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Following is a factbox on new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal who was appointed to the job on Monday.
Born: August 8, 1951 in Amsterdam
1972 - Joins Ajax Amsterdam as a midfielder but never plays for the first team and is loaned out to Belgian club Antwerp.
1973-77 - Helps Antwerp twice finish as Belgian league runners-up.
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1977-78 - Returns to the Netherlands with Telstar
1978-86 - Plays 286 games for Sparta Rotterdam
1986-87 - Finishes playing career with AZ Alkmaar
Coaching
1988-91 Assistant coach at Ajax
1991-97 Ajax coach
Works with future Dutch internationals including Edwin van der Sar, Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank and Ronald de Boer, Marc Overmars, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf.
Wins Dutch league title in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Wins 1992 UEFA Cup and 1995 Champions League, completing the 1994-95 season unbeaten in the domestic league and Europe.
Barcelona 1997-2000
Replaces Bobby Robson as Barca manager and leads them to the 1998 and 1999 Spanish titles. Loses out on 2000 title to Deportivo La Coruna and, amid reports of falling out with big-name players including Brazilian forward Rivaldo, leaves the club.
Netherlands 2000-02
Fails to qualify the national team for the 2002 World Cup, the first time they had missed out on the tournament since 1986.
Barcelona 2002-03
Returns to the Nou Camp but is sacked in January with the club three points above the relegation zone.
Ajax 2004
Returns to Ajax as technical director but resigns due to internal divisions.
AZ Alkmaar 2005-09
Leads AZ to second place in Dutch league in 2006, third in 2007 and champions in 2009.
Bayern Munich 2009-11
Wins 2010 Bundesliga title and reaches the Champions League final in the same year, losing 2-0 to Inter Milan, but Bayern finish third in 2011 and Van Gaal is sacked.
Netherlands 2012-14
Leads Dutch side through 2014 World Cup qualification to the finals in Brazil, winning nine out of 10 games.
Manchester United
Named as manager, succeeding David Moyes who was sacked after a dismal 10-month reign at Old Trafford.
Image: Louis van Gaal
Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters