Van Gaal

Lionel Messi confronted Dutch boss Louis van Gaal after Argentina's win over the Netherlands, and later said he felt "disrespected".

Leo Messi might have decried it as 'long balls and tall players' but that's possibly coming from a man who fretted if his dream was over when the two Dutch ...

When I came up with that more defensive system in 2014 (at the World Cup in Brazil), I also received a lot of criticism but now half the world plays like that. On whether deep inside he prefers the old Dutch attacking way as he did earlier in his coaching career. “Argentina had a hard time with our opportunistic game, but I think it was also logical that Van Dijk went back again.” Logical, in Van Gaal’s world. Van Gaal was structured and believed in control of the system Van Gaal was able to mould a group of players like a machine. Ruben Jongkind, a coach who in his 30s had worked with Cryuff to turn around the famed club Ajax’s fortunes, had told this newspaper about the fundamental difference between the two men.

Louis van Gaal has confirmed his retirement from management after the Netherlands' World Cup exit, but was typically defiant upon leaving his post.

He leaves a Dutch side currently eighth in the FIFA men's rankings, and who were just two spot-kicks away from progressing to the World Cup semi-finals. In 20 matches in charge, we didn't lose a single game. The experienced tactician confirmed that Friday's quarter-final was his last game in management, but signed off in typically defiant fashion.

Louis van Gaal has stepped down as Netherlands boss following the penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.

"Personally and football-wise this is a team that is very close and with a lot of skill. I was coach for 20 matches and we never lost over that time. It was only a penalty shoot-out. This was my very last match of my third term as head coach," Van Gaal said in his post-match press conference. "First and foremost I won’t be continuing. World Cup