Georginio Wijnaldum believes that the Netherlands national team needs to change with the times.
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Against Norway on Wednesday, Netherlands had most of the ball but Norway created the more clear-cut chances in the 1-1 draw.
Speaking to Voetbal International, Wijnaldum believes the game highlights why Dutch football needs to change its playing style. He said, “In the Netherlands, we are too comfortable, we have the ball and think: it will all work out. But so much has changed in football and ours should change with it. The best teams no longer beat the lesser teams so quickly and easily. Football is changing and I think we have to move with it as a country. We should not think that the possession that we have will just come. It shouldn’t be sacred anymore.”
Wijnaldum believes Louis van Gaal is the right man to take the national team forward, “Everyone knows how Louis is,. He is very clear and conveys that. That’s why we didn’t panic after the opener.
“The trainer insisted in advance that we had to keep playing from our organization. That also resulted in the equalizer. What do I mean by that? That we continued to play as a group and did what we had agreed in advance, together with the trainer. We have to do it as a team, if the institution and organization are in order, we can make a difference as individuals. In addition, we have a team with quite a lot of young guys who have a lot to learn. Van Gaal is a good national coach for this group.”
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Totally agree with Gini. Total football of the great Dutch teams of the 70s is over. Their is no more Cryuff, Krol, Neeskens, Remsen rink, Rep
And the 80s with Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard.
We need to form first a total ream concept first
Like for example Italy.
Winning just with indivual talent does not work anymore, plus ball possession does not mean anything if you do not create chances on goal.
I believe In Van Gaal and give him time to work with the young prospects.
It’s about time a current player says it. International football is a lot more competitive than it used to be. The time is now to break the obsession with a “typical Dutch” style of play. The team’s tactics need to be whatever works for the players we have in order to win matches.