12 reasons Manchester United fans should be happy at Van Gaal’s appointment

Following weeks of speculation and snaps of a certain Netherlands-bound Welshman, Manchester United have finally announced that Louis van Gaal has agreed a three-year deal with the Old Trafford outfit, slap bang in the middle of a Monday afternoon. In tandem with the press release also came confirmation that Ryan Giggs will remain with the Manchester giants as Van Gaal’s assistant manager.

The club’s official statement, padded out far more so than the abrupt announcement of David Moyes’ departure, paid tribute to the absolute haul of trophies the Netherlands coach has picked up throughout his career.

However, there’s much more to the Dutchman than just accolades and so we decided to scratch beneath the surface and uncover the man behind the silverware. Here are 11 alternative reasons United fans should be jumping for joy over the breaking news (plus the really obvious one about the trophies).

1. He’s got Fergie’s respect.

2. He rebuilt Bayern Munich and, with this speech, showed everyone in football how to celebrate winning a league title

http://youtu.be/inhLp3FQdZY

3. Talking of titles, he’s won quite a few – 19 infact…

4 Eredivisie titles, 2 La Liga titles, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 1 Bundesliga title, 1 Champions League crown, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 Dutch Cup, 1 Copa Del Rey, 3 Johan Cruijff Shields, 1 DFB Super Cup, 1 DFB-Pokal cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup.

4. Van Gaal has already made an impression on the English press.

5. Man United fans will revel in his candid nature…

“I have achieved more with Ajax in six years than Barcelona has in one hundred years.” – After becoming Barcelona manager in 1997.
“Louis van Gaal has nothing more to learn” – Van Gaal on Van Gaal, 2001.
“Guardiola follows the Van Gaal Philosophy. So I’m not surprised Bayern have hired Guardiola. Bayern always hire the best managers” – Louis van Gaal, 2013.
“If you want to, go ahead.” – After a reporter asked Van Gaal whether he wanted to congratulate his former friend Ronald Koeman with winning the Eredivisie with PSV.
6. His playing style is exactly what Man United fans want to see – what a goal!

http://youtu.be/bCGU8CXw9PM

7. The list of players he’s handed debuts to is downright absurd!

Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes (all Barcelona), Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert (all Ajax), Mark van Bommel, Rafael van der Vaart, Adam Maher (both Netherlands), David Alaba, Holger Badstuber (both Bayern Munich).

8. He looks like Butthead from Beavis & Butthead. Kind of…

9. He doesn’t lie down to power as Barcelona found out…

Piqué’s grandfather was even a club director, and one day he invited Barcelona’s coach Louis van Gaal to lunch. “This,” he said, introducing the young Gerard, “is my grandson – a centre-back for Barcelona’s youth team.”

Van Gaal looked at Piqué and, without warning, pushed him over. Towering above the 14- year-old, he barked: “You’re too weak to be a Barcelona defender.”

10. Van Gaal’s got cojones, as Luca Toni found out…

“Van Gaal wanted to make clear to us that he can drop any player from the team. It was all the same to him because, as he said, he had the balls. He demonstrated this literally by dropping his pants. I have never experienced anything like it, it was totally crazy. Luckily I didn’t see a lot, because I wasn’t in the front row.” – Luca Toni.

11. You don’t try to patronise Louis van Gaal that’s for sure. Watch him storm out on Dutch TV

http://youtu.be/6Sviu9l3bew