Louis van Gaal has dropped his strongest hint yet that he wants Robin van Persie to be his Manchester United captain.
The Netherlands coach was confirmed as David Moyes’ successor today and was full of praise for his country’s skipper after his breathtaking volley secured a 1-1 draw with Ecuador in a friendly on Saturday.
“He plays very well,” Van Gaal said. “Now he is coming from a bad injury and he scores a fantastic goal – unbelievable – and he was pressing, so I was happy with him, but he is also a good captain.
“Always, you make a player captain when you have more or less the same philosophy, not only about football tactics but also about life. So I think that’s very important. I believe that Van Persie and Van Gaal [have] the same philosophy.”
Van Gaal has for days refused to answer questions about his possible future in Manchester, telling journalists they need to ask the club, not him.
When a Dutch reporter tried another tack – asking him how his next couple of days were looking, he got a frosty response.
“I can fill them in how I want,” he said. “I don’t ask you how your next days look, and I don’t want to know either.”