Erick van Saal

エリック・ファンサール Manga

Anime Nationality Dutch Occupation Head coach Current career Level Team Club Barcelona

Erick van Saal (エリック・ファンサール, Erikku Fansāru) is the coach of FC Barcelona.

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Description Edit

His anime version is also the coach of the Netherlands national team in the Captain Tsubasa (2001 TV series).

Appareance Edit

Van Saal is a very well-known coach who is very capable, has great analytical and tactical abilities but is also serious and very stubborn, since he did not want to immediately accept Tsubasa as center mid-fielder since he wanted him to be Rivaul's replacement in the future. In the manga, however, he likes to do wordplay jokes and is not as serious as in the 2001 anime.





History Edit

Between the first meeting of Tsubasa and Van Saal in FC Barcelona, Van Saal was seen talking by phone to his friend Barneveld in episode 38 of the anime, as the latter looks at the training of the young Japan national team. Then, Tsubasa came back from training at Camp Nou and Van Saal told him that Japan was to face Netherlands very soon. Van Saal is seeing going to the Yokohama Stadium in Japan for the friendlies match. Despite the news crew asking him if he was indeed interested in watch Tsubasa's play, he denied this, as he is only a "Football fan" and has a close friendship with Barneveld, who was the Netherlands head coach at the time.

When the newcomer Tsubasa Ozora would be on the team this Van Saal put in different positions to see how his style of play but to see him young and experience needed to face stronger players as Rivaul and assigned him to FC Barcelona B in three games after achieves its requirement to fulfill 10 goals and 10 assists put him as part of the regular squad at FC Barcelona.

Van Saal was warned by the club committee that this season FC Barcelona need to get to the finals of "La Liga" and become champion, otherwise he will be dismissed. His permanence was also questioned after Rivaul's performance was not as good this season, that is why he began to bet on Tsubasa's abilities to become a new golden combi to Rivaul and also become his replacement when Rivaul was injured in the game against Real Valladolid.

In this saga, FC Barcelona became champion after a very equal and hard match against their "El Clasico" rival Real Madrid CF.

Etymology Edit

Van Saal is inspired in Louis Van Gaal and Udo Lattek.

is inspired in Louis Van Gaal and Udo Lattek. He is known as Coach Eduardo in the Latin American Dub, while in the 2001 anime he is known as Coach Edward.