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Van Gaal decides to make it public that he has cancer after 25 sessions of radiation therapy

BarcelonaWhen Louis van Gaal finished training with the Netherlands national team, he got into his car and disappeared from the world. Everyone thought he was going home to rest, but his destiny was different. He was going to the hospital, where he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer a few months earlier. The technician had wanted to keep the disease a secret, but after undergoing 25 sessions of radiation therapy, he considered that it was enough. He finally wanted to make it public. However, far from taking refuge in mourning, Van Gaal has chosen to cling to life. And the first step, beyond trying to heal, is to continue as a coach, at least until the Qatar World Cup, at the end of this 2022.

“Players and members of thestaff they saw my pink cheeks and thought “What a healthier guy,” but that was not the case, “Van Gaal said in an interview with the Dutch channel RTL4, where he presented the documentary Louis about his life and career in the world of football. “I wondered if I wanted to teach people or not. And in the end I considered illness and death to be parts of life,” said the former Barça coach in two stages (1997-2000). and 2002-03).

Van Gaal suffers from an aggressive form of prostate cancer, as he was tasked with revealing himself. “The chances of you dying of prostate cancer are not so great. In general, it is the diseases caused by cancer that cause death,” he explained in the interview, serene and with that authoritarian and confident attitude that usually shows the ‘coach, who will turn 71 in August.

The selector had chosen to keep the disease a secret. She was known only to her immediate family and a small group of friends. “And no one said anything. They kept it quiet and that’s very nice.” Van Gaal explained the reasons for this mutism. “I thought it was better that they didn’t know it because, deep down, it ends up influencing the people you work with.” That is why he underwent radiotherapy sessions at night. Until he has said enough.

Despite his illness, Van Gaal is expected to lead the Netherlands in Qatar, where the World Cup will be played at the end of the year. The selection orange faces will be seen in the group stage precisely with the host, in addition to Senegal and Ecuador.

Knowing the news, many clubs and footballers have wanted to send messages of support to Louis van Gaal. As a footballer, after training at Ajax, he played for the Belgian Royal Antwerp and the Dutch Stormvogels Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar. And as a coach, he led Ajax, Barça, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and, currently, the national team of the Netherlands.

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