Man Utd: Scholes slates Van Gaal's ‘boring’ coaching in 2015
Louis van Gaal would treat Manchester United players brutally during his spell in charge of Old Trafford, it has been claimed. The Dutchman spent two years at the club between 2014 and 2016. However, while he won the FA Cup, he never got anywhere near lifting the Premier League or Champions League trophies throughout his time in charge.
United had high hopes for Van Gaal when they appointed him as David Moyes’ successor in 2014, just months after they’d failed to qualify for the Champions League.
His first season at the helm went well enough, with the Dutchman steering them to a top four finish.
In his second, though, things started to unravel. The spectre of Jose Mourinho loomed large and, despite winning the FA Cup, Van Gaal never quite met the expectations of the club’s hierarchy or supporters.
And The Athletic say he was often brutal towards his players - and some of them didn’t respond to his methods too kindly.
It’s claimed that many players complained of drawn-out, blistering feedback sessions where he’d lay down the law to them.
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This crippled many of the squad’s confidence, with players not taking too kindly to the Dutchman’s words.
It’s claimed individual players received emails highlighting their faults and Van Gaal even inserted a technological tracker to see if his players had opened them.
Some would leave the file open for a period of time in order to trick the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager.
And United players simply didn’t take too kindly to Van Gaal’s love of data and use of technology to try and help the squad improve.
One of the players who had a problem with Van Gaal was Angel Di Maria.