Louis van Gaal wouldn't be Louis van Gaal if he didn't also declare this World Cup an event perfectly tailored to his unique abilities.

The only one-week preparation time between the last club games of the stars and the first World Cup game of his Dutchman against Senegal early Monday evening (5 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the soccer World Cup, on ZDF and on MagentaTV) is “an advantage” from his point of view. said the football teacher confidently last week.

Because only the very best coaches are able to create something really special during such a short preparation.

His team will benefit from this, because: "I'm the best coach," he announced, so the goal is clear: "We want to be world champions."

When the 71-year-old Dutchman says such sentences, there is always a portion of self-mockery.

But this doyen of the art of coaching can be trusted to be more successful in Qatar than some experts expect.

At the 2014 World Cup, he and his team only lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalties.

"At that time we had a squad that had less quality," said van Gaal on Sunday.

"This time we want more."

Netherlands trusts van Gaal

The Dutch at home trust this pugnacious man, who after 2000 and 2012 became Bondscoach for the third time because there was no one else after an unsuccessful EM 2021 and the resignation of Frank de Boer.

Most recently, Elftal confidently reached the final tournament of the Nations League;

in 2022 his team is unbeaten, has won eight out of six games, only drawn against Germany and Poland.

But the World Cup has been following historical principles in a strange way for decades.

The title holder always comes from the group of giants Germany, Italy, Argentina, Brazil and France.

Despite their small population, the Dutch almost always do surprisingly well unless they fail to qualify.

They reached the final in 1974, 1978 and 2010, and the semi-finals in 1998 and 2014.

At this World Cup, Elftal will have a squad without any big stars, at least if you disregard Virgil van Dijk from Liverpool FC and Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona).

But that's just fine with van Gaal, who explained he needs "three, maximum four creative players, the rest of the team has to serve those players".

After the failure of the most dangerous attacker Memphis Depay for the first game, a creative slot is free.

But who knows what van Gaal thinks?

Because van Gaal also carries his stubbornness in front of him like a monstrance in Doha.

For example, the day before the start of the tournament, it is not clear who will be the Dutchman's goalkeeper.

After Freiburg's Mark Flekken was not even nominated, Andreis Noppert from SC Heerenveen is considered the favorite for the position, but van Gaal did not want to commit himself.

And it is possible that later in the tournament he will substitute another specialist in the event of a penalty shoot-out: one of the three goalkeepers, whose name is also kept secret, has turned out to be particularly suitable in tests with a special trainer for penalties.

In 2014, van Gaal was already successful in the quarter-finals against Costa Rica with this trick.

Now the fans of World Cup football can enjoy this coach for the last time.

Van Gaal has recovered from cancer and Ronald Koeman will take charge of Elftal after the tournament.

But van Gaal said on Sunday: "The question of whether I will play the last tournament as a coach remains a question.

I think so, but you never know."