<\/p>\n
Louis van Gaal managed some of the biggest clubs in the world during his career \u2013 and he helped develop some wonderful young players along the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n Van Gaal worked with some of the most successful players in history during his time in charge of\u00a0Ajax, Barcelona, AZ, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, also helping the Netherlands to a World Cup semi-final in 2014.<\/p>\n The legendary 70-year-old tactician is now back in charge of the Netherlands, and all being well as he undergoes treatment for prostate cancer, his magnificent career will have a fitting swansong at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve put together a team of players handed their senior debuts by the Dutchman, arranged in a pretty impressive 4-4-2.di<\/p>\n Valdes\u2019 career came full circle when he was reunited with Van Gaal at Manchester United in 2015, 13 years after being handed his Barcelona debut by the Dutchman in a Champions League qualifier against Legia Warsaw.<\/p>\n But their relationship turned sour at Old Trafford after the goalkeeper was banished from the first team following accusations he refused to play in an Under-21 game.<\/p>\n Valdes, however, still retains a great deal of affection for Van Gaal, as he told Sky Sports upon his move to Middlesbrough in 2016: \u201cI don\u2019t have any bad words for Van Gaal or Manchester United.<\/p>\n \u201cThey helped me through my injury and the manager gave me my chance as a footballer at Barcelona and then again at United.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like a father figure to me. I don\u2019t want to remember the last six months in a bad way \u2013 for me he is in the top. We are still friends and there is no problem between us.\u201d<\/p>\n Van Gaal e Vald\u00e9s, no Barcelona. pic.twitter.com\/syy9boGjO9<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Paix\u00e3o Cul\u00e9 (@paixaocule) December 22, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He\u2019s far from the most glamorous name on this list, but Melchiot still enjoyed an impressive career in which he won trophies with Ajax and Chelsea.<\/p>\n Writing on his own website in 2016, Melchiot noted: \u201cVan Gaal loves it when he finds young talent, and he always gives the youth a chance.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that talent works hard to get better he rewards them with playing time, so everyone is a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n One of a number of Barcelona icons first blooded by Van Gaal, Puyol had almost left the Nou Camp before he had broken into the first team after Malaga had an offer accepted for the defender, who rejected the move after seeing Xavi handed his debut.<\/p>\n He was eventually given his chance in a 2-0 win at Real Valladolid in 1999 and would go on to captain the club to unprecedented success.<\/p>\n Puyol told Sport that Van Gaal has his \u201ceternal thanks\u201d for that initial opportunity, although one of their earliest meetings was somewhat awkward, as the Dutchman asked the shaggy-haired youngster: \u201cWhat\u2019s your problem, can\u2019t you afford the money for a haircut?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI said nothing,\u201d Puyol remembered, \u201cand to this day have kept my hair as is.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udde3 Louis Van Gaal: “It is always important that in a club there are depository people of the team’s culture. Naturally, Messi is very important, but so are Xavi, Iniesta, Vald\u00e9s and Puyol. A team cannot have a better captain than Puyol.” [tv3] pic.twitter.com\/1J2ivb7G7V<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 La Senyera (@LaSenyera) October 14, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Despite winning a host of honours, including five Bundesliga titles and a Champions League crown, it could be argued Badstuber never fulfilled his potential due to some pretty hideous misfortune with injuries.<\/p>\n The defender was handed his senior debut at Bayern Munich on the opening day of the 2009-10 season but, as is already becoming a theme, endured a turbulent relationship with Van Gaal.<\/p>\n Van Gaal was not afraid to publicly criticise the youngster, who often found himself in and out of the Bayern starting XI.<\/p>\n Indeed, Badstuber told German outlet Kicker in 2018:\u00a0\u201cI could not answer Louis van Gaal, because I knew: he knows better than me, even if in my head I didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was now and then violent and hard to swallow. That hardened me. I shut up and continued. Apparently, that was the right decision from me, because Louis van Gaal was a great supporter of me in retrospect.\u201d<\/p>\n Alaba became Bayern Munich\u2019s youngest ever player when he was handed his debut by Van Gaal at the age of 17, and he went on to provide an assist for Franck Ribery with just his second touch in a German Cup win over Greuther Furth.<\/p>\n In 2018, Van Gaal cited Alaba as one of the reasons he was sacked by Bayern Munich, claiming the Austrian\u2019s mistake in a 1-1 draw with Nuremberg ultimately led to his dismissal.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fair to say Alaba was slightly bemused by such suggestions, given he was on loan at Hoffenheim at the time of the fixture.<\/p>\n A key part of Bayern\u2019s all-time most successful era and now a title-winner with Real Madrid, there can be no questioning Alaba\u2019s status as a modern-day great.<\/p>\n Another player to become their club\u2019s youngest ever player under Van Gaal, Seedorf made his Ajax debut as a 16-year-old and would go on to win two titles and the Champions League at the club, starting out initially on the right wing.