Robin van Persie has revealed that he was slapped by Louis van Gaal during Netherlands 2014 World Cup clash with Costa Rica.
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Netherlands were involved in a tight World Cup quarter final with Costa Rica that went to extra-time after a 0-0 draw. Van Persie had cramp, and Van Gaal tried to take him off, but the striker refused.
In the book, LVG – The Manager and the Total Person, Van Persie revealed that he was slapped by the Oranje head coach.
He wrote, “The game went into extra-time and I got cramp. Louis shouted “I am taking you off”. I turned around and shouted “no, no, we have penalties soon” but the last 20 minutes were physically really hard for me.
“He (Van Gaal) could see that – and steam was coming out of his ears. ‘When the match was finished and we gathered near the touchline, he got close to me and suddenly hit me.
“Bang! With a big flat hand he dealt me a blow and said in an angry way “don’t ever do that to me again”.
“I looked at him absolutely stunned. Louis said “just get on with it and make sure you get it in the net from the spot”.
“I am glad I managed to put the penalty in the corner. When I look back on that incident, it was a weird moment, but that was Louis for you.”
Netherlands won the penalty shootout but then exited the World Cup on penalties to Argentina in the semi-final.