Photo: Congres in Beeld from Eindhoven, The Netherlands / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Louis van Gaal divides people, and that is exactly why I rate him. Few coaches have imposed a philosophy so stubbornly across Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and three stints with the Dutch national team, and fewer still have promoted so many teenagers who became world-class. I find his abrasiveness inseparable from his honesty; he tells players, presidents and the press exactly what he thinks, career consequences be damned. The royal honor he received in 2023 felt like the Netherlands finally admitting the grumpy schoolmaster was right more often than wrong. Football needs more conviction like his, not less.
Overview
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (Dutch pronunciation: [luˈʋi vɑŋ ˈɣaːl] ; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager who currently serves as an advisor for Eredivisie club Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spells in charge of the Netherlands national team.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Louis van Gaal
- Name (Japanese)
- ルイ・ファン・ハール
- Reading
- るい・ふぁん・はーる
- Born
- August 8, 1951 (age 74)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Rabbit
- Origin
- Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 185 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- association football player / association football coach
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2010 Football Manager of the Year
- 2023 Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Association football player — see all → · Association football coach — see all → · More people from Netherlands →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-10
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.