A few weeks ago, just before the start of the World Cup, when Manchester United signed Dutchman Louis Van Gaal to be their new manager, there was a huge sigh of relief from the club’s legion of supporters from all over the world. Their beloved United had suffered immeasurably under young British manager David Moyes, and finished an ignominious seventh in the English Premier League standings, in a season in which their hated rivals, Manchester City not only went on to win the league, but was now seen as the biggest club in Manchester. Things were at a particularly low point for a United fan.
Many had known about Louis Van Gaal as a top notch manager who’d managed some of the biggest clubs in the world such as Barcelona and Ajax and done so with great success. But there was little to prepare them for what their new manager would do with his current assignment with the Dutch national side in the World Cup. Van Gaal’s extraordinary performance as the manager in this World Cup has caused many a Man Utd fan to wonder at their extraordinary luck. Events of the past few weeks and in particular of last night’s match should leave no one in any doubt that Manchester United has signed the best manager in the world! And any lingering doubts would be dispelled by Van Gaal’s masterstroke late into last night’s Holland vs. Costa Rica quarter final match.
Van Gaal’s Dutch players had expected the spirited Costa Ricans to put up a fight and were prepared for it. But that the Central Americans would fend off every Dutch attack for full 90 minutes of the match was unexpected. Even less expected was that their underrated opponents would take the match into a penalty shootout, after a virtuoso defensive performance in the 30 minutes of the extra time as well.
Led by their inspirational captain Bryan Ruiz, the Costa Ricans defended like demons throughout the match, putting their bodies on the line, denying the super attacking duo of Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie any space, closing down every time a Dutch player got the possession of the ball.Their brilliant goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, had another great game, showing just why he is rated so highly by football fans from all over the world. Navas made 6 special saves, while the Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen had to make only one. Scoring a goal was looking increasingly impossible for the Dutch and the match headed for a penalty shootout.
A penalty shootout was more advantageous to Costa Rica as only a few days earlier , they had successfully won their penalty shootout against Greece, in the second round match, with Keylor Navas making a most memorable save that has been replayed on TV sets all over the world many times over. Hence the entire team was brimming with confidence. The Dutch, on the other hand, have never been good at penalty shootouts. Incredibly, for a team of their high standards and great history, the Dutch have lost every single penalty shootout that they were a part of, in all their World Cups.
Louis Van Gaal had enough. He decided that it was time for the biggest gamble of his managerial career, which would either make him a hero, or make a fool out of him for eternity. It was thus that just on the stroke of the 119th minute, that Louis Van Gaal took the greatest risk of his life. Van Gaal makes a substitution, bringing in his second goalkeeper Tim Krul in place of his main goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who had performed adequately for the entire 120 minutes of match. It is unheard of in football for goalkeepers to be substituted unless they get injured. But this substitution by Van Gaal was entirely tactical.
Tim Krul, plays in the English Premier League as a goalkeeper for Newcastle United, a middling club from England’s North-East. Krul has never really played for a big team, his performances throughout his career have been good without being great, but he is reckoned by one and all in the EPL as a fantastic shot stopper, and brilliant at penalty kicks.
Krul was already prepared beforehand by his coach, and knew he would be called upon if the match went beyond extra time. He was in his elements straight away, passing comments to the Costa Rican penalty takers, trying to shake hands, delaying the kicks and convincingly putting up a menacing act – he is over 6 feet 5 inches tall. Krul came with a fresh mindset and he came to win.
And Krul did just what manager expected from him. Bryan Ruiz, the captain of Costa Rica is a calm individual who handles pressure very well. But was he unnerved by Krul’s offer of a handshake and his menacing stare while taking the kick? Whatever it was, it was mighty effective as Krul fell to his left to save Ruiz’s kick, and went on to block the last Costa Rican kick by Umana, winning his team the match as all the Dutch players had already taken their kicks successfully.
Tim Krul justified his manager’s trust in him. Louis Van Gaal gambled it all, and he won! The Dutch are through to the semi-finals. Watch out Lionel Messi and Argentina!!
