"Not strong enough for a centre-back..."
Over the years, we've come to know that
Louis van Gaal is a man who is rarely afraid to speak his mind - even if it means upsetting people in the process. Throughout his management career, which has seen him take charge of some of European football's most prestigious clubs, Van Gaal has never been afraid of calling it precisely as he sees it, as a young
Gerard Pique once discovered.
The pair first met during the first of Van Gaal's two spells as Barcelona manager, when Pique was just 12 years of age. Van Gaal had paid a visit to the home of Pique's grandfather, former club vice-president Amador Bernabeu. Bernabeu was eager to introduce Van Gaal to his grandson, who was already showing plenty of promise as a defender in Barca's youth set-up. The meeting quickly took an unexpected turn.
Van Gaal looked Pique up and down and then, without warning, gave him a sharp shove in the chest, causing him to tumble to the ground. Standing over the bemused youngster, he remarked, "Not strong enough for a centre-back."
Pique on his first Van Gaal meeting
Pique, of course, went on to prove Van Gaal to be spectacularly wrong in his assessment. Having left Barcelona for Manchester United as a teenager, he returned to his boyhood club in 2008 to play a key role in Pep Guardiola's all conquering side, also helping Spain to a first ever World Cup in 2010.
Years later, Pique recalled his bizarre meeting with Van Gaal, admitting the incident had affected his confidence.
"He pushed me, he threw me to the floor," Pique told
TV3 in 2016. "He told me I wasn’t strong enough to be a Barcelona player.
"He destroyed me. At Barcelona we didn’t do gym work until the age of 18. That was really hard."
Van Gaal at Barcelona
After guiding a young Ajax side to the Champions League in 1995, Van Gaal was first named Barcelona manager in 1997, replacing Bobby Robson at the helm. He remained in charge for three years, winning two La Liga titles. He left after failing to land a third league title in succession as Barca missed out to Deportivo La Coruna. Having regularly clashed with the media over his three-year tenure, he famously congratulated members of the press as he announced he announced his departure.
Two years later, Van Gaal returned to the club in time for the start of the 2002/03 season. Results were inconsistent, however, and he left by mutual consent in January 2003.
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