If Jurgen Klopp’s footballing style is heavy metal, surely Louis van Gaal’s is more of an incessant hum that drills itself deep into the cerebrum to the point that it’s impossible to tell whether you’re actually still hearing the ponderous drone or if it’s just embedded enough that you’re simply catching the lingering echo of tedium.
The ghost of van Gaal’s heavy-footed philosophy still sometimes rears its unwelcome face around Old Trafford.
But while Jose Mourinho is on exorcism duty, van Gaal has his feet up with a glass of wine, waiting for an offer to come in for his services.
He was almost in contention for the Belgium job but we should underline the word almost as he didn’t get past the preliminary interview phase.
Van Gaal held talks with the Belgian FA after Marc Wilmots was sacked following a sub-par European Championships but the Dutchman’s suitability was quickly dismissed when the higher-ups in the Belgium camp found his proposed style to be too boring.
The Daily Mail report that van Gaal’s philosophy was thought to be “draining and exhausting” by Belgium and he was quickly taken out of the running for the €1 million-a-year job.
Van Gaal’s approach to football came in for massive criticism while he was in charge at Old Trafford, with his meticulous attention to detail and inability to communicate with his players eventually leading to his dismissal at the end of last season.
REPORT: Bizarre email system sums up the gulf that had grown between Louis van Gaal and players https://t.co/D5WmFOFEaz
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 23, 2016
Former Everton boss Roberto Martinez was eventually selected for the Belgium position after impressing through the whole process.
It’s understood that Martinez was asked to dissect the team’s shortcomings in France and did so admirably.
There are uncomfirmed reports that van Gaal just insisted that it was a paucity of sideways passes that resulted in Belgium’s quarter-final exit… That last bit’s a joke.
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