A packed room of photographers and journalists at Old Trafford eagerly awaited the official unveiling of new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal. Following a disastrous season by the club’s lofty standards, expectations have been high for a rebuilding season with the new manager. Hot on the heels of a credible 3rd-place finish in the World Cup with the Netherlands, easily defeating the likes of Spain, Chile, Mexico, and Brazil along the way, van Gaal will be looked to with much anticipation to “right the ship.” With 6 league titles in 3 the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany already under his belt, he comes into the job with a highly-impressive resume to his name already anyway.
The press conference began with van Gaal taking the podium with Sir Bobby Charlton and posing for pictures with a personalized United jersey. After a few moments of this, van Gaal made an opening statement to personally thank Sir Bobby Charlton, saying it’s a great honor to come to Old Trafford and be guided by a club legend. van Gaal had been to Old Trafford before with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but he said he was very moved to do it for the first time as the Manchester United manager with Sir Bobby, since he knows what Sir Bobby means to the club and the country. Following this statement, the questions began:
Q: How big an impact do you hope to make?
LvG: I will do my utmost best. That’s what I will give. No predictions. United is the biggest club in the world, and within 2 days, I am already aware of how important the club is. I have to work to prepare a team and adapt to this big club. It shall not be easy, but I will do my best. When you see my career, you will see what I have won. The future will show if I can do that again here.
Q: You talk about your pride, and how this club is bigger than Barcelona and Bayern. What do you hope to achieve?
LvG: It is the biggest club in the world by name. When it comes to sport, every season there is something to prove. Last season, we finished 7th, so it was not the biggest club in the sport. I went to China with other clubs and people talk about United. I saw people talk about United in Brazil this summer. People all around the world talk about Manchester United. That’s the difference. There are a lot of expectations, and it will be a great challenge because of that. That’s why I chose this club. I have coached teams to #1 in Spain, Netherlands, Germany. Now I am at Manchester United, so maybe we will be #1 in England. I hope I shall fulfill the expectations but will be difficult.
Q: How many more signings on the horizon?
LvG: I want to look at the players present. I want to see in the first 3-4 weeks what they can do, then maybe I will buy other players. Ander Herrera was already on the list, so I gave my approval. I want to see the players performing my philosophy before I make any decisions.
Q: How realistic for fans to hope to challenge for the Premiership in your first season?
LvG: That’s always the question. I explained it already (laughter).
Q: How long you might need to get back to winning ways?
LvG: The owners and CEO have confidence in me. I explained my philosophy, and they were excited. We have to wait and see if I can fulfill expectations of the board and the fans. In the world of football, you cannot predict. You know that, why do you ask? (laughter)
Q: When will you take a decision on the captaincy? Is Robin van Persie a candidate?
LvG: All the players are candidates. I will use 4-6 weeks to decide. The captain’s role is very important, and therefore I need time. Quick decisions are not always good, so I will take my time.
Q: At your former clubs, you used one system of play or philosophy throughout the entire club. Will you do the same at United?
LvG: The main project is the first team. The first team is more short-term with than the youth team, which is long-term. For the first 2 years, we have to use separate philosophy. Give me time to transfer my philosophy.
Q: Given the importance of Class of ’92 to the club, what are the futures of Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, and Paul Scholes?
LvG: Nicky Butt is an Assistant. For Scholes, we will find a role for him, and for Neville as well. That’s what we want. Want to adapt to the qualities of all of them. I will be speaking to them personally.
Q: Did you consider taking a short holiday?
LvG: (laughs) It is not allowed. I could have taken a few months off and come back in January, but I could not do it for a club this big. When there is a challenge like this, I do not let it go. This is also a holiday for me. I like the way I can work.
Q: You have a reputation for having a strong personality. Give us an idea of your style of management.
LvG: I am democratic. Empathetic human being. Of course I have a strong personality, but other characteristics are more important. That is the key to my personality.
Q: What would be success in first season for you?
LvG: I don’t know, because first what I have already said, I have to see how the players perform my philosophy and how quick they can pick it up, then I can answer. I haven’t worked with most of them, so we have to wait and see to see that we click.
Q: Is a top 4 finish and qualifying for the Champions’ League the minimum?
LvG: For me, the challenge is always to finish first, not 4th. When you have to analyze after one season, look and see how the players and manager click.
Q: How would you compare the Premiership with La Liga and Bundesliga?
LvG: I have never worked in the Premiership, so it’s a big challenge. As you said, I have worked in Spain and Germany. In my time in Spain, the Spanish league was the best. In my time in Germany, the German league was the best. Maybe now that I work here, the Premiership will be the best.
Q: You described your personality as democratic, and the Dutch players at the World Cup were very complimentary. Is criticism that you are autocratic unfair?
LvG: Unfair, the media wants to show that part of my personality, but it’s a small part. I would not have had same success if I was autocratic. From age of 39 until now, personality has not changed. Autocratic and strong personality are not the same, but people think that they are. The media want to show that part of the personality, and when you repeat that, everybody thinks like that. Every year I have managed, it has confirmed my philosophy. Sir Alex is also a strong personality, and it was always confirmed because he won a lot of titles. I think it was a good philosophy, and I hope I can do that.
Q: Have you met with Sir Alex?
LvG: He called me to congratulate me, we have spoken. We were always invited to the UEFA Elite Forum, so we know each other fairly well. I shall drink coffee and wine with him. Maybe the better wine.
Q: There’s huge excitement among fans. What excites you the most?
LvG: (pauses) It’s difficult to describe. I am now 2 days here, and have met a lot of people. When you see the people who love the club, it’s a big family, and they expect a lot, and are excited to meet me. Can I fulfill their expectations? I think I can do it. Because of the greatness of this club, it’s also much more difficult than at other clubs. This club is also guided by commercial expectations, and we have to fulfill that as well. Meeting commercial expectations and football expectations will be the challenge.
Q: Given the number of experienced players who left, how big a role do the current experienced players remaining on the squad have?
LvG: You have to know that I am not always convinced of the experience of players because I have said a lot of times in the media, a boy like Clarence Seedorf was 16 years old and I gave him his debut at Ajax. Sometimes he was more experienced than a player of 30 years old. It is always dependable on the personality. You named Rooney but Carrick was injured on the last day or the day before that it is also a big blow because he is an experienced player.
A bit of a bombshell to end the press conference with the word that midfield mainstay Michael Carrick is out with what appears to be a long-term injury. Given van Gaal’s own stated philosophy of taking into account the big picture, it will be interesting to see how this development affects the team moving forward. Will this mean United will dip back into the transfer market, especially with the continuous rumors swirling around about a move for Juventus’ Arturo Vidal? Will van Gaal decide to bide his time and use the upcoming US tour to gauge and see if Herrera can fill in the gaps that existed in United’s midfield last season? Only time will tell.
Overall, van Gaal said all the right things – paying homage to United greats and showing a clear reverence for the institution that the club has become. He’s no stranger to such environments, so there should be no danger of him becoming as overwhelmed as David Moyes looked last season. He also took the time to state more than once that contrary to the public image, he was not planning to run the team with an iron fist, and he seems very open to the idea of being intent to apply his own man-management and tactical philosophy but remaining open to changes that may have to be made on his end. The comment about taking into consideration commercial expectations was subtle, but he’s savvy enough to know that as much as is invested at the club by the owners and sponsors, he will have to keep those in mind. The simple fact is that everything hinges on results on the field, and that is what he has the most control over.
(Picture credit: ManUtd.com)
