Mr phan van mai

LEGENDARY Dutchman Louis van Gaal is known in the game not only for his tactical nous, but his wacky moments.

The 71-year-old, who was sacked by the Red Devils in 2016 after winning the FA Cup, is currently in charge of Holland’s national team.

After five years out of the game, Van Gaal agreed to replace Frank de Boer to manage Netherlands for the third time in his career.

And he has starred back in the dugout where he is yet to lose a match having won nine out of his 13 games.

His Holland side goes into the 2022 World Cup as one of the dark horses where they are expected to top their group which contains Senegal, Ecuador and Qatar.

Looking ahead to the global tournament, SunSport takes a look at seven of the most mental Van Gaal moments during his coaching career.

1. Man Utd players must be ‘horny’

With United trailing 2-1 against Midtjylland ahead of their Europa League Round of 32 second leg tie in 2016, Van Gaal delivered bizarre advice to his squad .

He said: “Most of the players shall be excited and it will be the match of their lives for most of them.

“It’s always the reason I say that top teams have to cope with the resistance of their opponent.

“Desire, hungry, I use a lot of terms. I often use the word

His advice clearly had an impact as United won the return fixture 5-1 at the Theatre of Dreams.

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2. Sex masochism remark

Van Gaal was commenting on Leicester’s Robert Huth grabbing Marouane Fellaini’s hair during a 2016 clash , with the Belgian midfielder reacting by aiming an elbow towards the defender.

In his post-match interview, an animated LVG said: “When you see what Huth is doing to Fellaini, that’s a penalty.

“Shall I grab you by your hair? What is your reaction when I grab your hair?”

Van Gaal then grabbed a Sky Sports reporter’s hair in a literal demonstration, as he added: “Your hair is shorter than Fellaini.

“But when I do that, what are you doing then? It’s a reaction.

“Every human being who is grabbed by the hair — only with sex masochism, then it is allowed — but not in other situations. They did it.”

3. What a balls-up

During his time at Bayern Munich, Van Gaal once dropped his trousers in front of his players to prove he has total authority.

Italian striker Luca Toni revealed: “The coach wanted to make clear to us that he can drop any player.

“It was all the same to him because, as he said, he had the balls.

“He demonstrated this literally by dropping his trousers. I have never experienced anything like it, it was totally crazy.

“Luckily I didn’t see a lot, because I wasn’t in the front row.”

4. Ryan Giggs punch

The United legend, who worked as Van Gaal’s assistant manager at Old Trafford, revealed the ex-Barcelona boss once punched him during their first meeting .

Speaking on Jamie Carragher’s Greatest Game podcast , he said: “He was different. He was very dominating. The first time I met him he punched me in the stomach.

“I’ve gone to meet him, we’ve got a list of players that I think were good and the ones that were not so good.

“I’ve gone to meet him a hotel, he’s opened the door, looked me up and down and gone ‘you are in good shape!’ then he punched me in the stomach.

“It was hard as well and I didn’t know what to do. You could have given something back but that’s me out of a job.”

5. Arsenal touchline dive

One of Van Gaal’s most iconic moments during his time in charge of United is when he threw himself on the ground during a clash against the Gunners.

Van Gaal was looking to get the attention of referee Craig Pawson who had missed an alleged dive from Alexis Sanchez.

The Dutchman then proceeded to demonstrate what happened to fourth official Mike Dean, drawing laughter and cheers from the United faithful.

6. Diagram Alley

After accusations from then-West Ham boss Sam Allardyce that United used long-ball tactics during the 1-1 draw at Upton Park in February 2015, Van Gaal was left incensed.

He stormed into his press conference where he brought with him four sheets of A4 paper put together by his analysis team that disputed Big Sam’s claim.

Speaking to the journalists, he said: “Because I expected this question, I have made an interpretation of the data for this game and then I have to say that it is not a good interpretation from Big Sam.

“You have to look at the data and then you will see that we did play long balls, but long balls wide rather than to the striker.”

