The basis of my confidence is that I wasn't a talented player. I was a talented human being. At school, I always had good figures. I was the captain of all my football teams. I studied physical education at the Academy, so I learned to analyse, to observe, and to take decisions.
— Louis van Gaal
Preparing your tactical formation is essential. Each player needs to know where he has to be, and that is why there needs to be mutual understanding: because you need absolute discipline.
Players count for nothing. The team is everything.
A World Cup is always special because it is the highest podium on which you can show your abilities as an individual player or coach, and as a team.
I am used to a lot of criticism.
As coaches, we have to give a lot of information. Too much, I think.
It was very difficult to succeed Bert van Marwijk because, two years before, he was second in the World Cup, and then he left a broken-up team behind - so that was much more difficult than you think.
I criticize the media for inventing stories.
You always need the hunger to play in the first team.
I have a philosophy. I was convinced of it, and by winning trophies in four countries, I proved the philosophy worked.
When I speak, I am well articulated.
Of course I have ambition to become World Champions with Oranje.
Success at United doesn't depend on money but about which players we bring in.
When I was coach at Ajax, in the first half of the season, the players needed time to adapt to me, to know who I am as a person and as a coach.
I don't think my players are robots. They are humans and make errors.
To look at the players, to communicate with the players, to observe and to analyze - that's my job.
I'm always honest.
I was a fan of Henk Groot, former striker of Ajax, who scored many goals with his head. I thought, 'I can do that also,' but I couldn't.
The coach is the focal point of the team, but you need to have an open mind, and so do all the players. Everyone needs to work together to achieve a common goal.
With Luis Enrique, I never expected he would become a coach. He was an intuition player; he didn't speak with me about tactics.
I watch the Premier League, the Spanish and Dutch leagues, and a little bit of the German league.
Sometimes players are very fed up with my communication, but that's what I do, and they know how I think. But they know I am very transparent.
The most important thing about a person is that you know who you are and what you want. You should be capable of introspection and evaluate yourself.
I had to follow Bobby Robson at Barcelona. He had won three titles.
It's not always the fault of the manager when a player is not performing well, I can tell you.
I look for players who do not just score goals but provide an attacking point, linking with other players and able to see the third man as well. Van Persie is one of the best strikers around at that.
My conviction is that a full professional also wants to live professionally.
I think it's fantastic to be here in England. They live football: football is living, and living is football.
A player needs to focus on one thing to be successful, while a coach is thinking about the whole process.
We need to learn that in the Champions League, the referees are vigilant and quick to whistle.
Winning the FA Cup with Manchester United was my biggest achievement.
I have to treat all of the players at the same level with the same rules and same demands. It's difficult to understand, because the outside world is thinking when you pay a lot for the player, then you have to put him in the squad.
When I have signed for clubs, I have always spoken a long time with the CEO or with the owners, not only at United, but also at Bayern Munich and Barcelona, and I have the faith that they always support me.
I'm not a stupid man.
I was 11 when my father died, so I didn't know my father so well.
A system depends on the players you have.
When you have an older group of players, they play on automatic pilot a lot of the time, but with youngsters, you have more intuition.
You have to deal with a lot of things when you are a professional football player, and that is not so easy.
I hope that all the people who work with me remember me as a human being.
The most important thing is they have to know why we do things and when. A lot of players are playing intuitively, and I want them to think and know why they do something.
I speak English my way, but people understand it. You can understand everything I say, and that's the most important thing.
I think you have to refresh the squad every year, and I have done it with all my clubs.
I am proud people still like me. That is what is most important in life.
Having coached Ajax, Barcelona, the Netherlands, FC Bayern, and Manchester United like I did, it is difficult for any offer to be interesting.
The accommodation for the players to dress themselves, to change into their club shirts, are in most stadiums not so good.
It's not hard at all to make the switch from United to Oranje. For a manager, it's totally different than for a player.
It's difficult to beat German teams. They don't play as attractively as, for example, you have it in the English league or in the Spanish league. But to break a German team is not very easy.
It's very important to win your home games.
Every player gets his time, no matter who you are.
I believe in Manchester United.
