AMSTERDAM (AP) - Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal was full of praise for captain Robin van Persie after his breathtaking volley secured a 1-1 draw with Ecuador in a friendly on Saturday.
Just don’t ask him if he will be working with the Manchester United star striker next season.
Van Gaal has been widely tipped as the successor to David Moyes at Old Trafford, but was staying tight-lipped about a possible move after the World Cup.
“I cannot say anything about that,” he said after the stalemate with Ecuador at Amsterdam Arena.
But he lavished praise on Van Persie.
“He plays very well,” Van Gaal said. “Now he is coming from a bad injury and he scores a fantastic goal - unbelievable - and he was pressing, so I was happy with him, but he is also a good captain.”
But it seems the 62-year-old former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach and the United star are almost soul mates.
“Always, you make a player captain when you have … more or less the same philosophy, not only about football tactics but also about life,” he said. “So I think that’s very important. I believe that Van Persie and Van Gaal (have) the same philosophy.”
Van Gaal has for days refused to answer questions about his possible future in Manchester, telling journalists they need to ask the club, not him.
When a Dutch reporter tried another tack - asking him how his next couple of days were looking, he got a frosty response.
“I can fill them in how I want,” he said. “I don’t ask you how your next days look, and I don’t want to know either.”
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