Hoeness blasts former Bayern boss Van Gaal
Reuters - Friday 15 March 2013, 15:02
Bayern Munich's vocal president Uli Hoeness accused former coach Louis van Gaal of acting like "the father of God" by saying the Bavarians' signing of Spaniard Pep Guardiola had the stamp of the Dutchman.
Van Gaal, sacked shortly before the end of the 2011 season less than two years after taking over, has sustained an ongoing war of words with the Bayern and especially Hoeness ever since his departure.
Bayern, coached since 2011 by Jupp Heynckes, will see former Barcelona coach Guardiola taking over in the close season after they agreed a three-year deal in a major coup for the German club.
"Only Louis van Gaal could say something like that," Hoeness told Netherlands' De Telegraaf newspaper on Friday. "His problem is that Louis is not God, but the father of God. Before the world existed, Louis was already there.
"The world does not work the way he looks at it," said Hoeness.
"Van Gaal is a good football coach and he cleaned up after his bad predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann. So he has partly contributed to the current development of Bayern Munich. But his contribution does not go further than that nor does it have anything to do with signing Guardiola."
Van Gaal's stint at Bayern was both successful and tumultuous with the Dutchman leading them to the domestic double and the Champions League final in his first season.
He was sacked, however, despite having agreed to leave at the end of the 2010/11 season after Bayern looked to miss out on the automatic Champions League qualification with club bosses angered by the actions of Van Gaal.
The Bavarians, who have not won a title since Van Gaal, are 20 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and are also battling for the Champions League and the German Cup title.
Van Gaal has since taken over the Dutch national team.