by Tom Bevisedited by Andrew Slevison
Strong words, and perhaps somewhat similar to a decade earlier, when a certain Portuguese coach introduced himself to the Premier league as the self-proclaimed 'Special One'.
If van Gaal is to have half the impact Jose Mourinho had on the Chelsea team he inherited back in 2004, United fans will surely feel the decision to sack David Moyes, after less than a year in charge, and replace him with a man with a proven track-record with the top clubs in Europe, was justified.
However, three months into the job, van Gaal's beginning to life as United manager has been far from smooth sailing as evidenced by a less-than-impressive start to the 2014/15 season.
You get the feeling that the rebuilding process at Old Trafford will take at least another two transfer windows and is sure to provide a real test of the Dutchman's undoubted managerial skills to return United anywhere to their customary position of being true title contenders.
Already eliminated from the Capital One Cup, embarrassingly by League One side MK Dons, and with no midweek European games to contend with, United took just 11 points from their first seven Premier League fixtures.
On paper, these games were all winnable and included none of the top four from last season. That United sat fourth on the table at that time owes much to the poor starts from a number of their rivals, with only Chelsea hitting top form in the early part of the season thus far.
The main problem for van Gaal (injuries aside) seems to be the lack of experience and leadership in defence, which had already seen him change from playing his favoured system of three centre halves before switching back to a flat back four due to an ever-growing injury list and an apparent lack of understanding from his players in the new system.
United's decision to allow Nemanja Vidic to leave for Inter Milan seems more and more baffling. The powerful Serbian may have been a little past his best, but his leadership and organisational skills have been sorely missing in the opening weeks of the season, emphasised when United capitulated to lose 5-3 at Leicester City in September.
Indeed, van Gaal was desperate to land a commanding central defender in the summer, but for one reason or another his main targets including Mats Hummels, Mehdi Benatia and Thomas Vermaelen all proved evasive. To add to his defensive worries, the once promising trio of Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have thus far failed to live up to the standards required to play consistently in United's first team. Moreover, all three are currently on the treatment table and their susceptibility to soft tissue injuries in the last 18 months has further added to fears about their respective long-term futures at the club.
Despite poor form early, United still managed to temporarily occupy a Champions League place heading into the international break in early October but now find themselves sitting seventh on England's top flight table.
The two weeks prior to that break provided close-fought victories over West Ham United and Everton and van Gaal would have been satisfied with much-improved defensive performances, even with the majority of his first-choice central defenders in the medical room.
While he may not have been able to acquire an experienced top-quality centre-half over the summer, the arrival of world class attacking talent in the shape of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao has brought a sense of excitement to Old Trafford whilst also dismissing the notion United couldn't attract top players when devoid of Champions League football.
The one thing that United fans will always demand is attacking football and players capable of getting them off their seats. In Argentine winger Di Maria especially, they have a player who does exactly this, committing defenders, always being available for a pass and able to run with the ball at a pace not seen at the Theatre of Dreams since Cristiano Ronaldo dazzled defenders at will.
Van Gaal is a coach who believes strongly in his own footballing philosophies. Ball retention is vital to how his teams play and one only has to look at this Netherlands team at the World Cup or his Bayern Munich and Barcelona teams of the past to see this.
Although he seems to prefer three at the back, he is clearly an intelligent coach and willing to adapt to the players he has at his disposal. His acquisitions of Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind (all of whom are comfortable with the ball at their feet) suggest he is happy to change systems and the fact the aforementioned quartet possess plenty of versatility in various positions clearly highlights this.
The immediate post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford was always going to be somewhat turbulent, much as it was 45 years earlier when the departure of the club's other legendary coach Sir Matt Busby led to a quarter of a century of living in the shadows of their great rivals Liverpool.
Such a dramatic decline nowadays is unlikely, although United will probably finish a good distance off challenging the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City in this season's title race. However, with the experience of van Gaal and the attacking talent he has at his disposal, there is every chance he will lead them back into the Champions League at the first attempt, once defensive injuries settle down and the players become more accustomed to his training ground methods and coaching techniques.
For the man who describes himself as 'the best coach in the world' this may not be quite enough but it would provide a solid foundation for the next couple of years at the club and perhaps lead United back to the sort of success they have become accustomed to for so long.
