Louis van Gaal is going to unique lengths to give his Netherlands side the edge for any possible penalty shoot-outs at the World Cup, by adding a volleyball coach to his backroom team.
The 71-year-old, who came out of retirement to lead Holland to qualify for Qatar following their disappointing Euro 2020 campaign, is convinced progressing through the knockout stages will be down to fine margins and has added Peter Murphy to his coaching staff, calling him ‘the penalty killer’.
Murphy is a former hall-of-fame coach of Holland’s national volleyball team, and has been tasked with helping the Dutch goalies to read where takers may put their spot kicks.
Louis van Gaal has added a volleyball coach to his backroom staff ahead of the World Cup
Van Gaal believes that his volleyball coach can help goalies get opposing penalty takers shaking and make them feel less secure
The move has brought some criticism in Holland but the former Manchester United manager believes there is merit in his thinking.
Adding that he has also been teaching his goalies to mess with players’ minds by getting them to perform Native American rituals while standing on the line.
‘We have been looking for the best penalty killer – and I believe that Peter Murphy’s knowledge and experience can help us a lot.’ Van Gaal said. ‘He will not be teaching the boys to play volleyball, if that is what you think.
‘Murphy is going to do tests with my goalkeepers. He is also going to tell them how to get the penalty taker shaking and make him feel less secure. There are tools and tricks for this.
Gaal has called his new addition ‘the penalty killer’ as he looks to give Holland a spot-kick edge
‘I think influencing the opponent is allowed. A dancing goalkeeper on the line is very much possible. Peter will also support our goalkeepers psychologically. He has studied this field at university and has a lot of knowledge. I can’t reveal more details about it, because other teams would surely benefit from it, too.’
It is not the first time Van Gaal has thought outside the box when it comes to penalty kicks. At the 2014 World Cup, the eccentric coach famously substituted Dutch number one Jasper Cillessen for Tim Krul with the quarter-final clash with Costa Rica heading for a shoot-out.
Krul, who was playing for Newcastle at the time, saved penalties from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana in a move that Cillessen and the rest of the Holland was unaware was going to happen.
Tim Krul was famously subbed on by Van Gaal during the World Cup quarter-final in 2014
Van Gaal later admitted it was all about mind games and believes any innovation like that can help his side in this winter’s tournament.
‘What I did in 2014 was something which I call ‘the eye of the master.’ It got us through. This time we are going to supply the goalkeepers with a scientific side to save penalties. We are probably the very first country in the world to make the penalty shoot-out a scientific project.
‘That’s what I call innovation – and I do a lot of innovation in football. In all the tournaments of the World Cup it has been proven that penalties are often decisive.’
Holland are in Group A alongside hosts Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador.