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| Louis van Gaal (left) selected Georginio Wijnaldum for the Dutch World Cup squad last summer |
NEWCASTLE midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has thanked Louis van Gaal for "daring" to select him for the 2014 World Cup.
Wijnaldum, 24, played under Van Gaal in Brazil as the Netherlands reached the World Cup semi-final.
They were eventually defeated by runners-up Argentina in a tense last-four clash in which Wijnaldum played the full 120 minutes.
And, after being crowned Dutch footballer of the year 2015, the Newcastle and former PSV ace said Van Gaal's tutelage greatly helped his development.
“I want to thank (PSV manager) Phillip Cocu, (PSV technical director) Marcel Brands and also Louis van Gaal," the Newcastle Chronicle quote him as saying.
“He (Van Gaal) dared to take me to the World Cup after an injury when I hadn’t played for a long time.”
A major injury ruled Wijnaldum out for six months in the middle of the 2013/14 season but he returned to earn a late call-up to Van Gaal's squad.
Wijnaldum scored on his Magpies debut against Southampton in the opening game of the Premier League season.
He cost Newcastle manager Steve McClaren £14.5million and signed a five-year contract at the club in pre-season.
"I felt the time was right for me to move and the Club have shown they really want me, so I'm very happy to be here," he said at the time.
"There are a few players here who are from Holland - I know them well and they will help me feel at home in Newcastle."
His former PSV and Netherlands team-mate, Memphis Depay, joined Van Gaal at Manchester United this summer.
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