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Did Louis van Gaal call QPR 'Queens Park Raisins?'

Video: Was this just a casual mispronunciation or a subtle trolling of Redknapp's men?

Kiran Moodley
Monday 19 January 2015 11:04 GMT
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Louis van Gaal, manager of Manchester United.
Louis van Gaal, manager of Manchester United. (Mark Thompson | Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal famously asked to be judged as Manchester United manager after three months in charge, yet he never gave himself a time frame to perfect the English language.

Many non-Englishmen have taken time to become fluent in the Premier League, with Mauricio Pochettino using a translator for most of his tenure as Southampton boss before becoming a bit more confident with the English language now that he's at Tottenham.

Van Gaal may be fluent in four languages - his native Dutch as well as Spanish, German and English - but this is the first time the former Netherlands coach has managed in the UK and he seems to be having a few teething problems.

During a post-match interview on Saturday after his Manchester United side beat Harry Redknapp's relegation-threatened QPR, van Gaal appeared to get the opposing team's name wrong.

In one sentence he appears to have said, "played in the same play style as Queens Park Raisins".

It could just be a rather poetic mispronunciation or a very subtle mocking of Redknapp's side, whose side's strong home form has collapsed in recent weeks. Was van Gaal suggesting the Hoops' players were more like shrivelled grapes than a decent Premier League side?

Either way, it's not the first time there has been a comedic, fruit-based error when trying to pronunce English football teams.

When asked about Chelsea's cup game against Shrewsbury Town earlier in the season, Eden Hazard seemed to think the Blues had just beaten "Strawberry".

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