FA CUP FINAL 2016 VAN GAAL LEAVING A SOLID LEGACY BIG MATCH VERDICT
LOUIS Van Gaal’s reaction said it all.
No sooner had Jesse Lingard’s once-in-a-lifetime volley sent the net rippling at Wembley he was out of his seat.
He had not been seen pitchside throughout 120 minutes of tense action.
The Dutchman had sat, as he normally does, in the technical area, displaying little emotion.
He didn’t copy Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew and perform a little dance after Juan Mata levelled Jason Puncheon’s late second-half strike.
But when Manchester United, left a man short after Chris Smalling was dismissed, found a way to win their first FA Cup in 12 years, he could not help himself.
Sprinting from the benches, his face was a picture of unbridled delight.
He charged down to where his assistant, Ryan Giggs, was standing and grasped him in an embrace.
Momentarily, the Manchester United legend looked stunned. And well he might. That kind of public affection has rarely, if ever, been on display this season.
Van Gaal has fallen over to prove a point on the sidelines at Old Trafford. He’s picked the odd row with the press.
But when the prospect of ending a three- year wait for silverware was in sight, he could not help himself.
Perhaps that gushing torrent has been fuelled by the drip, drip, drip effect of a rumour-mill that has seen his job handed to Jose Mourinho on countless occasions.
Difficult
Or was it the fact that he can now rest, safe in the knowledge that it is going to be devilishly difficult for him to be discarded like a used polystyrene cup now that he will be in the first-class carriage with a silver trophy all the way to Stockport station. If someone does decide