Louis van Gaal: Ex-Manchester United and Netherlands coach ‘no longer bothered by cancer'
Van Gaal, 73, announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was receiving treatment in April 2022, eight months before he led the Dutch national team to the World Cup quarter-finals.
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The penalty shootout loss to Argentina brought an end to his third term as Netherlands coach and he has not returned to management since.
'Two years ago, I had a few operations,' Van Gaal told Dutch talk show Humberto, in quotes cited by Reuters.
'It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that's going well. I'm getting fitter and fitter.'
In April 2022, Van Gaal said he had undergone '25 radiation treatments' and that they had been successful. He said he did not tell his Netherlands players at the time about the diagnosis in case it 'influenced their performances,' adding: 'In each period during my time as manager of the national team I had to leave in the night to go to the hospital without the players finding it out until now.'
Van Gaal's coaching career began as assistant manager of Dutch side AZ in 1986. He spent six years as head coach of Ajax between 1991 and 1997, where he won three Eredivisie titles and the Champions League in 1995. He then spent three years in charge of Barcelona, winning two La Liga titles.
The Dutchman had two spells as head coach of the Netherlands either side of two years as manager of Bayern Munich, whom he led to a Bundesliga title in 2009-10.
Van Gaal spent two years at Old Trafford from 2014-16, leading the club to the FA Cup title in his final match.
His most recent managerial position was with Netherlands again until the 2022 World Cup. Since October 2023 he has acted in an advisory role at Ajax.
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