Van Gaal surprised by Dutch Coach of the Year award

Forum 9 years ago

Van Gaal surprised by Dutch Coach of the Year award

The Manchester United boss was awarded the prize on Tuesday but admits that he is puzzled by the jury's decision, as his Netherlands side failed to win the World Cup

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admitted he was surprised at being awarded the Dutch Coach of the Year award on Tuesday evening because his Netherlands side "didn't win anything in Brazil".

The 63-year-old guided Oranje to a third-placed finish in the World Cup in the summer and saw his achievements recognised at a gala in Amsterdam.
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However, during his acceptance speech he confessed that the prize puzzled him, having seen his side lose their semi-final against Argentina on penalties.

"I'm standing here with mixed feelings," he said. "We ended in third place, while there are many Olympic champions and world champions here tonight. Maybe I've won this award because of the media."

Such was Van Gaal's ambivalence towards the award, he suggested that he was unsure if he should even attend the awards.

"I wasn't sure if I should turn up here tonight because footballers usually never win these kind of awards," he added. "But, in the end, I thought that you should always go if you are nominated and now I'm standing here as the winner."

Netherlands were crowned Team of the Year at the awards, while Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben won the Sportsman of the Year prize.