Ronald Koeman discussed a number of topics during his press conference on Monday.
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The Netherlands squad arrived at Ziest on Monday ahead of the Nations League games against Hungary and Germany.
Koeman gave his press conference and was of course asked about the passing of Johan Neeskens. According to Voetbal International, Koeman found out on Sunday, “We were already in Zeist with the technical staff, when I received a phone call from Marianne van Leeuwen, unfortunately with this message.”
Koeman idolised Neeskens as a kid, “As a little boy you play football on the street, he wanted to be Cruijff, he wanted to be Van Hanegem. I wanted to be Neeskens. His style appealed to me enormously. His fight for example. And he was also a great penalty specialist. Later I got to know him even better, during the coaching course.”
Moving on to the Netherlands squad, which has been hit by injuries, Koeman said, “You see it everywhere, it’s difficult to select. Germany is also missing a lot of players. It’s also the first time in my second period as coach of the Dutch national team that I even had players on the phone on Friday morning. I think six or seven of the pre-selection are not there due to an injury.”
Frenkie de Jong is not yet ready to return to Oranje, “I spoke to Frenkie de Jong on the phone. With all due respect, he is still far away. It is too early. He found playing for fifteen minutes exciting and tough. He still needs to play for a while and get into a rhythm.”
Asked if he had watched Memphis play for Corinthians at the weekend and what he needs to do to get back in the squad, Koeman said, “I saw the first half of Corinthians last weekend. It was a nice match. The status is that he has to play more to be in the picture and to be fit.”
On why Guus Til replaced Teun Koopmeiners, “We work with a shadow list and Til was on it. He is fit, plays in the Champions League, plays for a big club and I know him well because I worked with him before. We want to have energy.”
Was FC Twente midfielder Sem Steijn an option? Koeman said he was, “He has a nose for goal, but the choice fell on Guus Til.”
On whether Micky van de Ven and Virgil van Dijk can play together in defence, “Certainly, unfortunately we haven’t been able to see it yet. I haven’t had the chance yet.”
On the ever-growing calendar for players, Koeman said, ‘It has to come from the players. I was pleasantly surprised that a number of players said that they will not accept this anymore. Otherwise, it will never happen. There will only be more matches. Every summer there is something, now a World Cup for clubs. That really has to be stopped. It has to be a collective thing. A strike? That should not happen immediately I think. But there has to be a willingness to listen. You don’t have the feeling that you are being taken seriously.”