Louis Van Gaal’s Success Puts Pressure on Guus Hiddink to Go Even Further

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 13, 2014

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Robin van Persie may have had no interest in keeping his bronze medal—instead handing it off to a Dutch fan, along with his captain’s armband, moments after he was presented with it—but for coach Louis van Gaal, the Netherlands’ third-place play-off victory was a fitting send-off as he heads for his new role at Manchester United.

Van Gaal plans to arrive in England on Wednesday, by which time his country's 3-0 win over Brazil on Saturday will have been well and truly overshadowed by the result of Sunday’s final. But the victory means he achieved his (somewhat contrived) aim of becoming the first Dutch coach to go an entire tournament without losing a game in “regulation” (i.e. without a penalty shootout), having already defied most expectations for both him and his team for this World Cup.

"It was a big honour for us to be here and a once in a lifetime experience," Arjen Robben told reporters, per the Telegraph, after the game. "Today's match was the best way to end this tournament.

“We also fully deserved this third place the way we played. Nobody expected us to be in the last four."



The World Cup for Van Gaal was about redemption, having failed to even qualify for the 2002 tournament last time he was in charge of the Oranje. Drawn in a group that also included Spain and Chile, however, many neutrals feared his belated World Cup experience would end up being a truncated one, especially with a squad of players that skewed toward the young and inexperienced.

Losing Kevin Strootman, one of three players Van Gaal had previously identified as vital to his team, prior to the tournament lent further weight to that prognostication. Instead, Van Gaal turned that setback into an opportunity with a grace and expertise that United fans will be fervently hoping to see at Old Trafford next season.

Decisively and pragmatically he moved to a new...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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