Van Gaal to coach Dutch national team

 THE HAGUE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Louis van Gaal will be the new coach of the Dutch national team, the Dutch football association¹ KNVB announced on Friday.

Van Gaal succeeds Bert van Marwijk, who quit after a disappointing early exit at Euro 2012. He signed a contract until the 2014 World Cup and will start his work on August 1, with his first match being a friendly against Belgium 15 days later. Former Ajax and Netherlands player Danny Blind will be his assistant.

The 60-year-old Van Gaal was already coach of the Dutch national team in 2000 and 2001. He decided² to quit after he failed to lead "Oranje" to the 2002 World Cup.

The most recent job of Van Gaal was at Bayern Munich. He won the German double and reached the Champions League final in 2010, but in April 2011 he was fired after a series of bad results. Van Gaal also worked as coach of AZ, Ajax and FC Barcelona.

"I am pleased that the KNVB has approached me," Van Gaal reacted in a KNVB press release³. "This is the challenge that I was waiting for."

1 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。