7. Mike drop

Ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, Van Gaal was addressing the media where he named Wayne Rooney as his skipper, Michael Carrick as the vice-captain and Chris Smalling as the third caption.

Only he named ‘Mike’ as his third-choice captain, much to the embarrassment of the England international.

He said: “The third captain is… Mr Mike Smalling.”

Van Gaal then yet again called Smalling ‘Mike’ a few months later when he revealed the defender’s new nickname is ‘Pele’ .

Commenting on Van Gaal repeatedly getting his name wrong, Smalling remarked: “Even when we’re going to games and getting off the coach, it’s all ‘Mike, Mike, Mike’.

“And even though it can get annoying, it’s one of those which is just going to stick with me and I’ve got to roll with it.”

A heavy downpour battered Ho Chi Minh City on Monday afternoon and lingered until the evening, causing serious flooding and slowing traffic across the metropolis.

The southwest monsoon strengthened due to the influence of a low-pressure system in the East Vietnam Sea, resulting in an hours-long downpour on Monday, according to Le Dinh Quyet, an official of the southern hydro-meteorological station.

Around 7:30 pm, the rainfall was recorded at 102 millimeters in District 1, 80.4 millimeters in Thu Duc, and 50 millimeters in Binh Chanh District.

Thousands of vehicles are stuck in traffic at the Hang Xanh Intersection in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

The torrential rain caused severe flooding along multiple streets and significantly exacerbated traffic jams during the rush hours.

At Chu Y Bridge connecting District 5 and District 8, commuters were stuck in traffic for over an hour due to the heavy downpour.

At the Hang Xanh Intersection in Binh Thanh District, thousands of motorbikes and cars were moving at a snail’s pace.

Thousands of vehicles are stuck in traffic at the Hang Xanh Intersection in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Rainwater as high as 50 centimeters was recorded on multiple streets, namely Thao Dien, Quoc Huong, and To Ngoc Van in Thu Duc City and Ung Van Khiem in Binh Thanh District.

Countless motorbikes broke down due to the flooding, forcing commuters to push their vehicles along the inundated roads.

A motorbike has its wheels submerged on To Ngoc Van Street in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Residents living along Ung Van Khiem and Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Streets in Binh Thanh District were also in misery as rainwater poured into their houses.

“The sewers here have very poor drainage capacity, thus my house is always submerged whenever it rains heavily,” said a local resident.

To Ngoc Van Street in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City is severely flooded, August 15, 2022. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Commuters stop before a heavily flooded section of To Ngoc Van Street in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

A man pushes his broken-down motorbike on Ung Van Khiem Street in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

A house is flooded in Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

People travel on Ung Van Khiem Street in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

A resident pushes a motorbike on a flooded street in Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2022. Photo: Le Phan / Tuoi Tre

Bui Vien Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is inundated, August 15, 2022. Photo: Luu Duyen / Tuoi Tre

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A mum-of-four stranded in a broken down car on the motorway was killed by a lorry driver after a recovery company refused to rescue her.

John Bowers, 35, was driving a skip lorry on the M60 anticlockwise carriageway when he failed to spot a Kia Ceed was stationary with its hazard lights flashing on the hatch marked area separating lane one of the motorway from the slip road at junction 20.

Shirley-Ann Dumbuya, 38, was unable to move her car and was essentially ‘trapped’ inside.

She had been advised by insurance company Green Flag – known for its motto ”Common Sense to the Rescue” – that they could not go out to assist unless she was on the hard shoulder.

After a few minutes, Bowers, of Preston, collided with the Kia, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Emergency services arrived a short time later and Mrs Dumbuya was cut from her vehicle, but despite the efforts of medical staff, she was sadly declared dead at the scene .

Judge Anthony Cross condemned the insurance provider and called for an enquiry by the Assistant Chief Constable in Greater Manchester to look into what should happen if the situation arises again.

“Green Flag should take it upon themselves to ring 999 to help the person who was obviously panicking, wondering whether to stay or get out of the vehicle, and worrying about the other cars on the motorway. This was an accident waiting to happen,” he said.

