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Is he the right man for the job?
As you can see from above, Van Gaal’s resume speaks a lot about his success in the past and the Dutch manager has a massive reputation after leading teams like Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich to glory. However, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride as leaving Barca in relegation trouble, failing to qualify for the World Cup with Holland and a finish outside the top three with Bayern has left a dark stain over the years. He is certainly equipped to face difficult times ahead as things are likely to get bad before they get better at United. With any transition, especially of this scale there will be obstacles along the way, but United are hoping that Van Gaal’s experience will smooth the process as he is likely to conduct a huge overall of the players, playing philosophy and methods with the Premier League giants.
At the same time, Van Gaal is a bullish character who demands success from his players and wants them to play his way of playing and his football philosophy. With a reputation of taking no nonsense, he will whip the players back into shape, similar to the way Sir Alex Ferguson did. Some players may respond positively to this attitude, and so may not and if they are not on board with him, he will let them know about it, then chuck them off. But overall, a commanding figure like him usually gets the best out of the players. He also has a great track record of giving youngsters a chance and developing them into star players. The likes of Seedorf, Van der Sar, Xavi, David Alaba and Thomas Muller were all brought through their club’s academy and given a chance by Van Gaal. United has always developed technically gifted youngsters, and with the Dutchman at the helm that tradition won’t falter.
Along with the experience, the right mentality and the faith in youth, his views on tactics is a breath of fresh air for United fans. His enthusiasm for attacking is a stark contrast to the defensive minded approach United displayed this past season. The new United boss favours high pressing attacking football, which is similar to the style Ferguson’s teams use to play that is high intensity football. In Van Gaal’s teams, every player on the pitch has a specified role, and that role can change according to the situation and the personnel. This is a very welcome change after a season that saw many players clueless and forced to play into ineffective roles.
Midfield has also been an important link between the defense and the attack for the Dutchman, so fans may finally see some additions in that area this summer. Lastly, I feel the clincher in the deal was perhaps Van Gaal’s experience in the transfer market and his glorious name means players from across the world would want to sign for him and play under him. This wasn’t the same case under Moyes. With the Red Devils unable to offer Champions League football or any kind of European football next season, they will need to use Van Gaal’s contacts and his name to lure top quality players to Old Trafford.
Only time will tell whether Van Gaal is the right man for Manchester United or not, but he seems much more suited to the job than Moyes ever did and his experience of managing top European teams will be of great use and benefit to him as he looks to rejuvenate one of the biggest teams on the planet. His mission is bring back the glory days at Old Trafford and also teach his new assistant Ryan Giggs how to run the team. Van Gaal has three years to get the Red Devils back on track, and let’s see how long it takes him to do it.
