Following an unharmonious tenure at a club is a lot tougher than filling the boots of a great manager prone to success, as Louis van Gaal is finding out in his early days at Manchester United.
Van Gaal previously took over from Bobby Robson at Barcelona in 1997, inherited a decent squad that had just won three titles the previous season and endured some rough moments at first.
“His first days in charge of Barca were not easy and he had to fight so that the players understood his own personal football vision,” says the Barcelona website.
However Van Gaal went on to win the title in his first term and said picking up all the pieces from the ill-fated David Moyes reign at Old Trafford last season – as opposed to perhaps succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson – is a different matter.
“When there is success you have a very good squad, and now I have to follow and the squad was broken I think.
“When you look at the squad, there is quality. There is (Wayne) Rooney, (Robin) van Persie, (Javier) Hernandez, (Danny) Welbeck, but you also see Juan Mata, (Marouane) Fellaini, and you see (Ander) Herrera.
“There are a lot of players that can play in the same position. It is not in balance. It’s more difficult to succeed in a difficult situation than in a fantastic situation.”
Main image courtesy of onsoranje via YouTube, with thanks.
