Ahead of his team’s Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final clash against Everton, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said that their season would be considered a success if they managed to win the FA Cup. He also undermined the importance of qualifying for the Champions League for a club like Manchester United.
The Dutchman has won titles at all the clubs he has managed and would like to continue the run with Manchester United. He said he understood what winning titles represented for a club like Manchester United, whose supporters are used to winning something every season. Van Gaal said he knew that the FA Cup meant a big deal to the fans.
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When asked if he would consider it a success if Manchester United won the cup but lost out on a Champions League spot, he said,” I think it is always a success when you win a title, "But for the club it is more important to qualify for the Champions League because we have to show ourselves at the highest level. That is also our aim.”
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Saying he knew what the FA Cup stood for in England, Louis van Gaal stated,” And when you win the FA Cup, you have a title and a very respectable title and in England more than in other countries. In the Netherlands and also in Spain, the cup is not so highly valued.”
Referring to Everton’s 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League, the Manchester United manager said that they would need to beware of Everton as they would be looking to bounce back after their recent run of poor form. “So Everton can do that also after Liverpool, and when you are winning, you can also lose. In spite of them having a lot of injuries I have read, still they have the chance to beat us”, he said.
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If the Red Devils do manage to win the FA Cup, it would be their first trophy since the highly successful reign of Sir Alex Ferguson under whom they won 26 titles. The Manchester club have not won the FA Cup since their last triumph in 2004 when they won 3-0 against Millwall in the final at the Wembley stadium.
The club have a tradition of doing well in the FA Cup having won it 11 times in 18 final appearances. This feat is only bettered by Arsenal who won it for the 12th time last season. In what is a testament to the clubs consistency, the Red Devils are the only club to have appeared in a cup final in every decade since the Second World War.
