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Louis van Gaal and James Wilson in trainingLouis van Gaal has established a reputation of always giving youth a chance. Over the years at various clubs, and in 2 stints with the Dutch national team, van Gaal has consistently turned to bright young academy products, quite often benching senior and well-established players in the process. His belief and faith has, on many occasions, been well vindicated by the youngsters in whom he showed confidence. Many a world class player has him to thank for giving him the big break early on in his career. These youngsters, in turn, have proved his eye for talent.Even in his current capacity at Manchester United, van Gaal has introduced a number of United’s academy graduates like James Wilson, Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair into the first team setup. They’ve all gotten a lengthy run of games in which they have proved their mettle at the Premier League level. Wilson is a regular feature of van Gaal’s attack. Let’s take a look at some of the world-class talents who’ve benefitted from van Gaal’s faith in them.
#1 Andres Iniesta
Louis van Gaal had a forgettable second spell at Barcelona, beginning in 2002. Although any other manager would’ve had their tails between their legs after failing to steer Netherlands’ World Cup qualification successfully, van Gaal remained the unabashed, egomaniacal personality that he’s always been projected as.
He let Rivaldo walk out of the club on a free transfer to Milan, and the replacement, Riquelme, was never able to play at his best. Barcelona suffered in the league and were quite inconsistent, although they won 10 straight games in the Champions League before losing to Real Madrid.
One of the few positives that van Gaal was able to bring to the club was his recognition of Andres Iniesta as a transcendent talent and his subsequent introduction into the first team. Iniesta made 6 appearances for Barcelona during van Gaal’s time in charge and gained valuable senior experience as an 18-year-old prospect.
#2 Thomas Muller
With Miroslav Klose, Mario Gomez and the just-signed Ivica Olic in the squad, any manager could’ve been forgiven for not giving youth a chance and sticking with a 4-4-2 formation, which the team was accustomed to. van Gaal, however, with his typical boldness and astute judgement, gave youth a chance.
Thomas Müller was one of the players whom he handed a run of games with the first team. Adept at playing the role of a withdrawn striker, roaming around the spaces between the defense and midfield lines, Müller was a difference-maker to the Bayern XI right from his initial days. He announced himself on the big stages with a brace against Dortmund in the league and another against Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League.
Müller went on to play in almost every game of the 2009-10 season, keeping out the likes of Klose and Gomez from the starting lineup. He played an important role in van Gaal’s squad as they won the League and Cup double and made it to the Champions League final. He was handed a spot in Germany’s 2010 World Cup squad on account of performances in his debut season. Ever since, Müller has been one of Bayern’s most important players.
#3 Holger Badstuber
Holger Badstuber is another beneficiary of van Gaal’s policy of blooding talented youngsters early on in their careers. He made his debut at the age of 20 in the Bundesliga opener for the 2009-10 season, against Hoffenheim, and was a regular feature of van Gaal’s sides all through the season, even though he was played out of his natural position at left back.
He was picked for the 23-man World Cup squad in 2010, where he made 2 appearances as a left back. His second professional season, however, was underwhelming and riddled with inconsistent displays – a reflection of the generally poor form that most Bayern players displayed that season.
With the beginning of the 2011-12 season, new coach Jupp Heynckes installed him as his starting centre-back, and this was when Badstuber finally showcased his world-class ability as a ball-playing centre-back. Although he failed to win any trophies in a heart-wrenching campaign, Badstuber’s play that season was universally praised.
Ever since, however, he has gone down to a spate of injuries which have taken away a huge chunk of his peak playing career. Now having made a full recovery, Badstuber is expected to be crucial to Pep Guardiola’s plans this season onward.
#4 David Alaba
David Alaba made his debut at the age of 17 years, 8 months and 8 days in a German Cup game against Greuther Furth, becoming Bayern’s youngest-ever outfield player in the process. It wasn’t long before he made an appearance in a Champions League game also, a 3-2 defeat to Fiorentina in the round of 16 that, however, ensured Bayern’s progress via the away goals rule.
With his versatility in terms of being able to play at an assortment of midfield and defensive roles, Alaba was quickly identified as a player to be groomed, and at the age of 18, van Gaal sent him out on a 6-month loan deal to Hoffenheim to get more playing time.
He returned for the 2011-12 season under Jupp Heynckes and made Bayern’s starting leftback slot his own. Ever since, he’s become the world’s best at the position, while he plays expertly in defensive midfield for Austria, internationally. A truly versatile player with world-class ability.
#5 Clarence Seedorf
He turned out to be one of the greatest central midfielders of his generation, but as a 16-year-old, Seedorf first came to van Gaal’s attention as a budding right-sided midfielder. He set Eredivisie’s record as the youngest player ever to appear at the age of 16 years and 244 days and soon, cemented his place in van Gaal’s first-choice lineup.
As part of Ajax’s Dream Team comprising of players like Dennis Bergkamp, Edgar Davids, the de Boer brothers, Marc Overmars, the emerging Patrick Kluivert and a solid Edwin van der Sar in goal, Seedorf won a lot of silverware and was crucial to Ajax’s plans, having adapted to a variety of positions in midfield.
When he left for Sampdoria on a free transfer in 1996, Ajax failed to ever successfully replace him. Seedorf had a successful spell at Real Madrid, where he was part of the squad that won the Septa in 1997-98. He went on to win 2 more Champions League trophies at AC Milan, where he is a club legend now. A truly complete midfielder and a charismatic personality.
#6 Edgar Davids
The Pitbull, as Davids was admiringly called during his heyday, made his debut at the age of 18 under van Gaal, who immediately slotted him into the centre of the park for his tenacity and marking ability. Like Seedorf, Davids was a winger at the start of his career (on the left side) before van Gaal converted him into a box-to-box player.
His ability to control the game from the middle on the attacking side and break up opponents’ play and stop their rhythm made him a crucial element of all the sides that he featured in through the course of his storied career. It was his aggressive and energetic style of play that won hordes of admirers and he was right up alongside the likes of Vieira and Roy Keane among the world’s foremost central midfield players.
His battles in midfield playing for Juventus against Seedorf and Pirlo for Milan are some of the greatest tales in world football from the time when Serie A was the best in the world.
#7 Patrick Kluivert
Cristiano Ronaldo grew up admiring this speedy, gangling striker, who was another of van Gaal’s great young finds at Ajax. For a tall player like Kluivert, he had incredible technique and was also a ferocious header of the ball.
He made his debut against Eindhoven in the beginning of the 1994-95 season and scored Ajax’s only goal of the match, signalling his arrival on the big stage. van Gaal started him on the bench for the Champions League final, when coming on as a substitute he scored the winner against Milan. He totalled 50 goals for Ajax before moving to Milan, and then earning a transfer to Barcelona in 1998.
It was at Barcelona that Kluivert had the best days of his career, scoring 120 goals in 6 years at the club. A couple of devastating feet, great technique, speed and the knack of scoring important goals made him a fans’ favourite. He formed a devastating partnership for the Netherlands with Bergkamp.
