It has been reported that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has stated that football is a sport of the brain.
Since his arrival at United last season, van Gaal and the word ‘philosophy’ seem to be intertwined.
Now the Dutchman has gone on to speak regarding the obsession with his philosophy and has stated that it takes time to transmit his belief into the players as football is more a mental game than anything else.
Van Gaal said: “When you see my press conferences, I’m discussing a lot my philosophy. Sometimes, the media is not very proud of it. But, sometimes, they are firmly crazy for it because I explain a lot.
“It takes always a little bit of time to transfer the message. I’m training in the brain – a lot of things in the brain – because football is not a sport of legs, it is a sport of brain, and tactics. So, that takes a lot of time.
“All the players have to sustain that process and that’s not easy. Praise is better than to be negative, it is true. But, sometimes, I’m sorry, you have to be negative also.”