Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal cried like a baby when he was sacked during his time at Barcelona. A former player under the Dutch manager, Philippe Christanval revealed the surprising fact about Van Gaal.
Christanval was part of the Barcelona team that Van Gaal managed. The French player was at the club from 2001 to 2003 and Van Gaal’s services were terminated by the Catalan giants after a disappointing loss to Celta Vigo.
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This was Van Gaal’s second term in charge of the current La Liga champions and it certainly did not end well for him.
While speaking to SRF, Christanval stated, “He came into the dressing room after hearing the news, started to talk, and all of a sudden began crying like a baby.”
The former France defender also found it surprising that Van Gaal, who is seen as a tough authoritative figure, broke down easily after getting the news of his departure from the club. “He was really hurt. It impacted me seeing him cry. He was a hard, cold, person, and here he was destroyed.”
Van Gaal was successful during his first stint with the La Liga club as he lifted two league trophies but he didn’t have the greatest record in the second stint and the Dutchman left after just 30 games in charge.
Many had questioned his signings during the second stint at Barcelona and performances from the side were inconsistent. The La Liga side even lost three games in a row during his tenure, a feat that certainly would have led to a lot of questions being asked about the manager.
Familiar feeling with Manchester United
The Dutchman was brought on to manage Manchester United after the sacking of David Moyes. And even though he led them to FA Cup glory last season, he was relieved of his duties. Manchester United’s playing style did not significantly improve under the former Ajax and Netherlands manager and the club even missed out on the UEFA Champions League by finishing fifth last season.
Also read: 5 lowest points of Louis van Gaal's Manchester United reign
Van Gaal is, however, considered as one of the best managers as he won league titles with Bayern Munich, AZ Alkmaar and Ajax in his long managerial career. His greatest achievement with the Dutch national side was leading them to third place in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
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