Van Gaal to coach Dutch national team
July 7th, 2012 - 6:40 pm ICT by IANS
The Hague, July 7 (IANS) The Dutch football association KNVB has appointed Louis van Gaal as the new head coach of the Netherlands national team.
Van Gaal succeeds Bert van Marwijk, who quit after a disappointing early exit at Euro 2012. He signed a contract Friday until the 2014 World Cup and will start his work Aug 1. His first match will be a friendly against Belgium 15 days later. Former Ajax and Netherlands player Danny Blind will be his assistant, reported Xinhua.
“I am pleased that the KNVB has approached me,” Van Gaal reacted in a KNVB press release. “This is the challenge that I was waiting for.”
Van Gaal, 60, previously coached the Dutch national team in 2000 and 2001. He decided to quit after he failed to lead the “Oranje” to the 2002 World Cup.
Van Gaal last worked with Bayern Munich where he won the German double and reached the Champions League final in 2010. However in April 2011 he was fired after a series of bad results. Van Gaal also worked as coach of AZ Alkmaar, Ajax and FC Barcelona.
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