Kilimall

Monday, November 30, 2015

FERGUSON VS VAN GAAL

Ferguson vs Van Gaal
Ferguson  started as a manager at the edge of 32 years at East Stirlingshire. He was quickly snapped up by St Mirren where he won the Old first division title. Aberdeen came for him and the rest is history. The tables below show his achievements at both Manchester United and Aberdeen. At Manchester United he took time to settle but after winning his first trophy in 1990 and the second the European cup winners cup in 1991 against Barcelona  his star started to rise until his retirement as a Manchester United manager in 2013.
The table below shows his achievements but success is not measured only with trophies but his ability to create a team, protect his players from media and dressing room harmony. Ferguson was known for his hairdryer treatment of the players but the players never reported him to the media except David Beckham.
To Ferguson the team came first before the player. No player was bigger than the club and if it means selling the player for the sake of dressing room harmony he would do it. Jaap Stam tried he was sold immediately to Lazio.
David Beckham tried and immediately he was on his way to Madrid.
The table below summarizes Ferguson Achievements at both Aberdeen and Manchester United.
Team
Title
Year
Aberdeen
SPL (3)
1980, 1984, 1985

SCOTTISH CUP (4), SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP(1)
1982, 1983,1984,1986,1986

UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP
1983

Team
Title
Year
Manchester United
Premier League (13)
1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013

FA CUP(5)
1990,1994,1996,1999 and 2004

League Cup (4)
1992, 2006, 2009, 2010

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (2)
1999 and 2008

Louis Van Gaal
He is one of the most decorated managers of the game. His playing career started at Ajax Amsterdam and ended at Az Alkmar.
He started his management career at AZ as an assistant then he moved to Ajax Amsterdam also as an assistant.
He was appointed the Manager of of Ajax in 1991. The period 1991-1997 is one of the most successful time of Van Gaal.
His Achievements at Ajax were phenomenal.
In 1992 he won the UEFA CUP, in 1993 the KNVB CUP.
The Eredivisie titles followed in 1994, 95 and 96.
In 1995 he won the the Eredivisie title unbeaten.
Ajax European football dominance was also witnessed during this time.  In 1995 he won the European Champions League against the defending champions AC Milan. 1996 he lost the Champions League final against Juventus.
It should be noted that most of this trophies were achieved with homegrown players from the Ajax Academy. Players like Patrick Kluivert,  Edgar Davids came later to dominate football.
It was no surprise when Barcelona came calling.
At Barca he won two la liga titles and the Copa del Rey but a clash of personalities with his players caused him to move in may 2000.
An unsuccessful stint as Netherlands coach and a second return to Barcelona followed. The second stint was worse and he had to cut short his contract in mid-season.
In 2008 while managing AZ he surprised many by winning the Eredivisie.
A successful stint as the Netherlands team manager followed. Now he is at Manchester United.
Playing style
Van Gaal style is about dominating possession until an opening arrives. This leads to so many sideways passing and passing backwards. Some critics have called the style ugly because it does not allow individual brilliance. It has also been argued his style is too rigid and creating chances for scoring is minimal. His rigid structure has always lead to clash with players especially Rivaldo at Barcelona where Van Gaal wanted to use him as a winger but Rivaldo preferred to play centrally.
But it has been fruitful if you consider the number of trophies he has won down the road.

Team building as compared to Ferguson
Van Gaal is credited with giving youth a chance just as Ferguson used to do. He has discovered football gems such as Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona, Thomas Muller at Bayern Munich and many more.

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