Could it be that a man that knows more than most about stopping Manchester United playing football could be plotting against them ahead of next week’s Europa League final?
We are of course talking about Louis van Gaal, who, despite leaving Old Trafford having delivered the FA Cup last season, failed to convince the club’s hierarchy that his brand of pass-it-sideways-and-see-what-happens football was moving them in the right direction (ie: forward).
Having finished in fifth last season, United missed out on the Champions League, having to settle for the Europa League instead. Ironically, after Van Gaal’s successor Jose Mourinho’s struggles in the league this season, the Europa League now represents United’s only chance of reaching the 2017/18 Champions League.
They meet Ajax, the club at which Van Gaal made his name as a football manager, in Stockholm on Wednesday evening.
Now, ahead of that game, The Mirror has suggested that the Dutchman is be giving the Amsterdam club tips on how to overcome United.
According to the paper, Van Gaal was seen talking to Ajax’s current boss, Peter Bosz, at an annual presentation for Dutch league managers. Apparently, Bosz believes that if any man is capable of thwarting Jose Mourinho’s tactics, it is LVG himself – the man that Mourinho once worked under at Barcelona.
It’s worth adding that there is no indication as to how long the discussion between the pair went on for, so it’s probably a bit of a stretch to suggest that Van Gaal was divulging a detailed, player-by-player analysis of United’s squad to the Ajax boss.
And if he was, would anyone blame him following the manner of his departure last year?
