Putting Football First: Even a serious health issue couldn't keep Van Gaal off the pitch

Louis Van Gaal is something of a complex figure. Bold and brash sure, but his unmistakable genius and honest approach makes him incredibly hard to dislike.

That's not limited to the teams he coached, but also with rivals. Ask any Real Madrid fan what they think of Van Gaal... Most of the answers will be 'absolute respect'.

Born in 1951, Louis Van Gaal is undeniably a passionate football star despite his complicated character and direct manner. Few coaches have taken this sport as seriously as he has.

Despite this passion, the deaths of two family members (his younger sister and one of his sons-in-law, according to an interview with De Telegraf) and an unexpectedly bad time at Manchester United saw him quit football in early 2019.

He was a coach who left his mark on and won titles with historic teams like Ajax Amsterdam, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona.

But life doesn't always go to plan and when the Netherlands – the side he twice coached before – went through one of their worst playing and identity crises, Van Gaal was watching.

Ronald de Boer left the national team after the 2-0 defeat by the Czech Republic in the Euro 2021 round of 16 and the association considered looked to Van Gaal to save the ailing national team.

He accepted the offer – despite the fact that he suffered from complicated prostate cancer. Although manageable in the early years, it is nevertheless a potentially fatal and debilitating disease.

But Van Gaal is a man of football and above all a man who loves his national team, what it symbolizes and the football it has offered since the days of Johan Cruyff.

The veteran coach took the job in July 2021 at the age of 70 - on two conditions. The first was that he would retire entirely from football after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to be with his family and take care of himself.

Secondly, he didn't want to hide his illness from the press, from the fans, nor from his own players, as he had to miss some training sessions due to his treatment.

In April 2022, for example, Louis Van Gaal announced to the world that he was suffering from cancer and had been treated very confidentially and in consultation with the hospital staff for some time.

This was announced by the coach on the Dutch television channel 'RTL4' at the presentation of the documentary 'Louis' about his life and work in football.

The Dutch team, despite improving significantly, lost on penalties to world champions Argentina in the quarter-finals. It wasn't to be, but Van Gaal has given the "Oranje" his personal touch again.

After the final in Qatar, a man retired who was, is and will forever be an important part of football history, a phenomenon at press conferences and a person who knew how to get the most out of (almost) every player he coached.

It might not be wise to close the book on Louis Van Gaal just yet though. Despite everything, including his cancer treatment, Van Gaal stated in late December that he would consider an approach from Portugal if given the chance to manage their national team, according to goal.com