By Clinton Nyabuto:
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Thursday, March 28th 2019 at 11:44 GMT +3 | FootballFormer Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has confessed that he should have joined Tottenham Hotspur instead of Manchester United.
The 67-year-old Dutchman took charge at the Old Trafford in 2014 after guiding Netherlands to the third place in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Van Gaal was a target for both Manchester United and Tottenham who were both in the market for new managers after the Red Devils had sacked David Moyes as Spurs fired Tim Sherwood.
The Dutchman snubbed Spurs to join United but he has now admitted that the north Londoners were a better choice.
"Tottenham were a better selection because Manchester United were an old team and I knew I would have to transform them," Van Gaal told BBC Sport.
"Was it the wrong choice? Maybe, but I follow my heart. I worked at the number one team in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and now also in England," he added.
In his regime, Van Gaal guided the English giants to an FA Cup victory on May 21, 2016, but his tenure did not last long as he was sacked after two seasons in command.
Van Gaal, while at United, acknowledged how he was a Spurs fan in his childhood and how he was close to joining the club.
“As a little boy I was a fan of Tottenham Hotspur with the team of Jimmy Greaves when he was the champion,” he said.
"Jimmy Greaves was my idol, so I was very close," the Dutchman added.
Spurs went on to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as manager after missing out on Van Gaal who had opted for the Manchester-based club.
The Dutchman, however, in his tenure at United said that he did not regret his choice of taking charge at the Theatre of Dreams.
“No, I don’t regret taking this job,” he said.
“Yes, it is a massive job I have taken on at Manchester United. I realise that. And the situation is not worse than I thought — I knew what I would find on my plate.
“I could have opted for an easier job. If I had gone to Tottenham, the job would not have been as enormous as here at United. I could have easily gone to Spurs. But I chose the biggest challenge of all the jobs in football. And I really wanted to join the number one club in the country, not Tottenham,” Van Gaal added.
