Louis van Gaal is Bondscoach again: The pensioner's fire

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Louis van Gaal should fix it again

Photo: © Reuters Staff / Reuters / REUTERS

The Dutch love their proverbs. You have a whole arsenal of »Spreekwoorden« for every situation in life, and of course there is one for Louis van Gaal's third inauguration as bond coach of the national team, which was officially announced on Wednesday. "Drie maken een klaverblad", three make a shamrock, is an encouraging saying in neighboring countries when you try a third attempt, even if the first two did not work perfectly.

When van Gaal took over responsibility for Oranje for the first time, it ended in the shame of Dublin when the stars led by Patrick Kluivert, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mark van Bommel missed qualifying for the 2002 World Cup after a 1-0 defeat in Ireland. The name of the winning goal scorer Jason McAteer shouldn't be mentioned since then in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Ten years later van Gaal was back and led the Elftal at least to the semi-finals at the World Cup in Brazil. But the dream of a world championship, which has been dreamed of in the Netherlands for 50 years, could not come true either.

So now van Gaal, part three: "Drie keer is scheepsrecht", so "all good things come in threes".

Another saying.

The master coach, who left his deep mark in Amsterdam and Barcelona as well as at FC Bayern, where he worked between 2009 and 2011, should make the team fit for the World Cup next year after the disappointing knockout of the last 16 at the EM.

Not an easy job, under predecessor Frank de Boer the team started with a defeat against Turkey in the World Cup qualification and is already under massive pressure.

Expert to achieve a lot in a short time

"There is not much time, so you have to immediately focus one hundred percent on the players and the task," van Gaal was quoted as saying on Wednesday at the official presentation of the old, new coach.

He is regarded as a specialist in being able to achieve a lot in a short period of time. His problem in the past has been to preserve that success. His commitment in Munich is exemplary: in one year, van Gaal turned everything upside down on Säbener Strasse, ordered Bastian Schweinsteiger from the wing to the sixth position, his star role, promoted the young Thomas Müller to a regular player. In the first year he did everything right, in the second year he wanted too much, messed with everyone. That was the end then.

Van Gaal is now 69 years old.

He will be 70 on Sunday. He had long wanted to be retired and lived with his wife Truus in his house in Portugal.

But the obvious need at home to find a successor for the hapless de Boer seemed too great.

The impulse to go back to the old men in football again and again is not so rare in the Netherlands.

Van Gaal's colleague Dick Advocaat, now also 73 years old, found a job after a job despite the lack of success and was still responsible at Feyenoord until the end of the season.

In view of the upcoming qualification tasks in September, "we were looking for a man with exceptional skills, who can anticipate quickly and for whom the role of national coach is no secret," says the sports director of the association, the former HSV professional Nico-Jan Hoogma.

That clearly limits the group of applicants.

In fact, the name Joachim Löw was even traded in the Netherlands from time to time, but the former national coach quickly put an end to the topic himself.

Assistants are old friends

Hoogma has been the strong man at the KNVB association since 2018, he actually got off to a good start with winning the Nations League in 2019, Oranje seemed to be moving back towards the top of the world under Ronald Koeman. But Koeman then went to FC Barcelona, ​​and with De Boer, that can be said in retrospect, the KNVB had not shown a lucky hand. The coach never knew how to create a spirit of optimism at home. The fact that defensive boss Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool FC, the most important player with a serious injury in the European Championship year, had not made the task any easier.

World class defender Van Dijk is back now, and with Van Gaal you have at least one personality that is still preceded by a reputation as absolute authority. "With his experience at the very highest level, we are convinced that we have found the right one," says Hoogma. At van Gaal's side he is assisted by old acquaintances, Frans Hoek and the former Ajax captain and bond coach Danny Blind, with whom van Gaal has worked before.

Whether Van Gaal, as a reactivated pensioner, still has the fire, the stubbornness, the self-will, i.e. all the things that made him so exhausting, but that also made him so special, that is at least questionable. When he retired in 2016 after a hapless engagement at Manchester United, he had spoken of "the burning ambition is gone." In the Netherlands they say: "Intelligence with ambition is as a bird zonder vleugels." Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings.