Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is widely known for being the master of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese has gone on to receive several accolades in world football. He has already lifted more than 20 major titles with four different clubs across Europe. Van Gaal, on the hand, is on his last legs when it comes to his club management career. The 62-year-old recently replaced David Moyes is the new boss at Manchester United. He will be coming up against his apprentice for the first time this season. Van Gaal and Mourinho have faced each other a few years ago in the Champions League final.
Mourinho’s Inter Milan took on Van Gaal’s Bayern Munich team at the Santiago Bernebeu in the 2010 final. Despite dominating for most of the match, Bayern Munich were defeated by the Italian club. Many see the upcoming match against Chelsea as an opportunity for van Gaal to take revenge for this defeat. It has also been mentioned that Mourinho will be once again showing huge admiration for Van Gaal, as he played a major role his career. The Dutchman has rejected such praises by saying that Mourinho became a self-made man with his own set of tactics.
“He talks about Louis van Gaal and also Bobby Robson, and I appreciate that, but you always do it by yourself. I was also an apprentice when I was the assistant coach of Leo Beenhakker (at Ajax) and it’s good that my eyes were also open at that time. And it’s good that Jose Mourinho’s eyes were very open when he was my assistant, but you do it by yourself. He’s such a wonderful coach. And to see that he’s been a champion in different countries is fantastic,” said the United manager, who has been seeing his team improve in recent weeks.