You have let 17 players go and brought in 10 since taking charge at Manchester United. Did you expect to make that many changes?
LVG “I believe in refreshment in teams. You need that, to keep the spirit in the teams and also the challenge to be in the line-up, and before my time it was not done like that. We had a lot of old players aged 35, 34, so we needed to refresh but it was difficult for me because I was new and I had to do it at once. After that I made my selection. In my preparation I let players go and we bought up to the last day of August [last year]. Now we have all the positions double-occupied it is a better balance. Certainly the players have already been working with us for one year, with me and the staff, and are used to the philosophy. Now we have to implement that with the new players and that will happen every year because I believe in refreshment of the group.”
Can you still achieve what you hoped at the start of your three-year contract?
“I hope I shall end my career with the championship of course. That would be fantastic because that is also the aim of Manchester United. My personal aim is that I shall be a manager with four championships in four different countries and, in my opinion, the best countries of Europe.”
Do you have the squad to provide a realistic chance of winning the title this season?
“We at Manchester United only buy players who can contribute to our level. You can write down every player that you want, every name that you can say, but it is difficult because you need the player, the club and the price [to agree], so it is not as easy as you think. You have seen that Memphis Depay is a talent, at his age, maybe the best talent. That was voted by the media or maybe the coaches at the World Cup. Matteo Darmian is from a small club but he was also at Milan so is a late developer. Also Bastian Schweinsteiger can contribute as a senior player with a lot of quality. Morgan Schneiderlin has to prove it because he was at Southampton where maybe he was the leader; now he is here and I believe in him, that is why he is here. I want more players but it is not always possible.”
Was Robin van Persie allowed to go because he scored only 10 Premier League goals?
“There is also the choice of Wayne Rooney. People have written all season that Rooney is a striker, now you ask about Van Persie. You have seen Adnan Januzaj score against Barcelona in Saturday’s 3-1 pre-season victory and in two weeks Chicharito [Javier Hernández], will be fit or maybe I will buy another striker. I have to always evaluate that process. Rooney says that he will score at the minimum 25 goals. Last season I had a top scorer with 12 goals and Van Persie had 10. So if I have a striker that scores 25, Rooney is more or less saying that I am better off. Not only Rooney has to score but other players have to score and we all have to concede less.”
Is Januzaj not a wide player?
“I have given him a chance in that position and you will have to see if he can do it or not but he has a lot of quality and against Barcelona he showed it for the first time.”
Arsène Wenger said United are buying their way to glory, almost inferring you are abandoning your principles. Is that correct?
“I don’t speak about my colleagues; I never speak about colleagues. It is their responsibility.”
But you have brought through young players?
“You can write that but I don’t want to respond.”
Could you walk away in two years if you haven’t achieved what you want?
“Yes, I can do that.”
If you didn’t win a title in the next two years could you still walk away?
“That would be a pity. And then Manchester United shall fire me.”
United have backed you on everything. Does that increase pressure on you to deliver?
“No, I have read that in the papers but it’s not like that. Of course, I have my influence but I also have to listen to my board. The pressure I put on myself is much higher.”
The United fans loved your speech at the end-of-season awards. Was it deliberate?
“No, that’s who I am. It was my feeling, my feeling of the season. It was an intimate celebration and I didn’t expect that it should be filmed and put on YouTube but you have seen Louis van Gaal – who I am.”
Do you enjoy this job?
“The first thing for a manager is always that the board is supporting him. That’s the most important thing. And in this club that’s unbelievable. Then we have the fans. And then we have the challenge and it is a big challenge. It’s not so easy, I know that. The players know that, because that’s also very important, but we believe in it. Against Barcelona in Santa Clara we have showed that a little bit again because Barcelona is a fantastic team. We have to deliver at the time when we have to compete with them. Maybe, I hope, in the Champions League.”
