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For its last flight, the "Pelican" Louis van Gaal is as serene as it is ambitious

2022-12-09T06:15:12.024Z


At 71, the Oranje coach is probably living his last coaching experience. With a lot of relaxation and the ambition to go all the way.


You can never say never.

But I'm 71 now... but I still look like a God!

When discussing his future, Louis van Gaal – as often – showed humor on Thursday.

The fact remains that the Dutchman is probably living his last coaching experience in Qatar.

Moreover, he had already announced the end of his long career as a technician on March 11, 2019, before deciding to return to service on August 4, 2021 by accepting the position of Oranje coach to "

save Dutch football

".

To discover

  • World Cup: The complete table of the final phase

  • All World Cup match results

  • Download the Le Figaro Sport app and follow the Blues in Qatar

Read alsoWorld Cup: the complete table of the final phase

An (almost) totally relaxed coach

It is probably for this reason that since the beginning of the competition, the man nicknamed the "

Pelican

", both because of his "

big mouth

" and his double chin, appears much more relaxed than in the past.

Known for his irascibility and his spats with journalists, the ex-midfielder is radiant in a press conference, even chaining jokes.

Like this Thursday with Memphis Depay, on the eve of the quarter-final against Argentina: "

A coach must make decisions, here by my side I have a player with whom I had problems, my Memphis, but now we kiss, we kiss on the mouth even if we have to.

No, you don't want Memphis?

“, he asked the Batavian striker,

Read alsoWorld Cup: the Argentina-Netherlands match, a classic of the World Cup

A little earlier in the competition, it was also with lightness that he had answered a question from a journalist asking him if he was ready to take the reins of the Red Devils after the 2022 World Cup: "

We have to convince Truus (his wife, editor’s note)

“, he said in a joking tone.

Nevertheless, his naturalness took over when it came to defending his style of play, judged by the Dutch press to be a little too cautious.

"

Football is changing and we can't play the same attacking football as 20 years ago.

I was criticized for saying that, but football has evolved in this direction.

I don't just defend.

We press, we push

, ”he said this Thursday with exasperation.

Read alsoWorld Cup: "We no longer play football like in 1978 or 1998", recalls Van Gaal

And very ambitious

Despite his great relaxation, Louis van Gaal did not come to Qatar to make up the numbers.

The ambition of the illustrious coach (Ajax Amsterdam, FC Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich, Manchester United) is none other than to offer the Oranje their first star, they who came so close to lifting the world trophy in 1974, 1978 and 2010. “

My personal goal is to become world champion and I want to pass it on to my players, even if it means looking like an arrogant guy or a big mouth.

I'm not doing it for myself but to help Dutch football

,” he announced before the start of the tournament.

To achieve this, it will be necessary to get rid of Argentina this Friday (8 p.m.).

In 2014, in the semi-finals, the "

Pélican

» Had muzzled Lionel Messi well but had to bow on penalties (0-0, 2-4 on pens).

This time, he will hope that the outcome of the match will be different so that this quarter-final is not his very last flight.

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2022-12-09

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