Manchester United
manager Louis van Gaal revealed flashes of his famous temper during the club’s
public training session at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Tuesday night.
Van Gaal has only been
working with United’s players for less than a week since arriving from World
Cup duty with Holland and has promised to judge them all with an open mind.
But onlookers at
United’s work out in California saw the 62-year-old admonish and praise his
players in equal measure during a fascinating session ahead of Wednesday night's
tour match with LA Galaxy at the stadium that hosted the 1994 World Cup Final.
Two sides: Louis van Gaal's famous temper was on
show in Los Angeles as Manchester United prepared for their friendly against LA
Galaxy
Leading the way: A candidate for Van Gaal's
captain's arm band, Wayne Rooney leads the line-up of United stars in warm-up
drills
As members of the public
and the media looked on, Van Gaal set his players the task of shooting only
with their left foot during practice drills at the Rose Bowl and was quick to
rip in to players such as new signing Luke Shaw and midfielder Darren Fletcher
when they failed to hit the target.
Observers were surprised
at how annoyed Van Gaal seemed when players were not successful and he
certainly seemed happy to put players in their place in front of hundreds of
fans who had queued up to watch the United squad in action.
What particularly
annoyed Van Gaal was players missing the target completely or shooting too
close to the goalkeeper.
Equally, though, Van
Gaal was soon exchanging high fives with players who did score with their
‘wrong’ foot and seemed particularly enthusiastic when centre halves Phil Jones
and Jonny Evans managed to hit the target.
Lighter side: Van Gaal, here with Ryan Giggs,
has a notoriously fiery temper but also shows his sense of humour and
willingness to dish out praise when it's deserved
'You are supposed to be
a defender,' Van Gaal said to Jones as they smacked palms in a manner
reminiscent of the celebration he shared with United striker Robin van Persie
after he scored for Holland in their opening World Cup destruction of Spain in
Salvador last month.
Speaking before the
session, Van Gaal had indicated that each player would be given a chance to
prove themselves to him.
'At this moment, I
cannot say anything about the squad and additions,' he said.
'I want to learn about
my players and get to know them. When I am the coach and when I give the orders
to my players to play a certain way, I want to see how they perform.
'That is why I cannot
answer this question just now. I want to give all players the chance to show
themselves under my guidance.'
Old mates: Rooney (right) speaks with United
legend David Beckham, who also made an indelible mark on football in the United
States with his stint at the Galaxy
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