MUNICH: Veteran coach Louis van Gaal said he would not rule out the possibility of another return to the helm of the Netherlands national team amid speculation over who will replace Ronald Koeman.
Van Gaal, who turns 75 on Saturday, has had three spells as Dutch coach, taking them to the World Cup semi-finals in 2014 and returning in 2022 to reach the quarter-finals in Qatar.Former Liverpool manager Arne Slot reportedly turned the job down last week, as did Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag. Koeman quit as coach after the Netherlands lost to Morocco in the round of 32 at this year’s World Cup.
Dutch media reported that KNVB director Nigel de Jong, who is in charge of the process of selecting the new coach, had extensive talks on Sunday with Michael Reiziger, the former Barcelona and AC Milan full back who is coach of the Netherlands’ Under-21 side.
“The only thing at play is that they can’t find anyone at the moment, and then my name comes up again. I find that unbelievable in a way,” Van Gaal added.“Four years ago at the Qatar World Cup, we lost on penalties in the quarter-finals, and ‘they’ didn’t think our football was good enough. And those people see me as the ideal man now? Anyway, I don’t know at all what the KNVB wants, and I have already been national coach three times, so if I ever do something as a trainer again, you probably shouldn’t look for it in the Netherlands. Although you never know with me. I feel fitter than four years ago.”