After eventually pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving, Bowers was yesterday handed a suspended sentence at Manchester Crown Court.

Prosecuting, Mark Kellet, said that on January 21 2021, Mrs Dumbuya left home at around 8.35am in her Kia Ceed, which was said to be in ‘good working order’. At 8.42am, her husband Peniel Dumbuya received a call from his wife in which she told him the car had stopped on the motorway.

He told her to put her emergency lights on and get out of the car if she could whilst he called Green Flag. They told him they could not attend to assist ‘unless the vehicle was on the hard shoulder or off the motorway’.

Mr Dumbuya tried to call his wife but couldn’t get an answer, so decided to drive her route in the hope of finding and helping her.

“As he approached junction 20, he could see a silver car on a grass verge and emergency vehicles,” Mr Kellet said. “His wife had been in a fatal incident.”

The prosecutor said 19 cars travelling in lane one had noticed the Kia and passed it safely. One man was driving his company van when he overtook the skip wagon Bowers was driving.

When he went to move back into lane one, he saw the silver car positioned on the Chevrons between lane one and the slip road with its brake lights illuminated and hazard lights flashing.

“He stayed in lane two to pass the stranded vehicle. He watched in his rear view mirror as the skip wagon collided with the silver car,” Mr Kellet continued.

Another motorist who was planning to leave the motorway at junction 19 was considering moving from lane two to lane one when she saw the collision. She immediately pulled over and found Mrs Dumbuya trapped in the car.

Mr Kellet added: “She saw the defendant who had stopped his wagon. He repeatedly said, “I didn’t see her” and was clearly in shock.”

Bowers was said to be travelling at 55mph and had an unobstructed view of the Kia for about 150 to 175 metres.

A joint expert report included the comment that his ‘error’ was that he did not appreciate that the Kia Ceed was stationary. The prosecutor said the fact that the car was stationary was ‘clearly evident’ to the other 19 drivers who had manoeuvred around it.

He was not using his phone at the time, nor was he under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and he was driving at 15 miles under the speed limit.

At the time, Bowers had been working for J Dickinsons and Sons for nine weeks. He had been trained, driving with an experienced driver before being allowed to take the vehicle out alone. His driving and use of the vehicle had last been assessed on December 15 2020.

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On the day in question, he had been driving for around two hours before the collision, starting work at 6.45am. In a police interview, he told police his vehicle had been in perfect working order and there had been no distractions or medical conditions which would have affected his driving.

In an emotional victim personal statement read out by her daughter, Alice Dumbuya, she said her family’s lives have been ‘shattered forever’. She said her mother was ‘very family orientated’ and ‘loved by so many people’.

“You never think it will happen until it happens to you. I lost my best friend,” she said.

“My mother will never see her children grow up, children get married and have grandchildren. She was so looking forward to that as she spoke about this. The milestones in our lives will never be the same without my mum being there to appreciate it, this will sadden me forever.”

Bowers was said to have previous convictions for driving with excess alcohol, driving without due care and attention and failing to stop. In 2016, he was seen by a police officer driving out of a petrol station without wearing a seatbelt.

They motioned for him to stop but he failed to do so and a pursuit ensued where he went through a red light and reached speeds of 70mph on a 30mph road. He was arrested after he failed to negotiate a roundabout and drove through the centre and collided with the vegetation. He was later found to be over the legal drink drive limit.

Mitigating, Richard Dawson said: “Plainly this is a tragic case with catastrophic consequences. Our sympathies and condolences are offered to the family and close friends.

“They have all been seriously affected by the consequences of this defendant’s actions. I accept he now shows some remorse.”

Mr Dawson added that Bowers had worked as a professional driver and otherwise had a good driving record.

Sentencing, Judge Anthony Cross QC said: “It’s obvious to me that whilst society has lost someone who not only was going to make a valuable contribution, but someone who had already done so by just being a good person.”

Bowers was handed a six month jail sentence which was suspended for 12 months, he was banned from driving for three years and his licence was endorsed.

The Mirror has contacted Green Flag for a comment.

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