Louis van Gaal, the Netherlands coach, highlighted on Tuesday the decisive character of Leo Messi, whom he will face next Friday in the round of 16 match in Qatar 2022, in a rivalry that the coach considers “a revenge” for the elimination of the ‘Oranje’ against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
In the said World Cup, eight years ago, Argentina defeated the Dutch team on penalties, in the semifinals, and played in the final, which Germany won 1-0. They went Gaal not to forget it.
“Messi is a player who can decide a game with an individual action. In the semifinal we played against Argentina in 2014, he missed the ball and we lost on penalties. Now we want our revenge,” Van Gaal, 71, said.
Louis Van Gaal is enjoying his third spell as Dutch coach. He has nineteen games in a row without losing. Now he is looking to play a good role before leaving office again. “In principle I will retire, but you should never say never,” he said.
The ‘Oranje’ coach, who replaced Frank De Boer in the summer of 2021, stressed that he takes over the national team “in the interest of Dutch football; you can never say never but you never know what offers might come to the table.”
A few days ago, Van Gaal pointed out that his team could be world champions in Qatar 2022. “I said we can be, not what we will be. But we can. But if in the end we don’t, we can’t say we’re a failure,” he stressed.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
