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The English media are reporting Tottenham Hotspur are interested in Louis van Gaal.
It was reported that Frank de Boer had been approached previously.
Or at least,
was reported as being one of the candidates for the job.
Now Van Gaal is in the picture.
Combining two jobs. ***, you know what it's like.
Can it work?
First of all it's a great club with a lot of traditions.
A club with a lot of money, but you have to have money in England to compete.
He could combine jobs, but I don't believe Louis would agree to that if it was ever offered to him.
He's going to the World Cup.
When I combined jobs we were just playing qualifiers.
You combined AZ Alkmaar and Belgium, right?
Correct.
Louis is going to a finals tournament. He won't have time to combine the two.
To summarize. The story about Louis van Gaal and Spurs was reported late last night.
The media picked up on it again this morning.
There's been talk about Frank de Boer, Glenn Hoddle and now also Van Gaal.
Then reports came to us about a private jet which had taken off from London
with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy on board.
He arrived around 12 o'clock today at Schiphol East.
We were unable to keep track of things from there.
But we then stationed someone outside Louis van Gaal's house in Noordwijk
but we couldn't spot Mr Levy
but we understand he was there all afternoon.
Although, Van Gaal remains elusive about that.
What's the purpose of your visit?
We heard Mr Levy of Tottenham Hotspur was here, watching the game in your company.
Is that correct?
No, it's not.
Are you aware of any interest from Tottenham?
I'm not going to comment on that.
I never do.
So I don't know why you are here.
We heard there was potential interest from Tottenham.
We read various reports about this in the British media this morning.
I've also read Frank de Boer and Guus Hiddink were in the picture.
All agents work like that. They like to spread these kind of stories.
They think it's interesting.
If it's really the case, we never know.
So there's nothing going on? You can't inform us on any developments?
That's not the point.
I never comment on offers I receive.
I'd like it to stay that way.
We thought there were developments so we tried to verify if this is in fact true.
So now we know there's nothing going on.
It's not that important, is it?
Well, we find it interesting.
If you were to become the new manager at Tottenham, that's pretty big news in our view.
Well, I've said that I would like to work in the Premier League one day.
So there is a real chance.
But even then.
There's a time when this could be announced, and a time when it cannot.
There's also a time when things have to be prepared and sorted out.
There's no place for the media at that point.
Yet, you still want to be present at that time,
which I find strange.
Cause there's also such a thing as privacy.
You are absolutely right.
But the winter break is upon us,
so we'll focus on Oranje for the next two weeks.
So all the news surrounding the Dutch team is of interest to us.
Aha, but Oranje has nothing to do with Tottenham.
But maybe you could switch between two jobs?
Anyone who knows me, knows that I won't do that.
So that's definitely not the case.
Our apologies for interrupting your Sunday evening.
Nevertheless, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of your evening.
The evening is yet to start I think.
Good evening, gentlemen.
Our reporter was in Noordwijk for quite a while.
In the end he got a pretty candid response from Louis.
Louis confirms your assumption, ***.
He won't combine two jobs.
He didn't want to confirm he spoke to Daniel Levy.
We've called him just now and he said: I don't want to comment on that.
But we know it has happened.
Spurs and Van Gaal.
It could be a great marriage after this season,couldn't it?
But I don't know if he will get any money to spend.
They received 100 million for Bale and they've spent all that money.
Villas-Boas didn't spend it well.
So if Van Gaal will be able to still spend some money at Spurs, I'm not sure.
He'll probably have to make do with the players they currently have.
They don't have a poor squad.
No, I don't think they have a poor squad at the moment.
I do think he will have to change the way they play.
It could take a while before he has them playing like they should, how he wants them to play.
The Premier League is a very different story.
We always want to play our brand of passing football.
You'll get no time to pass there. It's a very intense league.
But if he goes there, I'll definitely keep an eye on how he's doing over there.
But Wenger also has his own distinct style, doesn't he?
True, and I have to say Tottenham have always been the team that tries to play pure football.
They've drifted towards a somewhat anxious brand of football lately.
But to appoint a Dutchman as Spurs manager, I'd really like that.
Yes, of course! It would be fantastic.
But Arsenal also appointed Wenger when he was a complete nobody.
I believe he arrived from Japan at the time.
Now at Tottenham, you see that familiar reflex.
Appoint a famous, big name manager.
Van Gaal in this case.
They have a man on the bench now, Sherwood. A great player in his days at Blackburn Rovers.
He won the Premier League title at the time.
He also played at Tottenham Hotspur. A terrific player.
I've heard him talk a couple of times. I think he'll be a good manager.
Well, can I tell you a story?
Of course, tell me Ruud!
I want to say something about him actually.
When Redknapp was still manager at Tottenham..
Jamie Redknapp is a good friend of mine.
So they asked me: How about Van der Vaart?
I said: amazing player. You should definitely take him.
It was just before the transfer deadline. They rang me up at half past 11.
So eventually they signed him.
Then I also told them: get Suarez.
They came to watch him.
I met Sheringham as well then, together with Ferdinand.
They asked me all kinds of questions about Suarez.
So I just point blank said: You have to snap him up, without any hesitation, in a heartbeat.
"Well, we're not entirely sure," they said. Whilst they actually watched him!
That's a huge mistake if you ask me.
But you're talking about Sheringham, he's talking about Sherwood.
I meant Sherwood, sorry. We're talking about the same guy.
Cause Sherwood and Ferdinand were Redknapp's assistants at the time,
and also were his scouts.
So afterwards they said to me: "Well, we might have got it wrong."
I still think it's great those guys are given a shot,
because in England everyone wants to go back to English managers.
Because they feel foreigners are having too much influence on their game.
But Van Gaal can make his mark at any club, don't you think?
No doubt. He's an excellent coach.
I think it would be a great combination.
Yes. And it's much more entertaining for us to see Louis there in stead of Sherwood.
If it's true what Ruud says, that they don't have any additional money to spend,
then Louis is exactly the right manager who can work with their current squad and improve
those players and mould them into a better team.
He's the best in the business in that regard.
And he'll have the time, despite the fact it's not yet confirmed he'll get the job,
to arrange things in the next six months.
So when he arrives there after the World Cup, most things have already been set up for him to crack on.
So he knows what to expect, and they know what to expect.
Yeah. You know what I liked about that interview?
At the start you think: he's not going to say anything.
But in the end he actually wants to say that Levy is actually at his house.
It was such a brilliant conversation.
These two civilized men. Just brilliant.
Definitely. I have to say Louis was a good sport too.
Surely to be continued.