Louis van Gaal confirms treatment for prostate cancer has been successful
- Planet Sport writer
- 12 April 2022
Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal has confirmed that the radiation treatment he was undergoing for prostate cancer has been successful.
On April 3, the 70-year-old revealed he was battling the disease on 'Humberto' - a Dutch TV show where he was appearing to promote 'LOUIS'.
Van Gaal - currently in his third spell as Netherlands boss - admitted the form of cancer was an aggressive one but he has given an update on his condition and said the 25 bouts of treatment have been a success.
"I've been through everything. I had 25 radiation treatments," Van Gaal told Dutch news agency ANP.
"Then I had to wait five or six months to see if it had done its job. It did."
Van Gaal, whose first wife, Fernanda Obbes, died of liver and pancreatic cancer in 1994, did not tell the Holland players of his condition before speaking to Dutch broadcasters RTL.
He said: "I've been through a lot with illnesses, including with my own wife. So that's just part of life.
"(I) as a human being have probably become richer because of all those experiences."
Van Gaal has coached the biggest clubs around the world, At Ajax, he won the Champions League in 1995 before going on to have two spells at Barcelona and two seasons at Bayern Munich.
He also managed Manchester United between 2014 to 2016 and won the FA Cup in his game at the club.
After originally retiring from the sport, Van Gaal made a comeback to management and will take the Netherlands to this year's World Cup in Qatar.
He previously guided the national side to third place at the 2014 World Cup in his second stint.
And the decorated manager previously admitted that he is unimpressed by FIFA's decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar.
"Now, everybody knows that I find that ridiculous. It's ridiculous that we are going to play in a country - how does FIFA say it? To develop the football there. That is bulls**t. But it doesn't matter - it's about money, commercial interests. That's the main motive of FIFA.
"Why do you think that I'm not a member of the Fifa commission, with my UEFA expertise? Because I have always [kept] my distance against these kinds of organisations. It's not right, but I can say this directly about Qatar - but that does not help the world to get rid of this problem."
