Louis van Gaal impressed Rio Ferdinand at the 2014 World Cup [PA]
Ferdinand was released by United before Van Gaal took charge this summer, subsequently moving on a free transfer to QPR.
But having worked at the World Cup in Brazil as a pundit for the BBC, the ex-England defender got a first-hand glimpse at how the Dutchman operates.
In an extract posted on Facebook from his upcoming autobiography #2sides, Ferdinand reveals how Van Gaal left a lasting impression on him.
Ferdinand's extract on the 2014 World Cup
Something else made a big impression on me. After I visited the England team following the Italy game, I went to the Dutch squad's hotel. The difference was so telling!
The English had just lost so obviously they were a bit dejected. It's natural. Then I went to the Dutch team where I met Robin van Persie. Holland had just beaten Spain [5-1] and everyone was smiling and Robin was laughing his head off, telling jokes, and talking about Louis van Gaal.
He was saying, "He tells us before the game, 'this is how the game is going to play out… and everything happens exactly as he predicts. He didn't say we were going to score five goals but he did tell us how we were going to win.' Robin was still bubbling after his amazing flying header goal. I asked him how he'd done it because normally you'd expect the striker to take a touch in that situation. He said it was pure instinct.
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On the way back to our hotel I said to Jamie: 'That team is going to go deep in this tournament. They believe in the manager, in his ideas and philosophy. If he tells them the grass is blue, the grass is blue. If he tells them the sky is green, the sky is flipping green. They're going everywhere with him!'
Another aspect that impressed me was that Van Gaal treated his players as grown-ups. One evening we were in a bar at the hotel with Fabio Cannavaro, waiting for Christian Vieri to come along. All of a sudden almost the entire Dutch team turn up and start chilling in this bar. I sat down next to Sneijder and said 'What's going on? Are you allowed in here?' He was like, 'Yeah, the manager said to go. As long as we're back in the hotel by 11, it's fine.'
Me and Jamie just looked at each other and started laughing. Our players are treated like complete babies. It doesn't really matter whether that's because people have made mistakes in the past, or the manager doesn't trust the players or he doesn't trust the media who would make a story of it. I don't think the Dutch media even mentioned it. Their players looked free and relaxed:'Yeah, we're out and we'll be back in a little while. It doesn't matter. We're not doing anything crazy.' I started thinking: this lot have got it sorted, tactically, technically and there's a great spirit in the team.