• Premier League

Cruyff tells Van Gaal to stop complaining

Louis van Gaal said his players needed more than two days to recover between matches © PA Photos

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Johan Cruyff has told Louis van Gaal to stop complaining about the crowded festive fixture list in England.

The Manchester United manager was unhappy his team had to play four games in 11 days over the Christmas period, including matches separated by just 48 hours, which he insisted was not enough for players to recover after the 0-0 draw with Tottenham on December 28.

However, Cruyff - like Van Gaal a former Ajax and Barcelona manager - told him to accept the realities of life in England.

Cruyff wrote in De Telegraaf: "If you choose [a job in] England, then you choose for their successful system, which is based on the proposition that the stadiums open as soon as the fans are available to watch, which is the holiday period.

"Playing football between Christmas and New Year is a war of attrition and thus in favour of physically stronger teams."

Cruyff believes Van Gaal is mistaken if he thinks he can persuade the footballing authorities in England to change the fixture calendar.

"It has been working [well] since time immemorial and in 100 years it will still be so," Cruyff added. "Complaining makes no sense if everyone else around you is happy. Moreover, everybody is well paid for working over the holiday period."

Van Gaal said in a news conference last week that fans were short-changed by seeing exhausted players, stating: "Everybody knows that a body cannot recover within 48 hours. Therefore, there is a rule at Uefa and Fifa that you cannot play games [in that time]. That's scientifically proven. Everybody knows that and, in spite of that, we have to play. It's the culture of England.

"I don't mind but it is not good for the health of the players and it is not good for the game because I think the FA, and also the fans, want attractive games."

Cruyff and Van Gaal's awkward relationship dates back a quarter of a century and Cruyff helped block the current United manager's return to Ajax as technical director in 2011.

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