Last season, in a press conference, van Gaal pulled out a four-page dossier which rivalled Sam Allardyce's claim of Manchester United being Long Ball United.
The dossier was mostly inconclusive and the point that van Gaal tried to so clearly make, was somehow vaguely lost. The whole episode looked way too similar to Rafael Benitez's "facts" interview. Remember that?
Inspired from these recent developments, let's take a look at some of the most funny/weird interviews of Football Managers.
Sam Allardyce
Big Sam shows us exactly how Van Gaal should have reacted to this long ball controversy. This is an interview which happens after a West Ham and Chelsea match. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, despite Chelsea having 39 shots as compared to a single shot from West Ham.
Jurgen Klopp
Former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp has a good command of the English language but seems to be fascinated by the word sh*t. The German manager is quite outspoken and minces no words in his interviews. Here he is telling people exactly what he feels.
And he’s at it again here...
Jose Mourinho
Mourinho has had so many controversial and funny interviews and press conferences, that it is actually hard to pick and choose the best among them. Here’s Mourinho taking on his arch nemesis Arsene Wenger at a press conference. Mourinho and Wenger have been having some major issues in recent times. They had an altercation in a Chelsea-Arsenal match. This comment from Mourinho (before Arsenal lifted the FA Cup last season) just took the rivalry to another level. He calls Wenger "a specialist in failure".
…. and Mourinho doesn’t spare even his former coaches. Brendan Rodgers, the ex-Liverpool manager bears the brunt of Mourinho’s ire. Mourinho's reaction to Liverpool's manager and their players after Brendon Rodgers displayed his dismay for not getting a penalty in their match against Chelsea. Mourinho is blunt and comical, a must watch.
Arsene Wenger
Ferguson and Wenger had a great rivalry around a decade ago. It was either United or Arsenal which came away with the Premier League title for a long time until Abrahimovich took the reins at Chelsea.
During one such season, Sir Alex made a comment about the playing style of Arsenal, which he thought was not good enough. He went on to say that United were the better team and they would come away with the title.
After winning the premier league and the FA Cup, Wenger had said this about Ferguson's team:
"Everybody thinks they have the prettiest wife at home".
While a lot of people think that Mourinho is the one who takes ugly jibes at Wenger, this is what Wenger had to say about Mourinho after a season which saw Chelsea winning the Premier League title:
"He is out of order, disconnected with reality and disrespectful. When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid sometimes and not more intelligent."
But nothing beats this comment of Wenger on Reyes, who was looking for a transfer in the 2007-08 season:
"It's like you wanting to marry Miss World and she doesn't want you, what can I do about it? I can try and help you, but if she does not want to marry you, what can I do?"
Louis van Gaal
Former Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal, takes awkward and badly worded press conferences to a new level. The Dutch coach is fiercely passionate but his words to motivate his players is rather intimate.
Sir Alex And Wenger have a friendly interview:
Wenger and Sir Alex had a great rivalry in the 90s and 00s, where words were spoken and the passion from the pitch spilled on to the post and pre match press conferences. But, age mellowed the two legendary managers and this interview was a cool thing to happen after everything that happened on the pitch.
