Louis van Gaal
- Actor
Louis van Gaal is a Dutch former football manager and player. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern München and Manchester United F.C., as well as having two spells in charge of the Netherlands National Football Team. Van Gaal is one of the most decorated managers in world football, having won 20 major honors in his managerial career.
Before his career as a coach, Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Royal Antwerp Football Club, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam, AFC Ajax and AZ Alkmaar. He is also a fully qualified physical education teacher, and worked at high schools during his career as a semi-professional footballer. After a brief spell as an assistant coach at AZ, Van Gaal served as the assistant under Leo Beenhakker at Ajax and eventually took over as head coach in 1991. Under his lead, the club won three Eredivisie titles, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. He moved to FC Barcelona in 1997 and won two league titles and one Copa del Rey.
Van Gaal was then appointed at the Netherlands, but failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan (2002). This preceded another brief spell at Barcelona, before he returned to AZ, where he won an Eredivisie title, and was hired by Bayern München in 2009. In Germany, he secured the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and reached the final of the Champions League, but returned to the Netherlands, where he led the nation to a third-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (2014). He was then hired at Manchester United F.C. later that summer, where he won one FA Cup.
Before his career as a coach, Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Royal Antwerp Football Club, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam, AFC Ajax and AZ Alkmaar. He is also a fully qualified physical education teacher, and worked at high schools during his career as a semi-professional footballer. After a brief spell as an assistant coach at AZ, Van Gaal served as the assistant under Leo Beenhakker at Ajax and eventually took over as head coach in 1991. Under his lead, the club won three Eredivisie titles, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. He moved to FC Barcelona in 1997 and won two league titles and one Copa del Rey.
Van Gaal was then appointed at the Netherlands, but failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan (2002). This preceded another brief spell at Barcelona, before he returned to AZ, where he won an Eredivisie title, and was hired by Bayern München in 2009. In Germany, he secured the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and reached the final of the Champions League, but returned to the Netherlands, where he led the nation to a third-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (2014). He was then hired at Manchester United F.C. later that summer, where he won one FA Cup.
