Louis Van Gaal is on his way out of Old Trafford, according to multiple reports.
And it’s only fitting that the boisterous Dutchman is leaving amidst a storm of bewildering stories about his regimented policies. Everyone was well aware that Van Gaal was a no-nonsense boss when he arrived at Old Trafford, but his man-management tactics are being revealed as even more bizarre than the ones he employed on the pitch.
The Guardian’s Daniel Taylor reported that Van Gaal would send his players evaluation emails after each week so they could study their respective match performances. But when it become clear that players were beginning to ignore the reviews as results were getting worse and worse, Van Gaal began tracking the emails to see if players were opening the messages and how long they were viewing them for.
That is a blatant sign of the mistrust and the lack of respect between the former manager and his squad members.
With that said, Manchester United players are surely giddy at the prospect of calling Jose Mourinho their new boss next season, as reports continue to flood in claiming the “Special One” will soon parade the same touchline that helped etch his name in football lore — this time as the home manager.
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Despite Mourinho’s trend of falling out with clubs late in his tenures, players flat out love him — a stark contrast to the feelings Van Gaal invokes.
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“I think he’s got something that most managers don’t have,” Michael Essien said of the boss that managed him at Chelsea and Real Madrid. “He’s very close with his players; always trying to talk to his players; knows how to get the best out of his players.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic had equal praise for Mourinho: “I felt increasingly that this guy gives everything for the team, so I want to give everything for him. It was a quality he had. People were willing to kill for him.”
And then there’s Wesley Sneijder, who called Mourinho “the best coach in the world” during his speech at the 2010 Ballon d’Or ceremony. And who could forget Marco Materazzi’s tearful goodbye to the Special One after the 2010 Champions League Final? The Italian center back was heartbroken over Mourinho’s imminent move to Real Madrid because, “Mourinho was number one. His secret was to make everyone feel like they were part of the project.”
So, as United prepares to usher in the Mourinho Era at Old Trafford, players will be liberated from the overly-regulated methods of Van Gaal and experience the camaraderie that Mourinho fosters in his dressing rooms — an atmosphere that has produced success at every club he’s been at.
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Nevertheless, players will surely be asking themselves how long the relationship will thrive until it inevitably turns sour.