New Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has expressed
delights about his players’ commitment and response to his tactics three
days into the tour of the United States of America.The Premier League club are scheduled to play at least four pre-season friendlies; beginning with tonight’s clash with Major League Soccer (MLS) club LA Galaxy.
“I have to say that it has been fantastic,” said the Dutch boss in his pre-game press conference at the Rose Bowl Stadium.
Louis van Gaal Passes Instruction During Tuesday Night’s Training Session in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium. Image: Man United.
“Maybe you think every coach who is new should say that but I mean it. They are anxious to follow the instructions of my assistants. The focus I have seen in the training sessions is top-level, but we have to see if the performance is top-level.
The former Netherlands manager was however critical of the clubs pre-season tour schedule in the States.
United play LA Galaxy in Pasadena on Wednesday, before matches against AS Roma, Inter Milan and Real Madrid in Denver, Washington and Detroit.
Van Gaal, 62, blamed “commercial activities” for the amount of trip the team embarks upon.
“You have to travel distances, you have to fly a lot, you also have jetlag- that is not very positive for a good preparation,” he said.
Fresh from leading Holland to a third-place finish at the World Cup, Van Gaal nonetheless accepts he will learn to adapt to United but thinks the club will also need to come to terms with his own assessments on some certain subjects.
“Maybe it is too big a club,” he opined. “Not only in a sporting sense but also commercially. We have to do a lot of things that normally I don’t allow.
“The tour was already arranged so I have to adapt to this big club but I think also this big club has to adapt to Louis van Gaal. I hope we can have some balance to that.”
Tuesday’s training session at the Rose Bowl stadium- venue of the 1994 World Cup final- was watched by 2,500 spectators, who are already looking on to a new dawn in the club’s long-existing history.
The manager admits there is little atmosphere of excitement in his camp ahead of Wednesday night’s game- his first at the helm of the club.
The Chevrolet Cup match is key for the fans’ assessment of the new coach’s style, formation and tactics, but Van Gaal says it is the opening Old Trafford fixture against Spanish outfit Valencia that has already crept into a vital block in his mind.
“Your first match is always special when you are coaching in a new club,” he told MUTV. “But it’s a match in preparation time. I think the game against Valencia at Old Trafford is more the match that I will feel the tension.
“I hope that my team is supported by the fans. That is very important because after last season, the fans are not spoiled, and I hope we can spoil these fans in this season.”
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