Johan Cruyff criticises Louis van Gaal's tactics and Jose Mourinho's behaviour
Dutch footballing legend Johan Cruyff has criticized his compatriot Louis van Gaal for Manchester United’s wrong style of football and he has also called on the Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to behave better, as per the reports on Sky Sports. Cruyff has made his feelings known about two of the Premier League’s biggest names as both managers go into an international break on the back of defeats for their respective clubs.
Manchester United have been one of the elite clubs in Europe, dominating the continent’s club competitions along with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid for the past 20 years. However, during the post-Ferguson era, United have been going through the ‘rebuilding phase’ and are no longer considered one of Europe’s powerhouses.
The former Barcelona coach, who has had a strained relationship with Van Gaal, has blamed the manager for not being able to dictate games as they should, insisting that they are obliged to entertain the fans.
“He doesn't dominate. I like dominating football. Manchester doesn't play like that,” Cruyff said.
The United manager has been heavily criticized for sticking with his ‘philosophy’ and playing it safe when they should be going all out for the win. Ironically, Van Gaal has managed to pick up crucial victories against their rivals but has surprisingly struggled against the weaker teams.
“I don't think so, but it's strange that against strong teams they've got good results and with weak teams they've had difficulties.
“That's a strange situation. But the results I think are second. The game is first.
“Money is very important but always second. In England they play different, everybody has their own style. A mix of styles is always good.
"The most important part are the fans, that people going home are happy. It's their time off and you should give them something to enjoy."
Mourinho should behave better: Cruyff
It appears as though the Portuguese manager has finally lost the plot at Stamford Bridge, although he has received the backing from the club. The Chelsea boss has been charged by the FA on Monday in relation to media comments he made following the 3-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.
Cruyff has spoken about Mourinho’s ill-behaviour in recent weeks and he believes the fact that he was not a player is a factor in his recent behavior. He has also suggested that the former Real Madrid head coach is setting a bad example to children.
“He's controversial. What I like about him is he's always capable of creating good ambience within the players and what I don't like is that he always puts himself on the first row,” Cruyff said.
“He should be on the second row. It's probably because of his background, where he's never been cheered by 100,000 people or whistled at by 100,000 people.
“Maybe it's because of that, maybe because of the interest from the press, but I don't think he is educating children to play football or educating for life.
“He should behave better because he will be in the press all over the world.”
Mourinho and his men are currently sitting 16th in the league with just 8 points from 8 games this season. Their hopes of defending the title season seem to be an uphill task now that they are 10 points behind the current league leaders Manchester City.