I was absolutely f***ing delighted to beat Louis van Gaal with Ireland, says Mick McCarthy 14 years after their last fiery encounter as they prepare for cup clash

• Manchester United host Ipswich in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday 
• Match will see United boss Louis van Gaal face counterpart Mick McCarthy 
• McCarthy got the better of Van Gaal in a 2002 World Cup qualifier 

By Mike Keegan For Mailonline and Mel Henderson

Published: 09:02 EST, 22 September 2015 | Updated: 14:09 EST, 22 September 2015

When the dulcet Yorkshire tones of Mick McCarthy drift over to the home side's technical area at Old Trafford on Wednesday night they may trigger a chill down the spine of the Manchester United manager.

Fourteen years have passed since Louis van Gaal heard the booming Barnsley bassline of the current Ipswich Town boss, who he faces in the Capital One Cup, but the memory of a career defining, crazy day may well reawaken.

Dublin, September 1, 2001. McCarthy's Ireland versus Van Gaal's star-studded Holland in a vital World Cup 2002 qualifier.

Mick McCarthy (left) shakes Louis van Gaal's hand after winning their World Cup 2002 qualifier in Ireland

McCarthy punches the air with delight as the Republic of Ireland beat Holland 1-0 despite having 10 men

Van Gaal (left) cut a dejected figure on the touchline during that 2001 encounter as Holland slumped to a defeat

In a style we are now familiar with, the Dutchman had prepared for the game by ramping up the pressure on his counterpart.

Those comments had infuriated McCarthy. 'Louis van Gaal is starting to annoy me,' he wrote in his World Cup diary.

'He has been quoted on my employment prospects if Ireland lose and he seems none too concerned at the prospect of Ireland sacking their manager and me losing my job. That disappoints me. There is no need for Louis van Gaal to get involved in Irish football politics. Hopefully we can wipe the smile off his face.'

And reflecting on that famous 1-0 win for Ireland, McCarthy said ahead of Wednesday's battle of wits with Van Gaal.

'I was absolutely f***ing delighted to win that one. It was a great day for me and Ireland.

'We won 1-0 despite the fact we were down to 10 men for about 40 minutes. It set me up for one of the highlights of my career, managing at the World Cup.

'Before the game I was getting annoyed because they were booking their hotels and it was supposed to be us that were going out.

'I was an angry young man then and I'm more pragmatic now but I still look forward to pitting my wits against him.'

McCarthy says he was 'absolutely f***ing delighted to win that one' after being riled by Van Gaal's comments

The Dutchman irked McCarthy in the build-up to the match with his comments over his future at the time

Going back to the past and his World Cup diary, McCarthy cited his team talk as a key motivational trick during that memorable match for Irish football. 

'It's about passionate hearts and calm heads,' he writes.

'I ask the players to give me the opportunity to walk up to Louis van Gaal afterwards and say: 'Unlucky.' Just give me the chance to look him in the eye, shake his hand and say: 'Bad luck.''

Over 90 belief-defying minutes at a tumultuous Lansdowne Road they somehow did just that.

Down to 10 men following Gary Kelly's dismissal and with the likes of Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert and Ruud van Nistelrooy frantically searching for a winner, Mario Melchiot forgot the art of marking and Jason McAteer popped up at the far post to send the green hordes wild.

Ireland would go to the World Cup (via a play-off). Holland would not – and Van Gaal would went home to face a furious inquest.

Jason McAteer (right) proved the hero for the hosts during that match scoring the only goal at the far post

Republic of Ireland players mobbed McAteer after scoring against Holland at Lansdowne Road

They do not mince their words in the Netherlands.

De Telegraaf branded the loss a 'disgrace' and slated the manager's 'tactical blunders'.

The Brabants Dagblad went even further.

Van Gaal had claimed the noise at the old ground had made communication impossible and that the state of the pitch had not allowed the Dutch to play their brand of football.

'That was b******t,' the paper roared. 'Communicating how you play 11 against 10 you do before the game, for example, during one of those many little cosy hours at a training camp or during one of those special, secretive meetings. Van Gaal should be ashamed.'

In an open letter posted online Van Gaal described his players as 'broken' and added: 'the hangover was greatest in the Dutch dressing room in Dublin'.

Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane (right) battles for the ball with Holland midfielder Mark van Bommel

Keane shakes the hand of McCarthy after the full-time whistle was blown during that qualifier

But his pleas for empathy went unheard and in their final qualifying match against Estonia, a 5-0 win, his side were booed.

Others were quick to put the boot in. Marco van Basten, for example, delivered a searing insult 'Van Gaal has never played for a national team himself,' he said, 'so maybe that was the problem.'

In February 2002, Van Gaal stepped down. 'I certainly have failed,' he admitted.

It was a first failure (Van Gaal, in 10 seasons, had won 15 trophies with Ajax and Barcelona) and a formative one at that, given what was to follow.

A look at the YouTube footage captures the moment McCarthy had asked his players to give him at full-time and all seems fairly cordial amongst a backdrop of Irish joy and chaos.

However, a clearer picture of the Ipswich manager's thought process at the time emerges from The Guardian's Daniel Taylor who relays a tale of the pair's next meeting, shortly before the World Cup, at Amsterdam's Schipol airport.

Van Gaal promptly stepped down from his post as Holland boss after they failed to reach the World Cup

Van Gaal was on his way to Barcelona where he had been reinstalled at the Camp Nou following his exit from the national team.

McCarthy, no doubt with his pre-match comments on his mind, smiled and shook his head. 'If the tables were turned there's no way I'd have got Barcelona, is there?' Taylor says he asked the journalists in his company.

It was a fair point. On Wednesday he will no doubt be desperate to make another one.

McCarthy, 56, took previous clubs Sunderland and Wolves into the top flight and admits the trip to Old Trafford will whet his appetite for a return with Ipswich.

McCarthy will face Van Gaal once more on Wednesday in a Capital One Cup third round encounter

He added: 'It will give me a sharp reminder of what I'd like to be doing – managing again in the Premier League.

'That's why our most important game this week isn't this one, it's at home to Bristol City on Saturday.

'But we're not going up there to let them have the ball and keep coming at us. We want to go and attack them.'

McCarthy doesn't know how his side will cope with the Old Trafford atmosphere, which will be a new experience for most of them.

He said: 'It's a special place to go and play – and the surroundings either inspire you or frighten you.

McCarthy will be hoping he can cause another shock when his Ipswich side travel to Manchester United

'But it's the big games that players want to play in and they don't come much bigger than United on their home patch.

'They will want to win a trophy and will see the Capital One Cup as one they could win – and they'll be thinking they've got a nice home tie against Ipswich.

'United are also getting it together now, keeping the ball and eventually picking holes in the opposition. They're all buying into what the manager wants them to do.

'I just hope we can put on a performance and give them a game. If there's one thing I love it's slapping the big guy.'

Returning to the Premier League is an ambition for the 56-year-old Ipswich manager (right) this season

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