Former Barcelona manager Louis van Gaal has confirmed he is battling against prostate cancer.
The veteran coach, currently in charge of the Netherlands national team, provided the update on his health during a live interview on Dutch television earlier today.
The 70-year-old added he opted not to inform the La Oranje squad of his hospital visits during their 2022 World Cup qualification, to avoid a possible impact on their preparations.
“I didn’t want to tell my players because it could have influenced their performances,” as per reports from BBC Sport.
“In each period in my time as manager of the national team I had to leave in the night to go to hospital, without the players finding it out until now. While thinking I was healthy, but, I am not.”
Van Gaal’s announcement comes following the confirmation of La Oranje’s group stage opponents for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The returning Dutch will take on hosts Qatar, alongside AFON champions Senegal, and Ecuador in Group A of the competition later this year.
𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 it is » @FIFAWorldCup! 🤩
📆 21/11 | 11:00 CET | 🇸🇳-🇳🇱
📆 25/11 | 17:00 CET | 🇳🇱-🇪🇨
📆 29/11 | 16:00 CET | 🇳🇱-🇶🇦 #FIFAWorldCup #NothingLikeOranje pic.twitter.com/eECbSo6FTq— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) April 2, 2022
Van Gaal offered no indication of his plans after the World Cup with his current contract set to expire in December after the final.
After winning three successive Dutch Eredivisie titles with Ajax from 1994 to 1996, plus the Champions League in 1996, van Gaal joined Barcelona as Sir Bobby Robson’s replacement in 1997.
He won two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey, inside his first two seasons in Spain, before leaving for his first of three stints in charge of the Netherlands, and returned to the Camp Nou for a seven-month spell in 2002.
