The Netherlands
Football will miss Louis van Gaal.
From singing The Beatles and raving about Chinese cuisine in press conferences, to clipboard-in-hand imitations of kung fu kicks and play-acting, to calling Chris Smalling ‘Michael’ and ‘Mike’, to those roaring, rival-rattling victory speeches, the former gymnastics teacher was one-of-a-kind.
A tactical emperor, LvG’s 14 full seasons in club management – including four at uber-underdogs AZ – exceptionally yielded seven league titles and a UEFA Champions League, while he masterminded the Netherlands’ upset of Spain and run to third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
Shortly after announcing his retirement, the 67-year-old sat down with FIFA.com for a wide-ranging chat about his career, successes in the UEFA Champions League and World Cup, giving youth a chance and why he knew Pep Guardiola would always become a coach.
Football will miss Louis van Gaal.
From singing The Beatles and raving about Chinese cuisine in press conferences, to clipboard-in-hand imitations of kung fu kicks and play-acting, to calling Chris Smalling ‘Michael’ and ‘Mike’, to those roaring, rival-rattling victory speeches, the former gymnastics teacher was one-of-a-kind.
A tactical emperor, LvG’s 14 full seasons in club management – including four at uber-underdogs AZ – exceptionally yielded seven league titles and a UEFA Champions League, while he masterminded the Netherlands’ upset of Spain and run to third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
Shortly after announcing his retirement, the 67-year-old sat down with FIFA.com for a wide-ranging chat about his career, successes in the UEFA Champions League and World Cup, giving youth a chance and why he knew Pep Guardiola would always become a coach.
When a player is good enough to play, he should play. I gave youngsters a chance because I saw their quality and the inspiration they gave the squad.
FIFA Women's World Cup
Sarina Wiegman is undoubtedly a coach at the very top of her profession.
Having guided her country to their inaugural UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 title on home soil, the Dutchwoman picked up The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2017 title to cap a superlative year.
She is certainly one of a group of elite coaches in the women’s game, striving for perfection and pushing her star-studded team on to even greater heights.
Does this combination of top-level head coach and outstanding players make the Dutch dark horses for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ title?
FIFA.com sat down with Wiegman to discuss her hopes for the upcoming global finals, her superlative crop of players and her experience from Canada 2015 in an exclusive chat.
Sarina Wiegman is undoubtedly a coach at the very top of her profession. Having guided her country to their inaugural UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 title on home soil, the Dutchwoman picked up The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2017 title to cap a superlative year.
She is certainly one of a group of elite coaches in the women’s game, striving for perfection and pushing her star-studded team on to even greater heights. Does this combination of top-level head coach and outstanding players make the Dutch dark horses for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ title?
FIFA.com sat down with Wiegman to discuss her hopes for the upcoming global finals, her superlative crop of players and her experience from Canada 2015 in an exclusive chat.
During the World Cup – of course – we have a dream, like everyone else, and we do think that we are a team that others want to beat. But we focus on winning every game and we want to show again how good we are.
Spain
He was the top-scoring Spaniard in La Liga for the last two seasons and was on course to do it again this term when an injury absence of almost three months stopped him, at least temporarily. Now though, Celta Vigo’s star striker Iago Aspas is back, proving his coach’s assertion that “Talent doesn’t get injured”.
He marked his return from injury with goals and tears, his brace against Villarreal helping to secure a dramatic victory and kickstart his side’s desperate battle to avoid the drop. “From the outside, the frustration is even greater as you cannot help your team,” the Galician admitted in his interview with FIFA.
The left-footed striker, who gained the confidence of Luis Enrique after just one training session and is now dreaming of pulling on the No17 shirt again for La Roja, looks back at his World Cup debut at Russia 2018 and assesses the current position of the national team.
He was the top-scoring Spaniard in La Liga for the last two seasons and was on course to do it again this term when an injury absence of almost three months stopped him, at least temporarily. Now though, Celta Vigo’s star striker Iago Aspas is back, proving his coach’s assertion that “Talent doesn’t get injured”.
He marked his return from injury with goals and tears, his brace against Villarreal helping to secure a dramatic victory and kickstart his side’s desperate battle to avoid the drop. “From the outside, the frustration is even greater as you cannot help your team,” the Galician admitted in his interview with FIFA.
The left-footed striker, who gained the confidence of Luis Enrique after just one training session and is now dreaming of pulling on the No17 shirt again for La Roja, looks back at his World Cup debut at Russia 2018 and assesses the current position of the national team.
In part, I think we need to forget the tiki-taka, which belongs to another generation, and redefine our style.
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