Prior to the incident, Van Gaal was asked about his thoughts on Argentina winger Angel Di Maria’s claim that he was the “worst manager he has played under.” Louis van Gaal left, and Memphis Depay, right, of the Netherlands, arrived at the official training facility on the eve of the World Cup soccer match between Argentina and the Netherlands on December 8, 2022, in Doha, Qatar.
To put it mildly, Van Gaal is a quirky character, and his press conferences are always newsworthy. On Thursday, he and striker Memphis Depay appeared to answer questions regarding the Netherlands’ upcoming match against Argentina. Van Gaal made the offer to give Depay a mouth kiss. The Dutch striker’s expression was one of confusion, despite the fact that everyone else in the vicinity was having a great time laughing.
Angel Di Maria, an Argentine winger, claimed that Van Gaal was the “worst manager he has played under” prior to the incident. Van Gaal was questioned about his opinion of Di Maria’s claim. They shared a locker room for Di Maria’s one-year stay at Manchester United. After a few fits of laughter, Van Gaal regained his composure and stated, “He had a difficult time there.”
He had trouble adjusting to life in the city after burglars broke into his house. This is uncommon: a player telling me how bad of a coach I am. “Usually the other way around, they all say I’m a great coach,” he stated. Memphis [Depay] is seated alongside me here. Additionally, he played for Manchester United. The coach added, “Now we kiss on the mouth.” To clarify, Depay chuckled and wiggled his finger.
“That will not take place. But football works that way,” Van Gaal went on. “Are you not occupied by me? Then you say that I’m an uninteresting coach. He then sought his approval: Did you miss our goal against the USA, which came after a 20-pass sequence? My friends told me that the media covered Brazil’s goal like it was sparkling football. while we did that as well. In point of fact, we both play football the same way,” he said.