Louis van Gaal turns players against him, claims Manchester City chief Ferran Soriano
Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has sparked a potential row with neighbours United after claiming their prospective new coach Louis van Gaal has a habit of turning players against him.
United are on the verge of agreeing terms with Dutch veteran Van Gaal and hope to confirm him as the long-term replacement for David Moyes next Wednesday.
However, City’s Spanish chief executive Soriano - who worked at one of Van Gaal’s former clubs Barcelona - believes the 62-year-old is a confrontational coach who risks alienating players wherever he works.
Bold: Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano (right) said Louis van Gaal turns players against him
Soriano said: ‘If you treat your people badly, they remember. One day you make an error and they kill you. I’ve seen this in many clubs.
‘Louis van Gaal has been a very good coach in many clubs but his style is very difficult. The same thing happened to him in Barcelona as in Bayern Munich.
‘He is very tough, people don’t like him, but he wins. And one day you don’t win — and when you don’t win, everybody that is angry with you will come back to you and try to kill you.
‘In the movies this works, in real life it doesn’t.’
Van Gaal, currently coach of the Holland national team, had two spells at Barcelona. His second ended when he was sacked in January 2003. Soriano joined the club later that year and stayed until 2008.
Soriano made his comments at a conference in March, before he knew about United’s interest in Van Gaal. He added: ‘Before you decide how to manage your team, decide what they need.
‘Do you need to be more direct? Do you need to delegate more? Do you need to be more of a coach? Are you able to manage people? How much do you know about your job? How can you be a leader if you don’t manage people well and don’t know what you are talking about?’
Soriano also said in his 2012 book Goal: The Ball Doesn’t Go In By Chance: ‘Louis van Gaal has won titles with different teams, big and small, and he’s thought to have little empathy and social skills.
‘I couldn’t help but smile when I heard Uli Hoeness, Bayern Munich’s [then] technical director, explain why Van Gaal wouldn’t continue to coach the Bavarian team: “Van Gaal doesn’t listen, it has to be whatever he says”.
‘It seems his reputation is justified.’
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2618156/Louis-van-Gaal-turns-players-against-claims-Manchester-City-chief-Ferran-Soriano.html