Football
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Albert Stuivenberg: Louis van Gaal gave me key Manchester United role

Louis van Gaal's former assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg has told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf he had "the complete trust" of his boss with the Netherlands national team and at Manchester United.

Stuivenberg described Van Gaal as someone who had "earned his marks" in football and said the manager had given him "unique" responsibility at Old Trafford.

He said that had included being placed in charge first-team training sessions, giving team talks and working one-to-one with players.

The duo won the FA Cup at United last season before leaving the club in the summer, and Stuivenberg paid tribute to his mentor.

He said: "For my career, it was the perfect step to work together as an assistant with a top coach.

"We always worked together well at the Dutch FA, when Louis was Netherlands manager and I was the under-21 coach.

"From there, he put his trust in me and took me with him to Manchester. I see that as a great compliment.

"Van Gaal is someone who has earned his marks in football and he can judge whether you have the skills or not."

Stuivenberg said he believed the responsibility Van Gaal had given him at Old Trafford was "unique" for an assistant, explaining: "It's very special how much responsibility he gave me.

"I was in charge of the first team's training sessions, did team talks before and after matches and did all sorts of individual talks.

"Louis gave me the opportunity to develop myself at the top level."

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