Ryan Giggs reveals he was PUNCHED in the stomach by Louis van Gaal in their first-ever meeting
3 min readRyan Giggs has revealed that he was punched in the stomach by Louis van Gaal when he met the Dutchman for the first time.
The Wales boss made the sensational revelation on Jamie Carragher’s Greatest Game podcast, where he was left not knowing what to do after meeting the newly-appointed Manchester United boss in 2014.
Giggs went on to learn his trade as a coach under Van Gaal after previously taking caretaker charge of the club following David Moyes sacking.
Ryan Giggs (L) has revealed Louis van Gaal (R) punched him in the stomach when they first met
And the United legend says he was left baffled by Van Gaal’s introduction at a meeting the pair arranged in a hotel.
‘He was different. He was very dominating,’ Giggs told Carragher. ‘The first time I met him he punched me in the stomach.
‘I’ve gone to meet him, we’ve got a list of the players that I think were good and the ones that were not so good.
‘I’ve gone to meet him at a hotel, he’s opened the door, looked at me up and down and gone “you are in good shape!” then he punched me in the stomach.
Giggs (pictured after his first meeting with Van Gaal in 2014) recalls the odd first encounter
Giggs (left) would go on to become Van Gaal’s (centre) assistant after being appointed as the club’s new manager by Ed Woodward (right) in 2014
Giggs was shown the managerial ropes by Van Gaal during their time together at United
‘It was hard as well and I didn’t know what to do. You could have given something back but that’s me out of a job.
‘But that’s what he was like. He was very dominating and would be right up in your face.
‘He would be a nightmare now with social distancing. He would be right up in your face, looking down on you and very direct.
‘He looked after his staff and his players and he was a really good person but just very quirky.’
Van Gaal only lasted two years in the Old Trafford hotseat before being replace by Jose Mourinho, managing to win the FA Cup in 2016.
The end of the 69-year-old’s time at the club also saw Giggs step down, too, which saw him take up the Wales head coach role in 2018.
‘There was no conversation with Jose. It was a hard two years [under Van Gaal] and I got offered a job with the younger teams,’ Giggs added.
The Wales boss made the revelation on Jamie Carragher’s (right) Greatest Game podcast
Van Gaal won the FA Cup in 2016 before stepping down as manager shortly after
‘I just felt it was the right time to leave. It was sad but a bit of relief, I bit like lost like ‘what do I do now.
‘It was a difficult sort of 18 months and I had no idea of what I wanted to do.
‘I took on a role in Vietnam, like a director’s role where I go over there three times a year. There was a bit of media work, I did the Euros and there were a few other bits to keep me busy.
‘I was watching my son play football for the first time in years and I soon realised there was a life outside of football.’
