Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal hails Atletico Madrid

Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal has lavished praise on Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.

Diego Simeone's side won their first La Liga title since 1996 last season, while they made the final of the Champions League where they were beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid.

Van Gaal has praised the style of the capital outfit and said that he has adopted some of Simeone's coaching methods.

"I think Atletico can be an example for Netherlands," he told reporters at a press conference.

"We train with a four against four game for our build up play and that's always a very aggressive way to train. When we were watching the Champions League final, I told my players: do you understand why we train four on four? I want players to be aggressive in our pressure game.

"We also have a player on the line during corners. We always discuss this with our goalkeeper and the goalkeeper coach."

Van Gaal will take charge of Manchester United following the completion of the World Cup this summer.