Well traveled and well respected Dutch manager Leo Beenhakker has given his views on the current state of Dutch football.
- By James Rowe
The former Ajax, Real Madrid and Netherlands coach spoke to NOS, and stated his belief that the current generation of Dutch talent lack’s the bite of its predecessors.
Beenhakker said, “You are always dependent for the offering of talent that you possess. Let us not be arrogant to think that we can measure up to the big countries, Germany, Italy, Spain and England. We are a small country.
“Thanks to, and we still have a very good youth policy that is generally recognized. But you also have to deal with the talent you possess. That happens in wave movements if I now see El Ghazi, Depay and Klaassen they are not better or worse than at the same age van der Vaart , Nigel de Jong and Sneijder etc. The only thing that I can note is that the generation in 2000 had more bite and drive.
‘The current generation are difficult to coach and you cannot change that. Each generation has certain features and this current generation are more concerned with themselves, Egocentric not egotistical. They live in their own world with their headphones on and Playstation and I think that I frequently see that on the field of play. I see 11 talented players but no team.
“You can’t tell me that the last game against the Czech Republic that everyone was willing to fight to win and give everything which is needed in such a game. It is not just a process of sitting together clicking your fingers and magically becoming motivated. I have said it for a long time it is 50 percent football management and 50 percent people management.
“How do I come in and get a player fully ready not just with tactics but also ready for the game and that is becoming more and more difficult for the current day manager because this current generation are not easy to coach. In my time as manager I did not have to say anything to Soren Lerby, he was frothing at the mouth to play 30 minutes before kick off. We must get through this and not moan and complain about the national team manager and mangers. There are certain things than can possibly be changed in our development but you also have to be realistic that this is a normal situation for countries that are not at the absolute top of the world football and have relatively a small group of players to chose from.”
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