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Before the Netherlands’ World Cup quarterfinal matchup against one of the tournament favorites, Lionel Messi’s Argentina, Louis van Gaal spoke candidly, as is his habit.
Louis van Gaal, the manager of the Netherlands, has said that he is taken aback by the high praise Brazil is receiving for its World Cup performance.
In fact, Van Gaal made the audacious remark that he believes the Oranje play similarly but are given less credit.
Parts of the Dutch media have really criticized the Netherlands for their playing style, clearly to the manager’s chagrin.
The former Manchester United manager didn’t stop there; he went on to discredit the Selecao’s accomplishments following their 4-1 victory over South Korea on Monday night in the round of 16.
Richarlison scored Brazil’s third goal after some superb, deft passing by the center defense pairing of Marquinhos and Thiago Silva.
Van Gaal claims that the Netherlands’ first goal in their 3-1 victory over the United States on Sunday was a superior collective move despite this.
As he stated to ESPN, “Yesterday, I also saw a glimpse of Brazil, who actually play football similarly to the Netherlands’ national team.
They operate from a tight defensive alignment and make swift switches. The odd thing is that when we were doing that, I later read in the media—from my friends—that it was dazzling football. That’s how we scored as well.
That was a team goal, so the goal was much nicer. That is superior to everything. The highlight of this World Cup was that. It was truly a spectacular goal, played at high speed ten times over.”
They operate from a tight defensive alignment and make swift switches. The odd thing is that when we were doing that, I later read in the media—from my friends—that it was dazzling football. That’s how we scored as well.
That was a team goal, so the goal was much nicer. That is superior to everything. The highlight of this World Cup was that. It was truly a spectacular goal, played at high speed ten times over.”
However, the Netherlands will have the opportunity to prove something thanks to a great motivator like Van Gaal.
The two countries last played each other at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Argentina defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals.
Van Gaal stated that he was seeking retribution. “Argentina, who eliminated us previously on penalties, is obviously the nation we are currently facing in the quarterfinals. We still owe each other something.”
