Louis Van Gaal And Tim Krul Make World Cup History As Netherlands Beat Costa Rica To Book Semi-Final Against Argentina

During Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge of Manchester United he was known for his big decisions. After the David Moyes experiment, it appears they've found a man similar to Sir Alex, in Louis Van Gaal of Netherlands. Before heading to England, Van Gaal had the World Cup to attend to.  Nobody expected his Netherlands side to go very far, but they are now in the World Cup semi-final after dumping out Costa Rica on penalty-kicks. However, it took Van Gaal and Tim Krul to put them through, whilst making World Cup history in the process.

Their quarter-final match-up finished 0-0 at the end of regulation, sending them to extra-time. Both Costa Rica and Netherlands then used every bit of energy left in the tank, to fight and fight to the finish. Both teams could have scored on several occasions, but a combination of great goalkeeping and wasted opportunities prevented them doing so. The game was heading to penalty-kicks, but not without one last surprise.

Jasper Cillessen, the Netherlands' No. 1 goalkeeper had a brilliant game, but in the 119th minute (of 120 including extra-time) Van Gaal substituted him out for Tim Krul. Krul had no penalty-kick credentials to his name, but Van Gaal must've known something the world didn't and became the first manager to make a change of its kind. However, United and Netherlands' fans will be smiling, as the biggest move in World Cup history paid off.  Krul outdid the Costa Rican goalkeeper, making the saves he needed to send Netherlands through to a 4-3 victory and a semi-final clash against Argentina.

Will we ever see a move of this kind again, and can Van Gaal's bravery lead Netherlands and Manchester United to glory?