Juan Mata has expressed his surprise that ‘imposing’ Louis van Gaal turned out to have a ‘sensitive’ side while in charge of Manchester United.
Van Gaal took over at Old Trafford in summer 2014 after David Moyes failed to make it through a full season in charge following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from the club.
Mata was already a Manchester United player having arrived from Chelsea six months earlier, and enjoyed working with van Gaal both on the pitch and off it: Mata enjoyed his best spell of form for the club in the Dutchman’s two years in charge with 20 goals and 14 assists in 89 appearances.
Juan Mata: "Van Gaal has a human side to him and was very emotional"
United will take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon hoping to claim the trophy for the first time since van Gaal's last game in charge: a 2-1 comeback victory over Crystal Palace in which Mata scored the equaliser before Jesse Lingard won it in extra time.
Speaking in the latest edition of FourFourTwo Magazine, Mata reminisced about that game, saying: "It was a goal that put us back in the game, because we were losing. It was the famous afternoon of Alan Pardew’s little dance. Then we won with a great goal from Jesse Lingard.
"When you’re in England, you realise how important that competition is. I had already won one with Chelsea and it was fantastic to do it with Manchester United, too."
Mata was sad to see that Van Gaal dismissed just five days later, with Jose Mourinho later appointed as his replacement. Asked what it was like to work under van Gaal, the midfielder replied: “On a personal level, fantastic.
“Even though he has that tough, inflexible façade, he has a human side to him and was very emotional when he spoke to you alone about football or personal matters.
“He had a sensitivity that I was surprised about, for the better. He played a game of dominating the ball, which suited me, but it wasn’t easy because we only managed to win the FA Cup and he didn’t go on.
“When he arrived, we went to Los Angeles for pre-season. During the camp he called us all, one by one, to an office he had in the hotel.
“He was sitting there with a glass of wine and Ryan Giggs next to him. Van Gaal was imposing because he spoke very close to you. ‘Introduce yourself,’ he said.
“I didn’t understand what he meant, so I said ‘My name is Juan Mata, I’m 26 years old…’ He replied, ‘No, no… as a person, what do you like? What excites you?’
“We started talking about family and ended up talking about football, his preferences and where he saw me.”
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