page_title: Louis van Gaal
section_title: Club
hierarchical_section_title: Louis van Gaal / Career statistics / Club
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Sparta-Feyenoord, 1-4. Van links naar rechts: scheidsrechter Bep Thomas, Sparta-keeper Bas van Noortwijk, Ron van den Berg (6), André Hoekstra, Ruud Gullit (Feyenoord), Louis van Gaal (Sparta). Datum 6 november 1983. Locatie: Het Kasteel, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland
context_page_description: Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch former football manager and player. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having two spells in charge of the Netherlands national team. Van Gaal is one of the most decorated managers in world football, having won 20 major honours in his managerial career. He is sometimes nicknamed the "Iron Tulip".
  Before his career as a coach, Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and AZ. He is also a fully qualified physical education teacher, and worked at high schools during his career as a semi-professional footballer. After a brief spell as an assistant coach at AZ, Van Gaal served as the assistant under Leo Beenhakker at Ajax and eventually took over as head coach in 1991. Under his lead, the club won three Eredivisie titles, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. He moved to Barcelona in 1997 and won two league titles and one Copa del Rey, but left after disagreements with the club's hierarchy.
  Van Gaal was then appointed at the Netherlands, but failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
caption: Van Gaal (right) playing for Sparta Rotterdam in 1983 against Feyenoord's Ruud Gullit
exif: {}