Captain Marvel
(pix) untidy foul on Victor Vazquez, and Van Gaal admitted afterwards that he had contemplated taking him off.
“He started not so good. He had a lot of ball losses and also a yellow card, so at that moment I wanted to change him, but then I saw he was coming back,” said Van Gaal, who also saw substitute Javier Hernandez miss a late penalty.
“And after that moment he plays a good match on the ‘double six’ position, but later on (at) 10 he was better. So I’m very pleased also for him.”
Van Gaal won the Champions League with an exciting young Ajax team in 1995 and took Bayern Munich to the final in 2010, but he has not led a team in the competition since 2011.
Asked how the tournament had changed during his absence, he replied: “I cannot judge because (for) three years I was not a participant.
“Of course I’ve seen the matches on television. I think it is the highest podium, and it was also 10 years ago and 20 years ago.
“It is the highest podium that you can show yourself or your team and it’s fantastic to be a participant.”
The 2014-15 season was the first time United had not graced the Champions League in 19 years, the legacy of a disastrous seventh-place finish under Van Gaal’s hapless predecessor David Moyes.
Club Brugge coach Michel Preud’homme had said before the game that his side required a “miracle” to qualify and he felt that the outcome of the tie was logical.
“This team has everything – technical quality, physical quality in power and endurance, and of course they have the mentality,” said the former Belgium goalkeeper, who was missing several key players through injury and suspension. “It’s a top team and they are top players. They have everything. We are there to learn something and I hope we can learn a lot from these two confrontations.” – AFP