Louis van Gaal: Get rid of 3rd place match
Netherlands manager had some zingers following semifinal loss
Dutch manager Louis van Gaal didn't hold anything back when he faced reporters following the Netherlands semifinal loss to Argentina on Wednesday. He spoke candidly on everything from penalty skills to the merits of the third-place match.
On Argentina keeper Sergio Romero:
"The penalty series is always a matter of luck. Of course, I taught Romero how to save penalties, so that hurts."
(Van Gaal brought Romero to Europe when he was the coach of AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league.)
On the World Cup's third-place match:
"You shouldn't have players play a match for third and fourth place. There should only be one champion. I think that this match should never be played. I have been saying it for 10 or 15 years."
On what critics are saying:
"Of course, we played a fantastic tournament. Nobody expected us to make it through to the next round. In general, I'm not interested what people say about me or my team."
On how the Dutch loss compares to Brazil's loss:
"I think that losing 7-1 is worse than losing on penalties."