Koeman Asserts Superiority over Old Rival Van Gaal by Beating Manchester United

Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester United will have been sweet for anyone connected with Southampton, for obvious reasons, but one imagines Ronald Koeman will have celebrated Dusan Tadic's winner with particular gusto.

Not only was the victory more vindication for the Dutchman's approach since taking over at St Mary's in the summer, but it was one over his former friend but now great rival Louis van Gaal.

The pair fell out years ago while they were both working for Ajax, and in the interim, Van Gaal has referred to Koeman as "that boy" and "weak."

Koeman told The Independent's Sam Wallace earlier this season:

"

We had a problem because I was the coach of Ajax and he [Van Gaal] came in as technical director. We had some problems in the relation between his job and my job. First he left Ajax and, after three and a half years I left, too.

It was difficult because it was a problem in the relation in football. But you know, if there is a problem in football relations then there is also a problem outside of football. Never more was there the contact that we had before. Sometimes a little bit fighting [dispute] between each other.

"

The rivalry goes beyond football and is perhaps exemplified by the story, as told by many including Jonathan Liew in The Telegraph, of Koeman building his dream home on the Algarve, only for Van Gaal to build a bigger, more expensive one just down the street.

Away from the personal rivalry, the result at Old Trafford will be particularly satisfying for Koeman because it perhaps represents the culmination of a superb recovery for Southampton after an autumn blip that could have seen their season derailed.

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The Saints' fantastic start to the season saw them lose just two of their opening 12 games, but the strike against the team was that the fixture list had been particularly kind to them. The only two games against sides that finished above them last season, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, were the ones they lost, so the accusation of them being flat-track bullies was one easy to level.

Sure enough, when tougher tests came around, Southampton then went on a run of four straight defeats, against Manchester City, Arsenal, United and a blip against Burnley.

However, it's perhaps Koeman's greatest achievement at St. Mary's so far that this turned out to be merely a blip, with 13 points collected from the last available 15, and more impressive has been the opposition faced in those games. Revenge has been gained over Arsenal and United, while Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw and both Everton and Crystal Palace were dismissed, too.

At this point, unless Southampton suffer a spectacular collapse over the remainder of the season, it's difficult to see anyone else make a more convincing case for manager of the year than Koeman.

The Saints boss himself will perhaps enjoy the comparison with Van Gaal, whose squad has been improved to the tune of £150 million with some of the biggest stars in world football, with no significant departures, but have exactly the same number of points as at the same stage last season (albeit in a higher league position), as noted by OptaJoe:

Southampton, on the other hand, sold four of their key players, replaced them all with lesser known and perhaps more risky alternatives and find themselves nine points and six places better off than after 21 games last term.

Their candidacy for a Champions League place at the end of the season, something that looked, to say the least, highly implausible last summer, now seems quite realistic.

In almost every respect, Koeman is doing a better job than his old adversary, exceeding expectations at the club he took over in the summer, whereas the most generous interpretation of Van Gaal's tenure is that he is just about meeting his targets. For Koeman, that will be especially sweet.