There was animosity between Johan Cruijff and Louis van Gaal, but Frank de Boer states that he has always been able to get along well with both. The national coach of Orange played under Van Gaal, while he himself was a trainer Ajax during the Velvet Revolution.
“Some could not and cannot stand Louis, but I always got on well with him,” De Boer says Heroes Magazine. “Tactically he was very strong, in the break he could just give you that indication which made things go better after the break.
De Boer knows that Van Gaal had a difficult relationship with the press. He regularly urged the former coach of Ajax, FC Barcelona, AZ, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Orange not to worry so much. “But he was convinced that he had to do it, that he had to defend his philosophy. And sometimes he also felt that he had to defend us, his players. He was talking about fairness. I think you should be honest with you. You just keep friends in the locker room and the press. When I saw again or heard how he had lashed out, I just thought: Louis, why are you doing that?“
Despite his good relationship with Van Gaal, he also got along very well with Cruijff. “I got along fine with Cruijff, we just had an open relationship with each other. During that so-called Velvet Revolution we went to Marco van Basten’s home once, where Cruijff was also. I think I fulfilled his idea that an old- player had to be Ajax’s coach. “
According to De Boer, he was ‘very pleasant to talk about football’ with the legendary number fourteen. “At that time he was portrayed as a kind of Bokito on the rock, as a kind of idol, while he was not like that at all. He was actually very approachable. I felt that I could always turn to him for advice.”
