Thursday 12th June, 2014
Holland midfielder Nigel de Jong has dubbed Louis van Gaal "a winner" and insisted he was not surprised when the Dutch FA handed the 62-year-old the job of succeeding Bert van Marwijk.
Van Marwijk led Holland to the final of the 2010 World Cup and some eyebrows were raised when Van Gaal was selected as his successor, especially in light of a prior failure to qualify the Oranje for the 2002 World Cup.
But former Manchester City midfielder De Jong was not shocked at the choice and believes the 2002 debacle left Van Gaal hungry to put right what went wrong during his first spell as Holland boss.
"Van Gaal is a top coach, a winner and loves challenges", De Jong told Inside Futbol.
"After missing out on qualification for the 2002 World Cup, taking Holland to Brazil meant a lot for him."
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Nevertheless, there are marked differences in the approaches of Van Gaal and Van Marwijk to the game, De Jong explained.
"Every coach has his own philosophy.
"Tactically speaking, there are a lot of differences between Van Gaal and Van Marwijk. The first has a more attacking approach", the defensive midfielder added.
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