Win or lose against Argentina, Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal will leave this World Cup having firmly reinforced his reputation as a master tactician.
Manchester United fans might be forgiven for being a little giddy at the prospect of seeing the distinctive 62-year-old's presence filling the Old Trafford dugout in a few weeks' time.
But before he swaps his orange tie for red to set about reviving United's fortunes, there is unfinished business in Brazil. After Holland's 2-1 last-16 comeback win over Mexico, Van Gaal was hailed as the game's most tactically astute coach by Dirk Kuyt.
From this moment on, you will be patronised, looked at with disdain, and haunted by a constant doubt
The way he switched Kuyt between three positions in Fortaleza as circumstances required illustrated his thinking-out-of-the-box approach. As did the way he exploited the cooling breaks in that game to tweak tactics.
But for sheer audacity it was hard to beat his switching of keepers to bring on Tim Krul for Saturday's quarter-final penalty shoot-out - the Newcastle man repaying the coach's daring by saving two Costa Rican penalties to put the Dutch in the semis.
Known as a disciplinarian, Van Gaal has won domestic titles and cups with Ajax, AZ Alkmaar, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, as well as guiding Ajax to Champions League glory.
He is not a man to suffer fools gladly. On his United appointment the Dutch media offered their British cousins 10 tips to follow when interviewing Van Gaal.