A year in to his mission to fix what he famously described as a ‘broken’ Manchester United, Louis van Gaal is warming to the task.
First some good news. The United manager no longer believes it a certainty that he will retire at the end of a contract due to expire in two years.
‘You can never say ‘‘I go’’ can you?’ said Van Gaal. ‘I have already said to my wife it might be that we extend in Manchester.’
Less heartening for United followers is his hint that he feels his team — 17 points shy of champions Chelsea last time — may not yet be quite ready to close the gap.
‘We only have a better balance of the team,’ reflected Van Gaal. ‘It’s not my Manchester United yet.
‘Why? Because we have to look for more balance in the team and for more creativity. For example, Chelsea have Eden Hazard, Willian and Oscar. There is a lot of creativity there. Manchester City have Sergio Aguero, it’s the same type.
‘Barcelona has Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. We have to look also for that kind of player.
‘We look for more creativity and when it is possible to buy for a reasonable price players from that level we shall do that.
‘You can expect things from Ashley Young. He had a fantastic season. But he is not a Neymar and we have to compete with that kind of class.’
Young, one presumes, will not take offence where none was intended. Still, Van Gaal’s point is clear. He is not finished in the transfer market this summer, not if he has his way.
United fans would love to see Cristiano Ronaldo back at the club but Van Gaal said: ‘That’s not possible because you have the club, Ronaldo and then you have Manchester United and how much United want to spend.’
United record signing Angel di Maria is on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain after failing to join Van Gaal’s squad in America as planned on Saturday. Club sources will not reveal whether Di Maria had permission not to fly or whether he has effectively gone AWOL.
More positively, the club are believed to be close to agreeing a deal for Barcelona forward Pedro.
So far, Van Gaal (left) has had a good two months, recruiting a mixture of potential and experience that has given his squad a more rounded look.
Van Gaal sat down with English journalists at the team hotel in San Jose a couple of hours after his team had beaten Barcelona 3-1 on Saturday.
Discussion of sensitive matters such as David de Gea and Di Maria was off limits and he would not rise to suggestions from Arsene Wenger that United are trying to buy the title this season. ‘I don’t speak about my colleagues,’ he said. ‘It is their responsibility.’
However, the 63-year-old’s desire to prove himself in England is clear, even if it means extending his stay in Manchester.
‘My personal aim is that I shall be a manager with four championships in four different countries,’ said the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach.
‘Normally I have said to my wife that after 55 years I quit. But I am still in the business and in two weeks’ time I will be 64! But I can walk away from it. I have already taken two sabbaticals. It was very, very nice. And it was not cats and dogs with my wife.
‘And I have a paradise (home) in Portugal. So I can happily walk away from football and do other things. I know I can do that.’
It was at his retreat in Portugal this summer that Van Gaal reflected on a season he believes could have ended better had United started differently. ‘The gap is only the consequence of our bad start because after the bad start you will be amazed,’ he said.
Meanwhile, an unjust defeat at Chelsea still rankles. ‘They had one chance and they scored,’ he said.
Reminded that his former protégé Jose Mourinho described it as the ‘perfect game’ for Chelsea, Van Gaal added: ‘Yeah, that’s provocation. And the winner is always right. It’s easy to say afterwards.’
The Mourinho-Van Gaal rivalry will be intriguing this season. Asked about his chances to socialise with his great friend, Van Gaal exposed one of English football’s great traditions as a myth.
‘After the games I have read that I’m drinking a glass of wine with the other manager,’ he smiled.
‘Now I’m the guy who wants always to drink a glass of wine. And last season I only drink wine with the manager of West Bromwich Albion — he’s a nice guy. And away from home I think it happened two times.
‘But it is difficult because after the game there’s a lot of people (media) who want to do something with you. It’s mostly the assistants are always together.’
Not often does Van Gaal’s guard come down publicly, which is why United fans enjoyed his uninhibited speech at May’s Player of the Year dinner so much.
Wine may have helped and Van Gaal said: ‘That’s who I am. It’s not deliberate. I didn’t expect that it should be filmed and put on YouTube but there you have seen Louis van Gaal — who I am.’
As time passes, Van Gaal indeed reveals more of himself. His jettisoning of his former Dutch international captain Robin van Persie may have seemed brutal but to Van Gaal it was logical.
‘People have written that Van Persie is my favourite and that I protect him and, yes, maybe,’ he said. ‘But in the end you always have to evaluate which players have contributed to our fourth place, which players a little bit and which players no contribution. And then you make decisions.’
So as we approach Van Gaal’s second season what is it that makes his perfect player?
‘When you are a Louis van Gaal player then you don’t know only your function in your position but also the other functions in their positions,’ he said.
‘Then you can help each other much more. Then you are improving always the team.
‘You have seen here Barcelona. The pressing and how they expect where the pass is coming from, that’s fantastic to see. That is it.’ – Daily Mail