Louis van Gaal to return to management five years after he was sacked by Manchester United… but his comeback with Dutch second-tier club Telstar is just ONE GAME and is a prize in a fundraising lottery!
- Fans of Dutch club Telstar can win the chance to be Louis van Gaal’s assistant
- Ex-Man United boss will take charge of one game at Dutch second-tier club
- Lottery tickets cost £2.50 and are part of Telstar’s fundraising drive
- It will see 69-year-old Dutch coach make a brief return to managerial life
- It’s five years since he was sacked by Manchester United days after FA Cup win
Louis van Gaal will make a return to management five years after his sacking by Manchester United.
The fearsome coach, 69, is to take charge of Dutch second division side SC Telstar next season – but just for the one game.
Van Gaal, who played in Telstar’s midfield for a single season in 1977-78, is returning to the dug-out briefly as part of the club’s fundraising drive.
Louis van Gaal is set to make a brief return to management with a Dutch second-tier club
Supporters of SC Telstar can win the chance to be Van Gaal’s assistant as a lottery prize
The Dutch club filmed a video featuring Van Gaal signing a contract alongside wife Truus
Supporters can buy lottery tickets, priced at just £2.50, to be entered into a draw to be Van Gaal’s assistant for a one-off fixture next season.
The ex-Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Holland boss joked: ‘If you want to make a mess of a game alongside me, buy a lottery ticket!’
Other prizes on offer for the draw on July 17 include tickets to the Dutch Grand Prix, PlayStations, football kits and, bizarrely, a shower unit.
The chance to be Van Gaal’s assistant is one of several prizes on offer in the prize draw
Fans can also win Dutch Grand Prix tickets, a PlayStation and even a shower unit in the draw
Van Gaal played one season at Telstar as a midfielder during the late 1970s
One prize winner will get the slightly daunting opportunity to be in the dug-out with Van Gaal
A video put out by Telstar showed Van Gaal and his wife Truus walking into Telstar’s stadium before putting pen to paper on a new ‘contract’.
The money raised from the lottery will be donated to the Spieren door Spieren Foundation, a charity which fights against muscle disease in children.
Van Gaal hasn’t returned to management following his two-season spell with United, which culminated in his sacking just two days after they won the FA Cup.
He didn’t announce his official retirement from the game until March 2019.
It’s five years since Van Gaal’s two-year tenure as Manchester United boss came to an end
Van Gaal’s United beat Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup but he was sacked just two days later
Van Gaal played in the Eredivisie, the Dutch top flight, when at Telstar and then followed their manager Mircea Petescu on to Sparta Rotterdam.
Based in the northern town of Ijmuiden, Telstar are now a second tier outfit and finished 13th in the Eerste Divisie last season. They play their home games at the 3,625-seater Rabobank Ijmond Stadion.
