United be warned: Van Gaal started slowly at Bayern, Barca and AZ

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New beginnings: The experienced Dutchman starts work at Manchester United this week

 As Louis van Gaal arrives at Manchester United's Carrington training ground on Wednesday morning, he will do so in the knowledge that he has just 31 days to repair the damage done by the David Moyes era before Swansea City arrive at Old Trafford to kick off the Premier League season.



The Dutchman has already spoken of his desire to restore unity and togetherness into United's DNA. His Holland side at the World Cup was characterised as much by its defiant team spirit as it was by the flair of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.

 'I hope the group in Manchester will become like this one,' Van Gaal said last weekend. 

 It would be unfair, however, to expect an overnight transformation. Holland's determined World Cup campaign was two years in the making. History suggests that Van Gaal's methods are ultimately successful but they can take time to come into fruition. United supporters expecting a blockbuster beginning may be initially underwhelmed.
patience may be required before the silverware arrives.

Van Gaal's starts:

BARCELONA (1st spell)
1997-98: 2nd after 14 matches (finished 1st)
1998-99: 10th after 14 matches (finished 1st)
BARCELONA (2nd spell)
2002-03: 13th after 14 matches (sacked in January with the club 12th. Barca finished 6th.) 
AZ 
2005-06: 3rd after 13 matches (finished 2nd)
2006-07: 3rd after 13 matches (finished 3rd)
2007-08: 10th after 13 matches (finished 11th)
2008-09: 4th after 11 matches (finished 1st) - opening defeats to NAC Breda and Ado Den Haag
BAYERN MUNICH 
2009-2010: 7th after 13 matches (finished 1st)
2010-2011: 8th after 13 matches (sacked in April with the club 4th. Bayern finished 3rd)

A joseobi study into Van Gaal's last 17 years in club management offers a revealing insight. More often than not, his teams start slowly. The Dutchman took over at Bayern Munich in the summer of 2009. 
After 13 matches, Van Gaal had won just five and his team were seventh towards the end of November. They failed to win their first three Champions League group stage matches. By May, however, Bayern had discovered their form, winning the Bundesliga and reaching the Champions League final, where Van Gaal was defeated by Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.
Timid starts are a surprising feature on Van Gaal's CV, a similarity United fans may note between their new manager and his illustrious predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson.

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