Quotes from Louis van Gaal

It's a principle of my philosophy that you have to respect the individual human being.

I have no ambition to be a technical director or TV pundit.

I think I could have worked as a technical director. But in this role, you can't attend training or say anything for fear it won't suit the coach, directors, or media. I don't think I want a job like that.

You have to deal with a lot of things when you are a professional football player, and that is not so easy.

My conviction is that a full professional also wants to live professionally.

I am proud people still like me. That is what is most important in life.

It's not always the fault of the manager when a player is not performing well, I can tell you.

I was a fan of Henk Groot, former striker of Ajax, who scored many goals with his head. I thought, 'I can do that also,' but I couldn't.

It has been an honor to manage such a magnificent club as Manchester United FC, and in doing so, I have fulfilled a long-held ambition.

The most important thing about a person is that you know who you are and what you want. You should be capable of introspection and evaluate yourself.

There is no winter break, and I think that is the most evil thing of this culture. It is not good for English football. It is not good for the clubs or the national team, and I think you should change it.

Everybody thinks I am a narcissist. I am actually the opposite of that.

The coach is the focal point of the team, but you need to have an open mind, and so do all the players. Everyone needs to work together to achieve a common goal.

It was very difficult to succeed Bert van Marwijk because, two years before, he was second in the World Cup, and then he left a broken-up team behind - so that was much more difficult than you think.

A World Cup is always special because it is the highest podium on which you can show your abilities as an individual player or coach, and as a team.

When you win the FA Cup, you have a title and a very respectable title in England - more than other countries.

I think it is always a success when you win the title.

I had to follow Bobby Robson at Barcelona. He had won three titles.

You always need the hunger to play in the first team.

I hope that all the people who work with me remember me as a human being.

Every human being is special because they all have identities.

In the Netherlands, the press writes what they want.

I think you have to refresh the squad every year, and I have done it with all my clubs.

Sometimes players are very fed up with my communication, but that's what I do, and they know how I think. But they know I am very transparent.