Intimidating, intense and inspiring... Ronald de Boer gives an insight into the mind of new Man United boss Louis van Gaal

By -


Ask Ronald de Boer for his most vivid memories of Louis van Gaal and he is whisked back to De Meer, Ajax’s fabled old training base. This was Van Gaal’s domain, the setting where Manchester United’s new manager worked his magic; filling his players with confidence, plotting their path to glory and drilling passages of play that would become second nature on match days. It was also the place where Van Gaal would be fearsome and intimidating. The Dutch coach takes defeat as a personal affront and De Boer witnessed — as well as received — some of his most ferocious criticisms.

Popular posts from this blog

Andre Schurrle: Germany's only goal is to win the World Cup - it has to be with this team

By -
Image
  Andre Schurrle bolts in his chair, pupils dilated. The conversation has moved on to how much it really means to pull on a Germany shirt. ‘It’s the most important thing for us, without doubt,’ he says. ‘Look at the players who have pulled on that jersey throughout history. You are one of them.’ And so the Chelsea man recounts the names. Beckenbauer, Muller, Matthaus, even Ballack. ‘It means so much to me. When I was young I saw the national team with this pride and history.’ In the build-up to what should prove to be a World Cup to beat any of the previous three, the Germans know what they are and know exactly what they ought to achieve.
Read more

Premier League TV money: Liverpool and Manchester United miss out on over £70m due to distribution system

By -
Image
Liverpool and Manchester United would have both received more than £70million extra in Premier League TV money had the cash been distributed based on audience. Brendan Rodgers' side collected £97.5m in television money last season, the most in the Premier League, but they would have been in line for £172.3m if the distribution was based on the number of TV viewers - a difference of £74.8m. Manchester United would have received £159.5m if the Premier League split their money more evenly based on UK audience. As it was, United picked up £89.1m, more than £70m less. 
Read more

Steven Gerrard: Title slip up was cruel but now I must focus on England's bid for World Cup glory

By -
Image
Already it has become the defining image of the title race: the slip, the desperate scramble to get upright and the despairing chase as Demba Ba closes in on goal to score for Chelsea. It encapsulated everything that has made the Premier League a compelling global spectacle. There was genuine pathos in seeing a player of Steven Gerrard’s stature close to a title that no one had ever imagined him winning, only to see it fall away in the final games of the season, in part as a result of his own mistake. It was almost irrelevant that title races are not decided in single moments, that a combination of events over nine months determines the outcome and that, in that Chelsea match, there was still time for  Liverpool to recover. Such rationality is obscured by the power of a 10-second video clip that seemingly changed Gerrard’s destiny.
Read more