BackWorld Cup 2014: Dutch coach Louis van Gaal calls third-place match unfair
Van Gaal said the match condemns the losers to finish a tournament after another defeat, and that one side always has an extra day's rest
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Sao Paulo: Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal lashed out at World Cup 2014’s third place play-off match on Wednesday after his side’s semifinal defeat to Argentina.
Van Gaal’s team must now travel to Brasilia to face World Cup hosts Brazil on Saturday for a game he believes should have been scrapped years ago.
“I think this match should never be played," van Gaal told reporters. “I’ve been saying this for 10 years. But we’ll just have to play this match."
Van Gaal said the match condemns the losers to finish a tournament after another defeat, and that one side always has an extra day’s rest.
“It’s unfair also because we have one less day to recover, so that’s not fair play," he said. “But the worst thing is that chances are you lose twice in a row.
“And after a tournament in which you’ve played so marvellously well, you’d go home as a loser just because you’ve lost the last two matches.
“This has got nothing whatsoever to do with sport.
“But I said this 15 years ago. You shouldn’t have players play a match for 3rd/4th place, because there’s only one prize that counts and that’s becoming the champion," said van Gaal who moves on from World Cup 2014 to become Manchester United’s manager.
For more stories from Brazil, go to www.livemint.com/worldcup2014
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