Five years ago, Louis van Gaal was a manager in demand.
Preparing for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, it was known that then the Netherlands coach would be leaving his post at the end of the tournament, and clubs across Europe were taking note.
Two were in the Premier League: Manchester United and Tottenham.
As reported by Standard Sport at the time, Van Gaal – along with now Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino – was a leading candidate for the Tottenham job with Daniel Levy desperate to heal the wounds left by former coaches Tim Sherwood and Andre Villas-Boas.
Spurs were believed to have held talks with Van Gaal in France as early as March that year as they planned for the new season, but United’s interest was also known. They too, after all, were looking to rebuild after David Moyes' ill-fated appointed as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor.
It was no surprise that Van Gaal opted for Old Trafford over White Hart Lane in the end. Even now the lure of United would be hard to snub for Spurs, but even more so back then, such has been the strikes taken by Tottenham under Pochettino’s guidance.
And in an in-depth interview with BBC’s Simon Stone, Van Gaal admitted that, maybe, taking the Spurs job would have been a better choice in hindsight.
"Tottenham were a better selection because Manchester United were an old team and I knew I would have to transform them," Van Gaal says. "Was it the wrong choice? Maybe, but I follow my heart. I worked at the number one team in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and now also in England."
Van Gaal – despite signing a three-year contract with United – lasted only two seasons at Old Trafford. He was sacked just two days after winning the FA Cup, with Jose Mourinho installed by the end of the week.
It came as no shock to Van Gaal – nor the media. An air of change had been circling round the club for some time.
"To win the FA Cup when, for six months, the media has a noose round my neck, is my biggest achievement.
"I spoke to Woodward the day after that game. His argument was that I was only going to be there for one more year and Mourinho would be there for three, four or five. I appreciate he hired a private plane to get me back to Portugal but his arguments were not good enough
