Van Gaal was born in the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
He began playing for the Amsterdam amateur side RKSV de Meer as a child. At the age of 20, he joined Ajax’s second team but was never selected to play in the first team, which at the time featured midfielders such as Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens.
He was loaned to Royal Antwerp of the Belgian First Division, where he finished second in the Belgian top division in 1974 and 1975. Van Gaal suffered a broken nose during his time with Antwerp in a friendly against K.V. Kortrijk. He spent four years in Belgium before returning to his native country, where he played for Telstar in the Eredivisie under the management of Mircea Petescu, who he later transferred to Sparta Rotterdam. Later, he joined AZ, and in 1986, he was appointed an assistant coach there as well. He returned to Ajax after a brief stint at AZ to work as Leo Beenhakker’s assistant. Van Gaal took over as manager after Beenhakker left in 1991.
Van Gaal inserted a number of young players into the starting lineup, including Thomas Müller and Holger Badstuber, and converted winger Bastian Schweinsteiger into a defensive midfielder.
A feud with Italian striker Luca Toni, who had played a key role in Bayern’s league and cup double in 2007-08, led to Toni’s move to Roma. Bayern Munich’s form, on the other hand, improved with two Champions League victories, including an impressive 4-1 victory over Juventus in Turin, allowing them to finish second in their group behind Bordeaux. By March, Bayern had advanced to the DFB-Pokal semi-finals and was leading the Bundesliga, ahead of Bayer Leverkusen. Van Gaal became the first Dutch coach to win the Bundesliga when Bayern Munich defeated Hertha BSC 3-1 on May 8, 2010, to claim the title. Bayern completed the domestic double on May 15, 2010, defeating Werder Bremen 4-0 to win the DFB-Pokal.
Louis van Gaal’s children: Brenda van Gaal, and Renate van Gaal
Van Gaal married at a very young age. Van Gaal met Fernanda Obbes at a Catholic youth group when he was 18 years old. Three years later, they married and had two daughters, Brenda and Renate. Brenda and Renate Van Gaal’s mother, Obbes, died of liver and pancreatic cancer in 1994.
