Under fire Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has been handed a potential escape route from Old Trafford by Holland national coach Danny Blind.
Blind, who is one of van Gaal’s closest friends in football, raised the idea of LVG becoming technical director for the Royal Dutch FA (KNVB) in an interview with .Algemeen Dagblad.
Blind, who served under Van Gaal at the 2014 World Cup before taking over from Guus Hiddink as Holland failed to qualify for Euro 2016 said:
“With Van Gaal I could achieve a lot. He is in the top category. But there are also many other options to think of where the shoe could fit. I do not know if that will happen. I recently read a comment by Bert van Oostveen [KNVB director of professional football] about [appointing a technical director]. But I have not spoken to him about it personally.”
Van Gaal has declared that United would be his last management role but Blind believes an “exciting” job would convince the United manager.
“The key question is: what are the pillars of the work of a technical director?” Blind said. “I have been one myself a couple of times in my career and basically it comes down to a buying and selling policy, but that is at a club, not at the KNVB. It comes to the flow of youth players. You have to offer an exciting job and it must be someone with respect.”
Interesting olive branch by Blind as it would allow van Gaal to walk away from United with his head held high, saying that he could not turn down his national team instead of being fired by United.