Van Gaal joined the club in Watergraafsmeer as a 9-year-old boy and that was special, according to Van Gaal himself. “That was a miracle, because cubs were only allowed to come to De Meer at the age of ten.” Yet little Louis was already allowed to register. “An exception was made for me, I was a good ball player, so that’s probably why.”
It is 65 years after his debut with the cubs and the square has now been named after him. Several former teammates were present. René Haen grew up with Louis and became champion with him in the De Meer first team. He remembers him well: “You could see that he stood out in terms of qualities.”
Family Van Gaal and SV De Meer
Van Gaal comes from a family of nine, all of whom were members of De Meer. “My sisters did gymnastics and the brothers played football.” His father was also chairman of the technical committee.
“Actually, this Louis van Gaalplein is more of a Gaalplein family,” he says. Van Gaal also met his first wife at De Meer, she played handball, he played football.