In a room filled mostly with English journalists, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal relaxedly looked ahead to his first UEFA Champions League match as head coach of the English top club. In doing so, he had brought along a familiar face: Memphis. “It gives a special feeling to be here,” said the former PSV player. Van Gaal mainly looked ahead to the match. “It will be very tough here,” he said.
Louis van Gaal on PSV, Manchester plus Dutch football
As the former coach of Ajax plus AZ, Van Gaal knows PSV like no other. It is one of the reasons the Dutch manager expects a difficult duel. “For me, the Philips Stadium is difficult ground. I have not often won here. Not even as manager of Barcelona. Only with AZ I won here, maybe Toon Gerbrands can confirm this,” he said with a laugh. According to Van Gaal, it is not a foregone conclusion that United will just win from PSV. “After all, I believe in Dutch football,” he explained. “I don’t think Holland is doing badly. Of course the players are young plus make mistakes, but we have to give them time to develop. The Eredivisie is just a nice league.” So Van Gaal looks at PSV with respect. That is also the reason he is not simply dissatisfied with a draw. “In an away game a draw is a good result, but of course I will go for the win. We will have to show on the pitch that we can do that at the highest level.” How he plans to achieve that, Van Gaal would not reveal. “That doesn’t seem smart to me with tomorrow’s match in sight. Phillip Cocu is also looking at this. He is that type,” Van Gaal said.
Memphis: Thoughts go back to my debut here
For Memphis, the press conference was mostly about looking back at his time at PSV. “I played here for 10 years before I made the switch,” he began. “It gives a special feeling to be here. Also because I see my old teammates again. I’m sure it will be an interesting match.” So when he takes his first steps on the turf of, his thoughts go back to the moments in Eindhoven. “When I debuted I was very young. I will think about that during tonight’s training. Tomorrow is different. Then I’ll be in the game plus give everything for a good result.” Finally, Memphis indicated that should he score, he will just cheer. “I have a lot of respect for PSV, but I play for Manchester United now. I think that when I score a goal, I should therefore cheer, although it will be very unusual.”