Daley Blind has revealed the ex-United boss that has striking similarities to Erik ten Hag.
Blind was a fantastic servant for Manchester United. An ever-reliable center-half, the Dutch defender was calm, composed, and assured on the ball – which made him a vital asset at Old Trafford.
This made him a joy to coach. His versatility meant he could play in multiple positions, which is one of the reasons why he was brought in by former boss Louis van Gaal.
Although Blind couldn’t save Van Gaal’s job. The Dutch coach was sacked after two years in the role, which upset Blind as he liked him as a coach.
Blind on Van Gaal
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Blind sat down with Andy Mitten to talk about his career, which included his relationship with former Manchester United managers.
When asked about if he enjoyed working with Van Gaal – he replied with the following:
I think 90 percent of the squad liked Louis van Gaal, the person,” Blind began. “He was always honest and direct.
“You can like that or not, but I’d appreciate him telling me to the face, even if the truth was hard to take at times. He’d tell you why he’d decided, like why he hadn’t selected you and that allowed me to learn where to improve.
“At United, we played quite good football under Louis but we didn’t score a lot of goals and we didn’t create a lot. We might lose a game to a counter-attack, that can happen to any team in the Premier League. When he left, United started buying a different type of player. It would have been interesting if Louis had those players as well.
“We won the FA Cup (in Van Gaal’s final game in May 2016) after a hard campaign. I’d dreamed of that as a kid. We had a great night celebrating in London until we learned Louis was getting fired. The rumours spread quickly and he told us the next morning. It was hard and emotional.”
Blind on Ten Hag
Of course, Blind worked with current Manchester United first-team coach Erik ten Hag at Ajax. Our current gaffer brought Blind in with the knowledge he had a wealth of experience, which boded well in what was a young squad at the time.
“He was very important to me,” Blind began when asked his thoughts on Ten Hag. “He explained his playing style, which was offensive.
“I had my doubts but after a month I was sold on it and believed in every part of it. We also had the right players to do it. He is tactically so clear in what he wants and it’s easy for players to follow that. If you leave things open, there’s a space for doubt.
“We became like a machine, better and better. In time, he can do that for United. He’s a great manager, great personality. He’s direct, honest, and tells you what he sees. He’s not afraid to make big decisions. If you don’t like it, you can go another way because his train goes on.”
Striking similarities
It’s baffling to see the similarities between the two Dutch coaches. ‘Honest’ and ‘direct’ were two exact words said about each.
The pair also aren’t afraid to make big decisions and are no-nonsense – which we have seen in Ten Hag a lot this season already.
Sadly, it didn’t work out for Van Gaal – so we hope things are much different for Ten Hag, despite the similarities.
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