From Ajax-Barcelona-Bayern and Man Utd: Van Gaal the academy king
Long out of the Premier League title race and the Capital One Cup, last week’s Europa League exit meant that Manchester United’s trip to the Etihad saw them very much enter the penultimate-chance saloon in terms of their prospects of salvaging their season.
They are still just about in the FA Cup, but defeat in the local derby would have all but ruled them out of finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League. They made this short but crucial journey with a team packed full of youngsters, with an average age in their starting line-up of 25 years, and they came away with a win to boot.
Louis van Gaal will not leave behind great memories when he eventually departs Manchester United, but his legacy could well pave the way for future success.
The Dutchman is arguably the coach who can lay claim to having given the most chances to academy graduates over his long career. Indeed, in under two seasons at Old Trafford, he has handed debuts to 14 home-grown youngsters, six last term and eight this time round.
Van Gaal’s latest discovery is Marcus Rashford, who has made waves with five goals in eight appearances and is already featuring on the front pages of newspapers, which have taken no time at all in touting him for an England call-up.
The coach showed his credentials for youth development right from the start. At Ajax, he brought through the likes of Edwin van der Sar, the De Boer brothers, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Nwankwo Kanu and Patrick Kluivert.
It was a similar story when he arrived at Barcelona. Another 14 academy players got their breakthrough under Van Gaal over the course of four seasons. Club legends such as Xavi, Carles Puyol, VÃctor Valdés and Andrés Iniesta took their first steps in the ‘Azulgranas’ first team thanks to the Dutch tactician.
Things were no different at Bayern Munich, where David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Thomas Müller were just three of the influential tyros blooded by the man for whom faith in the academy is like a religion.
