Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United and Liverpool supporters should not "live in the past" after facing questions about their Europa League tie being a reflection of the diminished status of the two clubs.
Van Gaal insisted he was “happy” for the 20-times Premier League champions to be involved in the new, convoluted version of the Uefa Cup and would not accept it was unsatisfactory for two clubs who have won the European Cup a combined total of eight times to be involved in a competition that has rarely been embraced by the top English clubs. They meet in the first leg of their last-16 tie at Anfield on Thursday.
Pointing to the cyclical nature of the sport, the United manager acknowledged that the Europa League was not hugely popular in England, but also made it clear that he did not like the frequency with which people referred back to better times for the country’s two most successful teams.
“In football it is normal,” Van Gaal said, to the question of what it said about the status of the two clubs. “It is not normal that one team is dominating for 20 years in a row as champions. How many titles have Liverpool and how many titles Manchester United? It was another time. You live in the past. You live in the past and you have to live in the present.”
The present has not meant a great deal of enjoyment for United supporters since Sir Alex Ferguson left and it was pointed out to Van Gaal that there was a negative perception of the Europa League.
“Yes, I have noticed that you have a negative view,” he said. “But you have noticed against Midtjylland [in the previous round] there were 58,000 fans at Old Trafford, so the fans of Manchester United are appreciating it. How many fans do you think there will be against Liverpool [in the second leg]? I think 75,000. And I also think Liverpool will be sold out. That is what I have to say - it [the competition] is very important for both teams.”
Insisting that it was a positive reflection of English football, Van Gaal continued: “Other teams are playing in the Champions League. You are talking about Manchester United and Liverpool and I can say we are happy to play in the Europa League. But Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are still in the Champions League so six clubs are representing the Premier League in Europe. You have to be proud of that because there are not many other countries where they have so many clubs participating at that level.”
Van Gaal, who reported that Bastian Schweinsteiger and Antonio Valencia had returned to first-team training, has overseen four straight victories over Liverpool despite his turbulent time in charge at Old Trafford and can become the first United manager to beat them five times in a row.
“Then I shall be in the books with a positive record,” he said. “It is curious that United have beaten Liverpool so many times in my period because I have lost to other opponents. It is good for me because when I beat teams like Liverpool the appreciation is higher from the fans so I hope we shall beat them for the fifth time and for the sixth time, but more for the fans than myself. Several people are thinking they are the enemy. I am not thinking like that. I am thinking they are an opponent and we want to beat the opponent.”
(Guardian service)
