Louis van Gaal Slammed by Johan Cruyff over Manchester United Fixture Complaint
Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff took a shot at Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal in his weekly column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, blasting him for his recent comments on the Premier League's busy holiday schedule.
As reported by the Daily Mail's Mark Gleeson, the former Ajax and Barcelona ace told Van Gaal he chose to come to England knowing full well what the fixture list would look like:
"If you choose for (a job in) England, then you choose for their successful system, which is based on the proposition that the stadiums open as soon as the fans are available to watch, which is the holiday period.
Playing football between Christmas and New Year is a war of attrition and thus in favour of physically stronger teams. It has been working (well) since time immemorial and in 100 years it will still be so.
Complaining makes no sense if everyone else around you is happy. Moreover, everybody is well paid for working over the holiday period.
"
Van Gaal openly voiced his complaints with the Premier League's heavy fixture list during the festive period, per Gleeson, even going so far as to suggest it was in violation of UEFA and FIFA regulations:
"Everybody knows the body cannot recover within 48 hours.
Therefore there is a rule within UEFA and FIFA that you cannot play the games within two days. The scientists have proven it, everybody knows it and, in spite of that, we have to play.
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Cruyff and Van Gaal have been involved in a bitter and longstanding feud dating back to their playing days with Ajax, as detailed by the Daily Mail's Maarten Meijer. The two have been trading shots in the media for decades, so it was no surprise when Cruyff dedicated his latest column to his old nemesis.
The two had similar successful coaching careers and crossed paths time and time again, gradually establishing themselves as two of the greatest managers in Dutch football history.
However, both are also known for their egos, resulting in numerous jabs.
During an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail's Rob Draper, Cruyff emphasised he disagreed with Van Gaal's tactics at the 2014 World Cup, despite the Netherlands' massive success in Brazil (h/t SBS' Craig Foster):
The man who became the face of the Netherlands' "Total Football" philosophy denied he has a feud with Van Gaal, although all of the evidence points to the contrary, per Dutch Football:
"Johan Cruyff denies feud with Louis van Gaal, "People always create a lot of things that are not there. I never have a problem with nobody."
— Dutch Football (@football_oranje) October 4, 2014"
In his column, Cruyff does little more than repeat what pundits in England—including Bleacher Report's Stan Collymore—have already said: The festive period is a tradition in English football, and foreign managers know what they're in for when they put pen to paper.
Van Gaal has every right to complain but little to demand change. The holiday season has been filled with plenty—and perhaps even too much—football for more than 100 years, and as Cruyff stated in his column, that won't change any time soon.
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