Van Gaal annoyed me as Netherlands boss – McCarthy

Mick McCarthy has reflected on when Louis van Gaal aggravated him when he was manager of the Republic of Ireland against Netherlands.

The Ipswich Town boss will take his side to Old Trafford as they take on Van Gaal’s Manchester United in the League Cup third round on Wednesday.

The clash of the two bosses has brought back memories of Ireland’s famous 1-0 win over Netherlands in Dublin, which ended Dutch hopes of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

That result led to the resignation of the current United manager as his first stint as national team boss came to an end.

McCarthy had been annoyed by Van Gaal and the Dutch attitude in the build-up to the game, but insisted the feud was now in the past ahead of their latest meeting.

“They [Netherlands] were all booking the hotels and were all getting ready to be in the play-offs and it was us that was going out, so the whole saga started then,” said McCarthy.

“It was a great day for me and Ireland, we got in the play-offs and won that against Iran so ended up in the World Cup, which was brilliant.

“Unfortunately for Louis, one of you [the media] will have asked him ‘do you think Mick McCarthy’s job will be under pressure if they lose?’ And he will have said ‘well if we win, it probably will because they will be out of the World Cup’ so he will have just answered it honestly.

“Then of course I go and get the hump about it, but that is just the way it is. At the time I was probably an angrier younger man as well. Now I am a bit more pragmatic and understanding of the way it all works.

“But I was annoyed because of the suggestion was we had no chance of beating them and were just going to get turned over by this great Dutch side, but that didn’t happen.

“In his career he might not even remember me – I guess people will be asking him now and he might say ‘oh yeah’ like an irritation, but I will be shaking hands with him like I do every single manager before and after.”

Van Gaal went on to have a more successful second spell as Netherlands boss, guiding them to third place at the 2014 World Cup prior to taking charge of United.