<\/p>\n Like many of Van Gaal\u2019s former players, Seedorf has both praised and criticised the manager, telling journalist Hugo Borst for a biography of the Dutchman: \u201cThe man I had come to know as a man of his word turned out to be something else entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the way he treats people, he has lost all credibility in my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Fallen Giants: Remembering Louis van Gaal\u2019s amazing Ajax team of the 90s<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Van Gaal\u2019s legacy at Barcelona really is a thing to behold, although Xavi was initially unconvinced by the manager.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter two days of training under him I thought, \u2018Who is this idiot?\u2019\u201d he told The Guardian in 2015. \u201cAfter a week, I thought, \u2018He\u2019s right.\u2019 He\u2019ll always be in my heart, Louis van Gaal.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spanish icon added: \u201cHe\u2019s honest, methodical and a real perfectionist. He\u2019s very demanding, he\u2019s strict and he wants to achieve the highest levels possible. He\u2019s a tough fighter, yet he put trust into me when I was 17 and 18 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n Van Gaal\u2019s legacy at the Camp Nou can be seen with the results Xavi is delivering now. Barcelona\u2019s boss will always cite Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola as his idols \u2013 but Van Gaal\u2019s influence shouldn\u2019t be forgotten.<\/p>\n One of Van Gaal\u2019s earliest success stories, Davids broke into Ajax\u2019s first team just as LVG took over as manager.<\/p>\n And it was Van Gaal who converted Davids from a left winger to a central midfielder, coining the player\u2019s nickname, \u2018the Pitbull\u2019.<\/p>\n Iniesta worked under the likes of Pep Guardiola and Vicente del Bosque throughout his illustrious career but named Van Gaal, who handed the midfielder his Barcelona debut in 2002, \u201cmy most important manager\u201d in 2018.<\/p>\n And Van Gaal returned the compliment by penning an open letter to Marca in homage to the little magician.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people told me that the two (Xavi and Iniesta) were the same, but I thought that Iniesta had more quality because tactically, he was incredible,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cHe could see things before anyone else and knew exactly what to do in small spaces. According to the different situations, he always made very good decisions and was very fast with his passing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see [Lionel] Messi now and he is also a very fast player, but Andres was different. He has a great ability to dribble like Leo but in small spaces, he had more quality and speed of execution.\u201d<\/p>\n Van Gaal added: \u201cI\u2019m very glad that Iniesta has had this brilliant career. Not only because he is a great player but because he is an excellent human being. That is something which, in the world of football today, is not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n While Van Gaal failed to stick around at Barcelona to truly reap the rewards of blooding the likes of Xavi and Iniesta, he certainly got plenty out of Kluivert.<\/p>\n The forward scored on his debut as an 18-year-old in the 1994 Super Cup victory against Feyenoord, top-scored as Ajax went unbeaten in the league and ended his first senior campaign by scoring the winner in the Champions League final.<\/p>\n Kluivert and Van Gaal were reunited at Barcelona, where the forward\u2019s partnership with Rivaldo fired the side to the title, and they also worked together on the Dutch coaching staff at the 2014 World Cup.<\/p>\n Despite Kluivert telling the Daily Mail he enjoys a \u201cclose bond\u201d with Van Gaal, there have still been moments when they haven\u2019t seen eye to eye.<\/p>\n While at Barcelona, Van Gaal said Kluivert and Rivaldo would be \u201cforgiven but not forgotten\u201d after questioning his man management, while reports during the 2014 World Cup suggested the manager was unhappy with his coach for getting into\u00a0\u20ac20,000 of debt to Wesley Sneijder by playing poker with the squad.<\/p>\n Injuries may have forced his hand, but Van Gaal perhaps does not receive enough credit for his willingness to hand first-team opportunities to young players at Manchester United.<\/p>\n Rashford is the most notable example given the electric start he made to life in senior football and Van Gaal went on to compare Rashford\u2019s impact to that of Kluivert at Ajax.<\/p>\n He may be struggling for form this season, but it shouldn\u2019t be forgotten that Rashford is one of United\u2019s most successful academy graduates of recent years.<\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Where are they now? The Man Utd XI from Marcus Rashford\u2019s debut, 2016<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong>Where are they now? The 10 youngsters Louis van Gaal gave debuts to at Barca<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n TRY A QUIZ:\u00a0Can you name every Dutch player to appear for Man Utd in the PL?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nGK: Victor Valdes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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RB: Mario Melchiot<\/strong><\/h3>\n
CB: Carles Puyol<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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CB: Holger Badstuber<\/strong><\/h3>\n
LB: David Alaba<\/strong><\/h3>\n
RW: Clarence Seedorf<\/strong><\/h3>\n
CM: Xavi<\/strong><\/h3>\n
CM: Edgar Davids<\/strong><\/h3>\n
LW: Andres Iniesta<\/strong><\/h3>\n
ST: Patrick Kluivert<\/strong><\/h3>\n
ST: Marcus Rashford<\/strong><\/h3>\n