The Chelsea boss says that the Dutchman is ‘a friend for life.’
Jose Mourinho insists that both he and Louis van Gaal are “great coaches” but that he is not ruffled by the Dutchman taking over at Manchester United.
Van Gaal stepped into the Old Trafford hotseat last week after leading the Netherlands to third place at the World Cup.
The respect M0urinho has for van Gaal, with whom he worked early in his career at Barcelona, is clear but the Portuguese feels he is every bit as good at his job as the 62-year-old.
Mourinho told the Mail on Sunday: “I’m not worried about him being here. I look forward to playing against United. Nothing worries me.
“I watched him at his press conference and he was pure van Gaal – honest and open, the way he always is.
“He is a very, very good coach, he’ll be great for Manchester United. We are both great coaches. It’s what we were born to do.
“Louis was the best coach in the World Cup and he is a good friend – really, a friend for life. I have deep respect for this man.
“He is in the best period of his career. With coaching, if you deal with winning and losing in the right way, you improve. He analyses every experience. He has got better and better.”
