Jamie Ireland
Today Manchester United announced that Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal would be taking the reins at Old Trafford after the World Cup in Brazil. A perfect match in my opinion.
It has been the worst kept secret in football and the delayed announcement made the wait even harder, as van Gaal and those associated with Manchester United gave nothing away.
But it seems that Manchester United have got their man and he has all the traits needed to manage this great club, strength, honesty, tactically astute and confident in his ability.
But for me the two main differences between van Gaal and the original successor to Ferguson’s throne, David Moyes, are obvious. Experience at the top level and a history of winning.
The ‘Iron Tulip’ as he is known, has managed some of the biggest clubs in Europe and has impressively won a league title in each of the four countries he has coached.
He has worked with some of the biggest names including Bergkamp, Rivaldo and Arjen Robben, so big personalities will not be a worry to him.
Another aspect which van Gaal promotes wherever he goes is the development of youth players. At Bayern Munich despite all the pressure, he gave debuts to current first team players Thomas Muller and Holger Badstuber.
And finally his most important managerial quality is his ethos. Van Gaal has a clear idea about the way football should be played and has a great track record of getting his message through to his players.
It seems like a match made in football heaven.
