It's not often that players are willing to criticise their worst coaches, but Ángel Di María doesn't seem to have that problem.
Speaking to ESPN Argentina, the 36-year-old Benfica and Argentina midfielder highlighted his one season at Manchester United under Louis van Gaal, adding the Dutch manager's name when asked to identify the three best managers of his career.
“The worst is Van Gaal, you can be sure of that. In case you had any doubts, I'll clear them up for you right now,” Di Maria told ESPN.
It is not the first time the former Real Madrid star has attacked Van Gaal. In 2021, Di Maria described him in similarly scathing terms, but Van Gaal ignored the comments ahead of Argentina's clash with the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup.
“Angel Di Maria is simply a great footballer,” Van Gaal said during his time as manager of the national team. “When he was playing for Manchester United he had a lot of personal problems.”
Di Maria went on to describe Lionel Scaloni, with whom he won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, as “one of the best”, as well as another of his national team coaches, Alejandro Sabella, who “had a big impact on me”.
Di Maria said he had a special place for the late Diego Maradona, who also coached him in Argentina.
“I don't consider him a manager to you because to me he was more of a close friend, someone who came to talk,” Di Maria said. “He didn't seem like a manager to me but a friend, a brother, a father. A father more than anything. He put up with me when no one else did, he helped me get ahead. The more criticism I received, the more he supported me.”
“For me he was everything. Diego is the best that ever existed. I've said it before, Leo Messi is the greatest of all time, but Diego is Diego. For me, for Argentina and for the world.”
