Louis Van Gaal, national coach, led the training session for Telstar, the Dutch second division, today to prepare for Friday's game against AZ Alkmaar subsidiary. He will lead the IJmuiden club because of a promise he made before committing himself as a national coach.
Van Gaal was a Telstar footballer in the 1977-78 season and he does this also for a cause of solidarity: € 2.50 of each ticket will go to the foundation Spieren voor Spieren, of which he is an ambassador.
“I promised that I would do it when I was without a team, but now that I am a coach I also do it. I keep my promises“In addition, the always sincere Van Gaal explained that he will not be able to change the team as much as he has done with the national team. “because the quality of the players is much lower” and took advantage of tell their new players about the mistakes they had last weekend, when they won the first game of the season. “That always seems a bit harsh though.”
“I do this for three reasons: for a good cause, because the Telstar is my old team and because Pieter de Waard (CEO) can sell it very well.” As a curiosity, Koeman's son Ronald Koeman Jr. plays at Telstar., and although he started the season as a starter, he has been the starting goalkeeper for the last two games.