After an outstanding football career, the renowned manager Louis Van Gaal has retired again after the World Cup, know his full real name
Aloysius Paulus Maria “Louis” van Gaal was born on 8 August 1951. He is a Dutch former football player and manager.
As a manager, he led the Dutch national team three times. In addition to stints at Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich, and Manchester United. Van Gaal led the Netherlands for the third time in Qatar.
Ex-Netherlands manager Louis Van Gaal full real name revealed
With 20 major titles to his name, Van Gaal is one of the most successful managers in football history. The “Iron Tulip” is another name for him. Fans are just now realising that Louis Van Gaal actually uses shorter form of the Dutch coach’s full name.
His Dutch squad had been performing well, but they were eliminated in a quarterfinal match against Argentina. Fans of the 71-year-career old’s in football probably felt they knew everything there was to know about him.
But the fact that one of his middle names is “Maria” will still surprise some people. For those wondering, Aloysius Paulus Maria Louis van Gaal is the full name of the former manager of Manchester United.
Another Dutch player with short name like Louis Van Gaal
Wout Weghorst, another player who may be headed to Old Trafford, also has the name “Maria” as a middle name. Wout François Maria Weghorst is the full name of the Burnley striker.
This past April, Van Gaal shared that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He elaborated afterwards on how nicely his treatment was progressing for the disease. Additionally, he stated that following the World Cup, he would not be accepting any other employment.
Van Gaal was a midfielder for several clubs before becoming a coach. Including Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax, and AZ Alkmaar. In addition to playing semi-professional football, he taught physical education in high schools.
Louis Van Gaal rise from assistant to head coach
Gaal was an assistant at AZ for a short time before following Leo Beenhakker to Ajax, where he stayed until becoming the club’s head coach in 1991. His tenure as manager saw the club win three Eredivisie championships, as well as the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. When he arrived at Barcelona in 1997, he won two league titles and one Copa del Rey before departing due to differences with the club’s administration.
Van Gaal was then appointed Dutch coach, but his team was eliminated in the group stage in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Following this, he spent some time at Barcelona again before heading back to AZ, where he helped the club win its second Eredivisie championship. Bayern Munich signed him in 2009, and during his time there he helped the club win the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, and the UEFA Champions League.
He was brought back for a second stint as Dutch manager and guided the team to a bronze medal at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Later that summer, Manchester United hired him; he led them to an FA Cup victory before being let go in 2016. Despite saying he was leaving management in 2019 for “family reasons,” Van Gaal was named the Netherlands’ head coach for a third time in August 2021.
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