Three Champions League finals, including a 1995 win, and a World Cup third-place with Netherlands are the headlines in a glittering career for Louis van Gaal. The Dutch manager is a legend of the game and his words are not taken lightly by players.
To an impressionable 23-year-old compatriot, making his way in football, one-to-one conversations are a special experience. Pascal Struijk, proud to be considered good enough for van Gaal’s World Cup long list, would find one silver lining in his eventual omission.
Asked if he had spoken to the national boss, the Leeds United defender said: “Not before [I was named on the long list], but just before the World Cup he was going to call the people that weren’t in the squad. I spoke to him.”
