Angel Di Maria could exact revenge on 'worst coach of career' in Louis van Gaal

Argentina face Louis van Gaal's team in the quarter-final at 7pm. A place in the semi-final awaits for one of those teams.

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There should not need to be any extra driving factor for players, but Di Maria may have his sights on getting one over on Van Gaal.

The two famously clashed at Manchester United during the playmaker's one season spell at Old Trafford.

He signed for £59.7million in 2014, but had a nightmare time in Manchester.

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His wife was scathing about the people, the food and the climate in the north west and his stay lasted just a year before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2015.

Di Maria scored just four goals in 32 matches in all competitions that season and is not remembered fondly by United fans.

Both he and Van Gaal have publicly criticised each other in the years that followed, with the player himself laying the blame at the Dutchman's door for his struggles.

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"I was at Manchester and everything was fine with Van Gaal during the first two months," Di Maria said.

"After one fight, things weren't the same. The relationship wasn't the same. The fight with Van Gaal occurred because he was always showing me bad and negative things and all that held me back.

"One day I fought with him. I told him I didn't want to see those things anymore, that I was doing things well and asked him why he wasn't showing me good things.

"He did not like how I spoke to him and from there the whole problem started."

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Then in 2021, Di Maria launched a further attack on the 71-year-old.

He told TyC Sports: "My problem at Manchester was the coach.

"Van Gaal was the worst of my career. I would score, assist, and the next day he would show me my misplaced passes.

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"He displaced me from one day to the other, he didn't like players being more than him."

It was not all one way either as Van Gaal had a fair few words to say himself about the 34-year-old.

"Di María was my choice at AZ, seven years before," Van Gaal told The Guardian.

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"I was satisfied, because he was a creative player, but I had other players on the list. Di María had a problem with the English football culture and the climate. You cannot buy players and know, for sure, that they can deliver. You cannot know because football is a team sport.

"I always ask a player where he wants to play. For him it was wing, wide and mostly left. In the Argentina team he plays on the left. I started with him there. He was not performing that well, to a level you could expect from an £80m player.

"I believe, then, I have to see if another position is better for him. I have played him left winger, as the 10, second striker and on the right. Then the critics say he is having to play in too many positions. I gave him all the chances that there were to perform well."

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It will be interesting to see what happens if Di Maria does score on Saturday against the Netherlands and if he can get one over on his old boss.