van-gaal
Louis Van Gaal

Former Manchester United manager and Netherlands’ coach, Louis Van Gaal has retired from football after a successful 26 year career. The 65 year old cited family issues as  reason for his decision to quit his coaching career but a leading Netherlands tabloid, De Telegraaf said it was partly because of the death of  his son-in-law last month.

In his interview with the daily, he said: “So much has happened in my family, you become a human being again with your nose pressed to the facts.”

Van Gaal who says he had received offers in the Far East, said he was quite indecisive about his career would go further: “I thought maybe I would stop, then I thought it would be a sabbatical, but now I do not think I will return to coaching.”

The Dutch coach played as a midfielder for Ajax, Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ between 1972 and 1987 before moving into coaching, beginning as an assistant AZ and then Ajax. Van Gaal replaced Leo Beenhakke as Ajax head coach in 1991 and went on to preside over a period of sustained success, winning the Dutch league title on three occasions as well as the 1992 UEFA Cup and the 1995 Champions League title.

He had a brief show as coach of Barcelona FC and went on to manage the Netherlands national football team for a while. After clinching the Eredivisie with AZ in 2008–09, he was hired by Bayern Munich on  July 1, 2009. During his first season at Bayern, he claimed the Bundesliga title, won the DFB-Pokal, and reached the final of the Champions League.

In July 2012, Van Gaal was appointed manager of the Netherlands for the second time and led them to third place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, before leaving for Manchester United. He was replaced by Jose Mourinho as Man. U’s boss in 2016.