Van Gaal quits Ajax
Former Holland boss resigns
Former Holland head coach Louis Van Gaal resigned as technical director at Ajax yesterday.
While the Amsterdam club revived their hopes of Champions League progress with a 3-0 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Van Gaal’s departure ended a period of increasing tension with coach Ronald Koeman.
Van Gaal joined Ajax a year ago. Koeman won the double in his first season back but it soon became apparent that Van Gaal wanted more involvement with the players.
The tension increased when Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sold to Juventus in August and his intended successor - Roda JC Kerkrade’s Arouna Kone - failed a medical.
The coach clashed with Van Gaal after the earlier 4-0 Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich. Koeman believes the expectations for his young and inexperienced squad were unrealistic.
Van Gaal enjoyed a highly successful spell as Ajax coach. He won three Dutch titles, the Champions League, UEFA Cup and World Club Cup.
He led Barcelona to Spanish titles in 1998 and 1999 but resigned the following season, while his spells as Dutch national coach and Ajax technical director have both ended in acrimony.
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