Louis van Gaal is back! For the third time, he will lead the Dutch national team

Louis van Gaal has been out of work for almost five and a half years, but now the legendary coach is back on the scene. For the third time in his career, he will have the honour of leading the Dutch national team.

In a few days he will celebrate his 70th birthday, and he will be able to enjoy a well-deserved retirement and at most interact with the media now and then. But that’s not how Louis van Gaal envisages it.

So when he was offered the chance to lead the Dutch national team for the third time in his career, he didn’t hesitate to accept. This is his first engagement since 2016.

“Dutch football has always been close to my heart and coaching the national team is a key position to move our football forward,” Van Gaal is clear.

He previously led the Netherlands from 2000 to 2002 and 2012 to 2014. Already in September he can look forward to three matches in the World Cup qualifiers.

It should be mentioned that the Dutch have not had a very successful European Championship and Frank de Boer, who led the team, has received huge criticism and, of course, was sacked.

But if there is anyone who is going to get the Oranjes back on their feet quickly, it is Van Gaal. He has more than 20 major trophies to his name.

He has won the Champions League and the league with Ajax Amsterdam, he has won league titles with Barcelona, Bayern and Alkmaar, and he didn’t leave Manchester United without a trophy.

He last won bronze with the national team at the 2014 World Cup hosted by Brazil.

“We have little time to prepare. So we were looking for a coach of exceptional qualities for whom the national team is not unknown. Because of his experience and success at all levels, we chose Louis van Gaal,” explained Dutch federation director Nico-Jan Hoogma of the choice.

Since Van Gaal retired from the national team in 2014, the Netherlands have been led by seven different coaches. But none of them have been very successful.

Source: BBC