 2010 Bundesliga trophy - the last of 18 major honours he has won
That said, his methods have delivered great success. He is credited with starting the revolution that has seen Bayern Munich become the best team in Europe, despite the fact he was eventually dismissed in April 2011.
It is pretty much his system they continue to play, and he signed Arjen Robben, promoted younger players such as Thomas Muller and converted Bastian Schweinsteiger from a winger to a defensive midfielder.
It would appear to be a reason why United now want him.
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