Louis van Gaal
b. 1951
Dutch footbal player and manager
- Born
- 8 Aug 1951 · Amsterdam
Life timeline
Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.
- 8 Aug 1951BornBorn in Amsterdam
- 1972 – 1973TeamAFC Ajax
- 1973 – 1977TeamRoyal Antwerp F.C.
- 1977 – 1978TeamSC Telstar
- 1978 – 1986TeamSparta Rotterdam
- 1986 – 1987TeamAZ Alkmaar
- 2003 – 2004TeamAFC Ajax
- 2010AwardFootball Manager of the Year
- 2023AwardOfficer of the Order of Orange-Nassau
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Meanwhile in the world
Major world events during their lifetime (1951 – today).
- 1953 – 1959Cuban Revolution
- 19541954 FIFA World Cup
- 1955 – 1975Vietnam War
- 1956Hungarian Revolution of 1956
- 1956Suez Crisis
- 19581958 FIFA World Cup
- 1959Antarctic Treaty System
- 19621962 FIFA World Cup
- 1962Cuban Missile Crisis
- 19661966 FIFA World Cup
- 1966 – 1976Cultural Revolution
- 1968Prague Spring
- 1969Apollo 11 Moon landing
- 19721972 Summer Olympics
- 19741974 FIFA World Cup
- 19781978 FIFA World Cup
- 1978 – 1979Iranian Revolution
- 1979 – 1989Soviet–Afghan War
- 1980 – 1988Iran–Iraq War
- 19841984 Summer Olympics
- 1985Schengen Agreement
- 19891989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
- 1989Fall of the Berlin Wall
- 19901990 FIFA World Cup
- 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- 19941994 FIFA World Cup
- 1994 – 1996First Chechen War
- 19981998 FIFA World Cup
- 2001 – 2021War in Afghanistan
- 2003 – 2011Iraq War
- 20042004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
- 20062006 FIFA World Cup
- 20082008 Summer Olympics
- 2008Russo-Georgian War
- 20102010 Haiti earthquake
- 2010 – 2012Arab Spring
- 20112011 Norway attacks
- 2011Libyan civil war
- 2011 – 2024Syrian civil war
- 20122012 Summer Olympics
Biography
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (Dutch pronunciation: [luˈʋi vɑŋ ˈɣaːl] ; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spells in charge of the Netherlands national team. Nicknamed the "Iron Tulip", Van Gaal has won 20 major honours in his managerial career at club level.
Before his career as a coach, Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and AZ. He is also a qualified physical education teacher, and worked at high schools during his career as a semi-professional footballer. After a brief spell as an assistant coach at AZ, Van Gaal served as an assistant under Leo Beenhakker at Ajax, and eventually took over as head coach in 1991. Under his lead, the club won three Eredivisie titles, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He moved to Barcelona in 1997 and won two league titles and one Copa del Rey, but left after disagreements with the club's hierarchy.
Van Gaal was then appointed at the Netherlands, but failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This preceded another brief spell at Barcelona, before he returned to AZ, where he won an Eredivisie title, the club's second ever in its history. He moved to Bayern Munich in 2009, and in Germany won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League. He returned to manage the Netherlands for a second time, where he led the nation to a third-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed manager of Manchester United later that summer, where he won the FA Cup before he was dismissed only days later. Despite announcing his retirement in 2019, due to family reasons, Van Gaal returned to management in August 2021, when he was appointed as head coach of the Netherlands for a third time. He retired from management after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He later served as adviser to the Supervisory Board of Ajax from October 2023 until July 2026.
Text from the Wikipedia article Louis van Gaal, CC BY-SA 4.0
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