Louis van Gaal
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| Louis van Gaal | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal | |
| Date of birth | August 8, 1951 (age 55) | |
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Playing position | Manager | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | AZ Alkmaar | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1971-1973 1973-1977 1977-1978 1978-1986 1986-1987 |
Ajax Amsterdam Antwerp FC Stormvogels Telstar Sparta Rotterdam AZ Alkmaar |
|
| Teams managed | ||
| 1986-1988 1988-1991 1991-1997 1997-2000 2000-2002 2002-2003 2003-2005 2005-present |
AZ Alkmaar (assistant) Ajax Amsterdam (assistant) Ajax Amsterdam FC Barcelona Netherlands FC Barcelona Ajax Amsterdam (technical director) AZ Alkmaar |
|
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Aloysius ("Louis") Paulus Maria van Gaal (born August 8, 1951 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football manager currently in charge of AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Contents |
[edit] Career
After a career as a football player for FC Antwerp, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar, he became an assistant-coach in 1986. After a short career at AZ Alkmaar, he went to AFC Ajax Amsterdam to become Leo Beenhakker's assistant. When Beenhakker left in 1991, the ambitious Van Gaal took over the lead.
[edit] Ajax
He was Ajax manager from 1991 until 1997 and experienced a very successful tenure. Under Van Gaal, Ajax became the Eredivisie champion three times - 1994, 1995 and 1996. He also managed Ajax to the KNVB Cup in 1993 and the Johan Cruijff Shield from 1993 to 1995. In the European scene, Ajax captured the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995 after beating AC Milan in the final. Late in 1995, Ajax beat Brazilian side Gremio on penalties to win the Toyota Cup (formerly Intercontinental Cup). Ajax were the European Cup runners-up in 1996 after losing to Juventus on penalties.
His success in Ajax was so great that during the 1990s, the Dutch national team was dominated by Ajax players such as Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Winston Bogarde, Michael Reiziger and Edwin van der Sar.
[edit] FC Barcelona
In 1997, he moved to FC Barcelona and helped the team win two league championships. Despite this success, he came under criticism and quit the job three seasons later and returned to the Netherlands to manage the Dutch national team in preparation for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
[edit] Netherlands and return to Barcelona
The Dutch national team failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals, and subsequently Van Gaal was replaced by Dick Advocaat. He then returned to Barcelona for a short spell, but left the job after half a year to be replaced by Radomir Antić.
[edit] Return to Ajax
In 2004, he returned to Ajax as a technical director, but resigned later that year.
[edit] AZ Alkmaar
In 2005, he replaced Co Adriaanse as AZ Alkmaar manager.
[edit] Honours
- 1 x Champions League: 1994/1995
- 1 x Intercontinental Cup: 1994/1995
- 1 x UEFA Cup: 1991/1992
- 2 x European Supercup: 1995/1996, 1997/1998
- 3 x Dutch Eredivisie: 1993/1994, 1994/1995, 1995/1996
- 1 x Dutch Cup: 1992/1993
- 3 x Johan Cruijff-schaal: 1993/1994, 1994/1995, 1995/1996
- 2 x Spanish League: 1997/1998, 1998/1999
- 1 x Spanish Cup: 1997/1998
Preceded by Fabio Capello |
UEFA Champions League Winning Coach 1994-95 |
Succeeded by Marcello Lippi |
| Preceded by Giovanni Trappatoni |
UEFA Cup Winning Coach 1991-92 |
Succeeded by Giovanni Trappatoni |
| Preceded by Leo Beenhakker |
Ajax Amsterdam manager 1991-1997 |
Succeeded by Morten Olsen |
| Preceded by Bobby Robson |
FC Barcelona manager 1997-2000 |
Succeeded by Llorenç Serra Ferrer |
| Preceded by Frank Rijkaard |
Dutch National Coach 2000-2002 |
Succeeded by Dick Advocaat |
