National coach Louis van Gaal has been suffering from prostate cancer for some time: ‘It is an aggressive form’ Dutch football

Van Gaal did not share the news about his illness earlier, because he did not want to influence his group of players. The national coach was treated in the hospital during training camps in the evening, without the players being aware of this. ,,They see a blush on my cheeks and think: what a healthy guy he is. That is of course not the case.”

“I did receive preferential treatment,” said the former Ajax coach about his hospital visit. “I was allowed through the back entrance and when I went to an appointment, I was immediately allowed to go to another room if I had to wait. A great treatment You also say it to friends and relatives and it says something about my environment that they keep their mouths shut.

“Look, you don’t die from prostate cancer,” said Van Gaal. “It is usually the underlying diseases that you die from. But it is an aggressive form. I was irradiated 25 times.” The disease was already diagnosed at the end of 2020, treatments were started in 2021.

Despite his illness, Van Gaal will go to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year with the Orange. He is in his third term as national coach of Orange, with which he caused a big surprise at the 2014 World Cup by finishing third in Brazil. He also worked for major clubs such as Ajax, FC Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

The subject came up in response to the documentary film about Van Gaal, which will be shown in cinemas from Thursday 14 April. “It’s part of my life, so I’ll show this in the documentary.”

In 1973, Van Gaal married his first wife Fernanda, who died of pancreatic cancer on January 17, 1994. Since 2008 he has been married to former PR manager Truus Opmeer, with whom he had already had a relationship for 12.5 years.